Can you believe it? Amazon won't give commissions for me referring ppl I know!
I'm pasting some of the screenshots from from my chat with Amazon Associate support that I had a few minutes ago. Unbelievable. Did any of y'all know this? Apparently if Amazon can tie people back to me as someone I personally know, they won't give me commission for any orders they place through my link.
I had 7 'orders' from May 26 through June 1 that I won't be making commissions on.
I'm also pasting the plain text from the full chat after the images.
I wish this business was all "rainbows and unicorns," but clearly it is not :(
Please share anything you have or will learn about this topic in the comments. We all thank you ahead of time :)
Full plain text of my chat with "Kaitlyn:"
Kaitlyn: Hello, my name is Kaitlyn. I'm here to help you today.8:07:48 AM
Kaitlyn: May I have your name please8:07:53 AM
Me: Tim Gillen8:09:05 AM
Kaitlyn: Thank you, how may I assist you today?8:09:16 AM
Me: I'm wondering why my earnings are showing $08:09:47 AM
Kaitlyn: Let me pull up your reports, bear with me one moment.8:10:03 AM
Me: when I login on the phone it says from 5/26 thru 6/1 'ordered' is 78:11:18 AM
Me: but no earnings8:11:26 AM
Kaitlyn: I reviewed your Associates Account, and found the majority of the items listed in your account's Orders Report were marked by our system as ineligible for Associates advertising fees. Typically referred orders can be marked because our system recognized the orders were placed by the Associate, or on their behalf. This can also happen if we have determined that the orders resulted from you requesting or encouraging your friends, relatives, or other people you know to purchase products through your Special Links. Due to the proprietary nature of the way we make these determinations, we can't share the full list of criteria by which we detect these ineligible orders.8:12:06 AM
Me: wow8:13:08 AM
Me: that's unbelievable8:13:38 AM
Me: so I encourage people to buy at8:13:49 AM
Kaitlyn: You can review this in the Operating Agreement as well.8:13:52 AM
Me: Amazon instead of somewhere else and then I don't get credit. geez8:14:05 AM
Kaitlyn: It looks like one of the orders was placed on your account. The reason behind this is that the Amazon.com Associates Program is an advertising program rather than a discount program. Our goal is to have our associates refer new customers to us in return for advertising fees. Associates are not eligible for advertising fees when they place orders themselves, or ask people they know to routinely place orders through their links so they can earn advertising fees.8:14:26 AM
Me: gotcha. ok well I'll be referring a different store from nowon8:16:21 AM
Me: that's really shady8:16:43 AM
Kaitlyn: The purpose of the program is to get new traffic to the site. Instead of friends, family, etc.8:17:08 AM
Kaitlyn: This information is in the Operating Agreement as well.8:17:25 AM
Me: I understand. Well you'll be getting less traffic now8:17:59 AM
Kaitlyn: I'm sorry that there isn't any additional information that I can provide. That is one of the participation requirements for the program. It cannot be unchanged. If someone visits your site, and they cannot be tied back to you personally in any way, then you would get the fees for the order that is placed.8:19:58 AM
Me: Have a great day8:20:08 AM
Kaitlyn: You as well.8:20:30 AM
Kaitlyn has left the conversation.
Recent Comments
91
Amazon has gotten too big for its boots! My parents went through my blog and ordered £100's worth of items. I didn't get a single commission for the same reasons you've highlighted, despite us not living in the same home at the time.
So basically, Amazon are saying that any family member or friend who orders through our website (even if it's via a post socially shared or even if we live in a town with the same postcode LOL) we won't qualify for a commission.
So what would happen if our next door neighbour or somebody in our town found our site organically through Google and naturally placed an order through Amazon not knowing who we were?
I guess Amazon would still refuse the commission.
Yeah pretty sad. Well I'm moving on. I'll try to keep my language nice. But _ _ _ _ them ;)
I wouldn't go so far as to say its unfair. Those are the terms you agreed to when you signed up.
To be honest people would abuse the system if that were allowed and instead of actually generating traffic for Amazon, people would just have their friends and family make their regular purchases through their links. So in all fairness it would be counterproductive and Amazon would be at a lost.
Meanwhile their executives get million dollar bonuses and us lowly affiliates get shekels...sometimes...if they think people are not too close to us...hmmm.
I get it that Amazon is a business. But to treat the affiliates this way? Why not share the wealth? I'm not referring people to Amazon anymore. That's ok.
Did you hear that when Charter Spectrum bought and merged with Time Warner Cable last year, the CEO of Charter stayed on as CEO of New Charter (Spectrum) and the CEO of TWC walked away with a severance.
Do you know how much the TWC CEO was given as severance? $92 million. Nice parting gift, especially for only having been the CEO for 1.5 years.
Meanwhile us contractors for Charter and TWC were paid shekels to slide/carry ladders across waist-deep snow in 20-30 below zero weather.
