Problems with Amazon Associates? Here's Two Alternatives!

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I was adding some Amazon links to my website last night, and ran into a problem that happens from time to time. Some products are unable to be linked directly! I'm not sure why, but it happens.

They recommend linking to a "search" page instead, so initially I affiliate-linked to a search page using Amazon Stripe. However, I'm not sure if I still get affiliate credit for the sale in that situation.

So I searched for the exact same product on other websites. Guess what?! I found it!

If you find that Amazon rejected you because your website is not up to their standards, or Amazon doesn't work in your state, you have other options. Here are two that worked consistently for me.

  • Home Depot (Commission Junction)
  • Walmart (LinkShare Rakuten)

You can sign up to these affiliate programs through their affiliate network. They are pretty easy to get into. Actually, I signed up over 4 years ago, never made a sale, and haven't been kicked out yet, which is much better than Amazon's new 180 day rule!

Commission Junction even has a thing called CJ Deep Link, which is kind of like Amazon Stripe.

I was able to find many home and garden items for the same price. Plus, you may be able to contact Home Depot or Walmart affiliate programs for explicit permission to use their images, which may be better than Amazon's image policy.

You may find that other websites also carry Amazon's products and have different affiliate terms that work better for you.

Unfortunately, Home Depot only pays 3% commission, while Amazon pays 8% or more for some categories and HD's cookie is also only 24 hours. In this case, it doesn't work in our favor. Keep an eye out though, you may find longer cookie lengths or better commission rates!

Walmart has 4% commission, and 3 day cookie length. 3 days isn't much, but better than 24 hours! There could be other options too...

There are other advantages to using these affiliate programs. Ordering large items from Amazon can be a pain if they charge for shipping. But many times, you can "pick up in store" with local Home Depot or Walmart stores for free!

With some items, your visitors may feel more comfortable ordering from a local store than getting it delivered with Prime shipping, and having the UPS guy dump it on your front porch while you're not home.

So you have options. Keep your eyes open for affiliate opportunities off the beaten path.

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Recent Comments

51

Glad to see that there are other viable affiliate programs worth noting. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

- Ethan

Thanks for sharing and reminding us that amazon isn't the only way to go!

This is great info! Thanks.

Well done and thanks for this info
it may come in handy later
Cheers PB

Tries applying for Rakuten, but they are not accepting my website for some reason, maybe i will retry after adding more content. I was trying for affiliate link to bestbuy

You're probably right, they just want to see more.

I am worried about that 180 day rule. If I don't get a sale in 180 days and Amazon dumps me, can I reapply?

Yes, you can reapply

I made a test site and didnt make any sale, hence account got dumped. I reapplied, got approved and made few sales.....Its rocking now!

Hi Brenda, you can keep re-applying all the time. It just means that all the links to amazon products on your site expire and they will need to be replaced. (unless you use one of those localizing systems such as gen.ius, then you just need to change something within that system).

Thank you for this information Nathaniel, going to star it so I can look at it better later on. xxxx

Thanks a lot for these useful tips Nathaniel.
:-)

I am pretty sure you get the commission for search page link.

Earlier I applied for Walmart and was rejected. Could this be because of my Amazon links?

I doubt it was because of Amazon links, but maybe. I applied years ago, so perhaps it's more strict now, but I was able to get in years ago with a pretty bad website.

In fact, I just created a second account yesterday and applied with a new site (with traffic) and was approved within 24 hours.

Do not understand what the problem was in my case. Just curious, do you give both Amazon and Walmart links for the same item?.

Average Commission Rate: 5%, with average order sale of $300
Cookie Length: 3 days
Affiliate Program: LinkShare
Payout Threshold: $50

This source apparently from Walmart, though three different websites say the same.

Awesome. Thanks for that. I'll include it!

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