Amazon Fixed Commission Rates
Above are going to be the updated Amazon Associates Program fixed commissions rates. What a disappointment. Amazon has cut and capped rates of commissions. The commissions used to increase (from 6% to 12%) with the number of sales. Now you may get as little as 1% commissions in a lifetime depending on your niche.
They have also removed the variable rates from their affiliate program which allowed high volume affiliates to earn more money as they saw a higher volume of sales.
Here is the former affiliate compensation structure at Amazon just for a comparison (pre March 1st changes). This slashing and fixing of rates is a reminder to affiliates not to put all the eggs in one basket.
You can read more about Amazon's new rates on this link:
Amazon Operating Agreement - What's Changed (effective March 1st, 2017)
Recent Comments
20
Thanks for the info.
And you are correct ...
" the most import lesson: don't put all of your eggs in one basket. "
riz
Where is the former amazon affiliate compensation structure to compare to? I see you reference it but it's not here.. anyone have it?
At least you won't panic when you see a huge bump or sudden fall in commissions depending on your niche.
I'm lucky I have eggs in other baskets. Pity about the other members who don't, but Kyle shed a different light on it so it may not be all too bad. Thanks for sharing Melody.
Good for you. l am glad l shared my worries and got a lot of nerve calming perspectives. Still it is good to diversify one's business incase one day you are banned from Amazon for one reason or the other.
Absolutely. I didn't really think about diversifying my affiliate accounts, it just happened naturally due to my niche. I'm glad you are feeling a bit relieved
See more comments
I think we all saw this coming, Amazon has been alluding to a fixed commission structure for some time now. I honestly don't think this is a horrible thing.
Yes, this will impact SOME higher volume affiliates that were working on the variable commissions, but overall the commissions have remained very much the same.
We need to remember, that Amazon sacrifices profits for service and has thin margins, in fact they are generally speaking YOY in the red with their Amazon.com business (their web services segments is much more profitable).
Here is where I can see the benefit. Amazon is going to continue pushing INSTANT shipping, I know several folks through the US that are already experience SAME DAY shipping. What is this going to do for affiliates, well I think you are going to find more people are spending more money on Amazon.
The average purchase is going to increase in size and ultimately the affiliate is going to benefit more and more from this as time goes on.
The Prime Pantry (groceries) has moved up double, to an 8% commission and this is something that I can see people using Amazon for as we move into 2018/2019, buying groceries online is going to be a thing and people spend trillions on groceries ever year.
And as you said, don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Amazon has over 488 million products/services you can promote as an affiliate which is nothing short of amazing, but one thing that you should also be aware of is that there are 100's of millions of other products/services that you can promote through other affiliate programs.
It might seem like lemons here to some folks, but I can already see the future lemonade!
I appreciate your perspective, Kyle. All the best!
So.. should I move out from Amazon?
Or start a new groceries niche site?
Thanks Kyle, lemonade is a healthy choice and always welcome.
Thanks Kyle for the heads up. It is good to share your worries with the community and at the end of it all you get a different perspective which you had never thought of. l went into an overdrive and l am realising that almost every company selling products through Amazon does have an affiliate program which pays way better than the former. It may also mean choosing your niche wisely. Besides, you get commissions on all sales. It is not time to throw down the towel or remove the gloves. Let's go over the wall and if we can't dig under.
Awesome perspective and eyeopening! Thank you Kyle, very much appreciated!