Canary in the coalmine CROAKS ON AMAZON.
Hey guys.
Yes, I'm the danged canary. LOL. I've actually begun to laugh at this stuff now.
OK so I got a notice from Amazon late January that one of my sites (inactive, under construction, no real content) didn't qualify and therefore my application was denied.
I THOUGHT THEY MEANT FOR THAT WEBSITE. Did I care? No. So I went on with my business.
----- NEVER, EVER TAKE A NOTICE FROM AMAZON LIGHTLY -----
As I'm logging in today I get: THIS ACCOUNT IS NOT RECOGNIZED....
"WHAAAAAAAT?" squawked the canary, and promptly called them.
So they tell me that if EVEN ONE of your sites on an account is sucking it, the ads stay on your sites but they CANCEL YOUR ENTIRE ACCOUNT FOR ALL TH SITES and codes all GO TO NOWHERE... TO AMAZON'S POCKETS I GUESS.
FOR ALL SITES. DOWN, GONE, NO ACCOUNTING, NO FEES, NOTHING.
THIS MEANS YOU START OVER.
For me this means one of my sites with about 180 pages has to be redone with the new affiliate code from the NEW ACCOUNT I HAD TO SET UP.
And another one that's busy right now is obviously a super-rush to fix...
HOW TO FIX IT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE?
- Copy and paste code from your page containing ads into a text doc.
- Search your OLD Amazon code and replace with your NEW code.
- Copy this corrected coding and paste it back in it's entirety into your page.
- Save.
AND DO AGAIN, AND AGAIN X 180? X 1000?
And don't forget to fix it on your WIDGETS, TEMPLATES... EVERYWHERE. That old code, if used, will go to nowhere's land and you will get nothing for it. Get it off EVERYTHING.
The more successful you are trying to be and the harder you've been busting your ass making sites and using Amazon ads, the more ridiculous work you are going to have to redo to stop losing income if this ever happens.
---RIDICULOUS---
ALSO, after this lovely experience I realize that the convenience of having just one Amazon account for all sites is utter stupidity. What will they pull next? I'm going to do a different account for each site. If they let me, that's probably the next thing.
Hope this heads off BS for you guys. Now, I have some searching and replacing to do... See ya next year LOL.
-Alexx
Recent Comments
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I did just read here at WA that multiple accounts is not only possible, but recommended. I did learn from your lesson. Sorry for your misery. Robert
... a little early for a New Year's resolution Alexx, but it's good to have goals ;)
It might be worthwhile to look for a way to do a search and replace for text sitewide. Check out http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/search-and-replace-wordpress/ or http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/how-to-search-and-replace-wordpress-in-blog-post/ for a couple possible solutions - but there must be others.
Unfortunately, I don't have any first hand knowledge to pass on - just a suggestion to see if there's a better way :\
Dennis
You never fail to be the MOST brilliant, D! How are you? I've been down with my head under me with some family death and aftermath stuff, and barely keeping up with my sites. MISS YOU ALL. I'm trying to be around once a week or so. -Alexx
I don't find Amazon as an Affiliate easy to work with but they do have a LOT of products and people DO use them a LOT. Good luck. ~Debbi
I know Debbi... that's why I just rolled with it. Well, took a sedative, THEN rolled with it LOLOL -Alexx
Oh Alexx, I'm so sorry to hear that! What a bummer. It stinks that Amazon is such a good way for us to build a passive income, since they are so hard to work with and learn how they work! But I keep hearing over and over that they are one of the best ones to use. Thanks for the heads up.
Aww Alexx, so sorry you've had to go through this. What a waste of your time. That really sucks.
Yes, but so many things are learning experiences here I think I am just getting used to being smacked with the unthinkable. -Alexx
Hello Alexx, I'm so sorry for your horribly frustrating experience. Thanks for the warning and your advice on how to fix it ASAP and your good idea to set up a different account for each site. I'm not at the point where I have an Amazon account, but I will remember this if / when I have more than one site.
Amazon has become almost essential to digital life. Maybe that's why they feel they can get away with doing this kind of thing. I was listening to part of a show on National Public Radio. I don't remember the details, but one man said that people who work in Amazon's warehouses suffer from almost slave labor conditions.
Best wishes, Amanda
I read a very detailed article ( sorry, forgot where) on how Amazon is pretty rotten to all their employees. I thought it was a case of "sour grapes", but the issue keeps coming up and makes one wonder.
Yeah Amanda, they're the big dogs and have zero mercy. I was very aware of the need to be polite even though the customer service was abominably slow, stupid and... just a dullard. And I just thanked her and went on my merry way! haha -Alexx
Sorry to hear you had to go through that. But thanks for sharing this with us. I had no idea. I assumed once your account was approved you could add on various sites. As long as commissions are coming on from somewhere I assumed it didn't matter.
I assumed the same. When they asked for website NAMES I gave them to them. How silly of me. -Alexx
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Thank you for sharing this; sorry for all the trouble you had. By sharing this , you've probably saved a lot of people here from having the same experience.
Yeah, that's my role here. Point man for B.S. LOLOL -Alexx