Is the Amazon Affiliate Program a Scam?
A lot of people outside of this platform are wondering if the Amazon Affiliate Program is a scam? While many people here have made money from it, others are skeptical or think its too good to be true. I hope that this article clears up any doubts that people may have.
But before we can determine if they are a scam, we first have to define what a scam is.
What is a scam?
A scam or fraud is defined by Wikipedia as a deliberate deception to secure an unfair or an unlawful gain. In order for this gain to occur, the victim must lose money in order for the scammer or fraudster to gain money.
Reasons why the Amazon Associates platform doesn’t qualify
It’s FREE to joinUnlike traditional scams, the Amazon Affiliate program is free to join. The only thing that they require when you sign up is a website and tax information so that they can be compliant with the IRS. If you don’t know how to create one, you can click here.
As a result of being a program that is FREE to join, you don’t lose any money. Remember, scams are designed to secure an unlawful gain. The Amazon Affiliate Program doesn’t gain any monetary compensation from you if you join as an associate. If it did, it is probably not an affiliate program. But rather a network marketing company or a Pyramid Scheme.
People are getting paid from itUnlike scams where people don't recover their money, people are actually making money from the associates program. A lot of people who even joined have made money within the first couple months (I certainly wish I was one of them, but I had success elsewhere). Others after a few months or a couple of years.
Also, for the skeptics, I know what your thinking.
"What about the people who didn't make money?"
Well, I say the people who didn't make money DIDN'T LOSE MONEY either. Remember, the amazon affiliate program is FREE TO JOIN! (Refer to point 1 above).
What is the Amazon Affiliate Program?
So if the Amazon affiliate program is NOT considered a scam, then what is it?
The Amazon Affiliate program or Amazon Associates is an affiliate network that allows website owners to make money from recommending products that are being sold on Amazon. If you were on someone’s blog and you clicked a link that redirects you to Amazon, then you essentially clicked what is called an affiliate link. If you ended up purchasing something from Amazon that very same day, the person who owns that link gets paid.
This is one of many advertising companies that bloggers and Youtubers use to make money aside from programs like Google Adsense.
So is it a scheme
Based on the fact that you dont lose money from joining the program and that some people here have made money, I can safely and confidently say that this is not a scam.
If you were looking for confirmation on this, I hope that this article helps you out. If you actually were interested in learning how to make money from the amazon associates program, feel free to join Wealthy Affiliate as many of our members have made money from using the Amazon Associates program.
Recent Comments
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Interesting blog post --- thanks kindly for sharing today --- much appreciated, cheerio .... ⭐️🎈
No it's not a scam but you could take a long time to reach to reach the affiliate commission payout threshold - in my case US$100. I have been promoting their products in the Amazon Associates program for several years and have yet to reach that level despite regularly promoting their products in blog posts etc. The low rates of commission makes me wonder whether my efforts should be directed elsewhere..
It wouldn’t hurt to look elsewhere. An affiliate agreement is NOT a marriage. You can break up at any time if you wish.
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It's not a scam, but it's certainly not the best affiliate program out there. Amazon has a one day cookie, when most other programs have a 30 day cookie. Amazon has some of the lowest commission rates in the industry. Amazon has no advanced technical offerings, like cross device tracking. Amazon will remove you from their program for any one of dozens of reasons. Consider other merchants first.
I definitely agree, I have seen more favorable commissions from other companies. If you think about it, some of the products from Amazon can be bought at the regular retailer and they will pay you a better commission. A set of dumbbells that amazon pays 4.5% on can also be bought on a retailers site. If you use their affiliate program instead, they pay 7% or even 10%.
And in addition to paying the higher commission, you'd also have a 30-day cookie to win the sale, instead of Amazon's paltry one-day cookie!