Has Anyone Gotten In Trouble With Amazon Associates and Been Reinstated?
Has anyone every been reinstated to Amazon Associates after having their account closed? I am not talking about not making enough sales in the 180 days. I mean for supposedly breaking the rules. I have never been in trouble for much of anything in my whole life but I got shut down by Amazon in 2020 due to Covid.
I had a website discussing nutrients and supplements prior to Covid but when I used the word coronavirus or Covid in my posts it started all kinds of problems. I clearly stated I am not a doctor or medically trained and stated there was no cure for Covid. By writing about certain supplements if broke the rules however. Of course when I signed up with Amazon Associates Covid didn't even exist yet! Anyway, they shut down my account which was a massive blow to my business. My Amazon account was the source of many of my affiliate links for my pet site as well. Of course that site was not about Covid but you can only have one Amazon Associate account so I lost the ability to use Amazon for all my websites.
I am hoping eventually I can get my account back or be allowed to start a a new one. The irony is the supplements I wrote about (such as zinc) have since been shown to indeed be effective against Covid! Even medical sources promote their use now in the fight against Covid. I was threatened by our state Attorney General's office and investigated and intimidated into shutting my website down. I have not written anything or done anything with it since. I just want the ability to use Amazon links on my pet site for now. I won't fight the Covid battle anymore.
So, do any of you have any experience getting reinstated if you got shut down by Amazon for a violation? I have tried to use other companies but it never works as well as Amazon did. Chewy changed thier policies and isn't worth it anymore. Many sites have such low commissions is just doesn't work. The advantage with Amazon was that people could purchase any type of item and it counted. I can't count the number of jeans and shoes and books and videos people purchased. Even light fixtures and coffee pots.
I have seen that you can't simply start a new account and put in new links since they will figure out you are the same person if you have the same name, address, email, website etc.
I hope eventually they will approve a new account.
If you have any expereince with this, I would love to hear it!
Thanks,
Jessica
Recent Comments
17
I know it is frustrating but some keywords are TROUBLE even when following the rules. Best of luck to you.
Jerry
I hope it finish well for you! It must have been very difficult.
I have not need this, luckily, but have need help about taxes and they has helped a lot, even so they fo not need it.
I know you did it well and are 100% honest. But I understand them a little about COVID as it was do much bullshit going on and many of it dangerous.
But I remember your ptoblem when it happened, was very sad!
Thanks. I understand too. It was just so frustrating since I saw sites advertising totally made up products (no labels, no ingredient list) that claimed to treat Covid. I was writing about supplements that are proven and cited extensive medical studies on them and stated there was no cure. Now I have been proven right but I will never get the $600 in commissions they owed me or the use of my links again or the loss of 2 years of sales and progress on my sites.
Jessica, I don't have the experience you are looking for. However, I believe that Amazon would welcome you back. They are constantly seeking affiliates and I suggest or even recommend, that you apply as a new affiliate.
I agree that although Amazon commissions are low, the advantage is that sales of unrelated products ad value that is not possible from other programmes.
Just give it a go. No harm can be done :)
Valerie
Hi Valerie,
I left all my Amazon links in my cat site (though I don't get any commission from them now) so that my readers could still easily purchase products. If I got approved for a new account I would need to replace all those links! Yikes. That would take a while.
I guess I just don't have a choice. I think the only hope is that they will let me open a new account at some point but it will need all new links so I could just remove them now but then my site would be all awkward since any references to links would not make sense. Oh well.
Jessica
Well, I didn't think about the links but if your affiliate preference is Amazon and they accept your application, changing the links will be worth it. I do understand your concern regarding the time involved!
I think I will have to replace the links no matter what (new Amazon account or no Amazon account). It just seemed that having links for my readers and a logical layout made more sense than removing them before I had a plan to replace them.
Yes, I understand your thoughts on the present links, but you are not benefitting from those links, Jessica. If you consider that you do have costs in keeping your website live, the domain name for instance! Although not extreme, it is an annual cost that should be recovered by your affiliate earnings. It's great that you've kept those links for your readers, but it's time to consider yourself, too!
Yes, I agree. I just thought taking out the links before I had a way to replace them wouldn't accomplish anything. I tried several other pet stores like Chewy and PetCo but they just aren't working out very well. Once I have a plan (which I think I am coming up with) I will remove the links and appeal to Amazon and hope for the best!
Thanks for your support Valerie!
You are very welcome, Jessica. Your website is beautiful. You have put a lot of work into it and deserve the rewards of a good affiliate program.
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Follow the money, if you were promoting Johnson and Johnson as a cure, all would be good, but to do it naturally, baned!
Yes. Thanks...I just wish I could use them for the pet products at least. I agree with you though.