I'm sick of it!
Well I hate to say it but injustices like that have always been the way of the world. Those who do the most work get the least pay.
The point I really wanted to get across though is that we need to read these agreements carefully before we jump into bed with these corporate programs. Because at the end of the day, while the little commission seems like a gift to us these affiliate programs were created for their corporation to rise on the backs of common folks.
Its really not just Amazon with clauses like that.
yup. and the whole BS of it has motivated me to find a better way with viglink...see my new comments
I as well will reconsider due to the fact that the cookies only last for 24 hours. I'll see how it goes. Becky
That is truly unbelievable!. You've referred sales to them - and they want to cheat you of your due commissions because they 'made a policy?' They CAN change the policy if they want, BTW... lol
I've heard rumors of how poorly Amazon pays and treats their employees; now they're doing it to their "Associates." Makes me wonder a lot about them.
And, just a FYI; Jeff Bezos was caught on camera and an attempted quick interview with him on his way to Bilderberg (by wearechange.org - the video is on their YouTube channel). He also owns The Washington Post. ;) ~ Mike
very strange. so if you have a regular reader on your website who enjoys your content, trust your opinions, and takes your recommendations to buy products on Amazon through you, are you only receiving commissions for the first sale? and then any sale after that is not generating a "new" sale from a new person?
The answer to that is unknown by me at the moment. Please log into your Amazon Associate account and click on the chat button. The representative comes into the chat pretty quick.
Ask them and please share with us what you find out. Thanks in advance!
That is just outrageous! So, anybody in my family or circle of friends can go to my site, click on something they see and like and want to purchase, from Amazon, and Amazon will gladly take their money, but they keep ALL of it, and refuse to pay my advertising fees?!
I wonder how far out this reaches? Like, maybe they read all of your listed "friends" on Facebook? All of your followers on Twitter? Family relations extending out into the first, second and third cousins?
I wonder just how much this BS policy has cost me, over the past two years ...?
I think it is pretty low of them. I mean, if I had a friend or family member who owned a sporting goods store, I would of course support their business and shop there. Friends' and family's money is just as green and good as anyone else's. Amazon gets paid, but won't appreciate the extra business you brought to them in the form of people you know? Some of whom (In my case, anyway, I happen to know) hadn't before been going to Amazon.com to shop?
It's a petty, stingy, money grubbing policy, if ya ask me.
That really bites the behind if I may say so. I am sry this has happened to u. It is good info to have and I thank u for sharing. I really wonder how they know unless they are tapping into social media maybe or something. Maybe if the IP shows up as close to u they do a more in-depth search or something. Just guessing here.
Thankfully I do not have too many links I would need to change. I could see if someone had an eCommerce site that is would be a nightmare to change all of the product links, that would really suck. I hope u do not have too many to change.
It'll take hours. I know that.
Plus all of the time researching where I want to direct people instead of to Amazon so that I get credit for the sale. Which company sells it? Do they have an affiliate program? Getting approved for that programs, creating deep links, etc.
Wow, I just read the other comments. How do they know it's family and friends!
If it was 50% + commissions ..maybe but this is ridiculous. They should be honored that you chose THEM!
I was accepted at Amazon but hesitated to continue then ended up not. I heard too many negative things about them and now this. I'm happy with my choices, one even made a custom banner for me for my specific niche.
Time to find other affiliate networks/programs there are hundreds out there.
All the time and effort you put in and now this....
Yes I agree. They are making millions and have been giving us shekels anyway. Forget them.
That 'generous' 24 hour cookie does nothing for me compared to how bad they are. I'd rather bake cookies :)
This is good to know! My issue is this -- I have a lot of friends on my social networks that have children or grandchildren with autism. Since that is where my traffic is generated right now, or people that they know that they are sharing my website with, that does not necessarily mean that I was trying to get a discount!
I can see both sides of it -- maybe that is my news-editorial journalism education kicking in! But what is Amazon doing -- going back and checking the FB pages and other social networks for every customer that purchases something after clicking in from your website?
Good question. I suggest getting on a live chat with them in your amazon associate landing page. They are very responsive. And please share what you learn here!
It's a double edged sword. I understand it too, but scary to know at the same time the accuracy of their search. Mind boggling! Becky
Hmm.. That is very frustrating. Yet, maybe I do understand on some level what they are trying to say about running a discount program.
This encourages me to focus on other affiliate programs and coming up with some of my own products to sell. What is the saying....multiple streams of income?
This post was very helpful because I've had several close friends that have offered to make their Amazon purchases through me. Now, I won't waste their time.
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I think I just found a automatic link conversion tool that may work to find the highest commission I could earn by having a little javascript installed in my footer of each page. I just found it yesterday thanks to a reference from a fellow WA to a friend of theirs.
Please inbox me for the referral link if you wouldn't mind so you can sign up under me, but no problem if not. It's awin dot com.
how do I sign up?