Amazon Affiliate Program Screwed me...

J

JakeTheSnake

New member
Oct 5, 2014
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Getting back into AM after a few years off I have an account on here from 2007 but couldn't remember the e-mail I used.

Anyway a friend of mine recommended using X product off amazon for a problem I had. It worked GREAT, and not many people had heard of it.

Made a website, threw up 4 articles, signed up for the amazon affiliate program.

Made a few social media submits, and one went viral I mean VIRAL. I had 1-3k uniques a day for a week on this product review website plugged with amazon affiliate links.

The product retailed for $10 but I noticed after the first day the seller of the product lowered the price to $5 and added the difference to the shipping. I don't know if this was a way to screw me out of %Commission but I didn't care. This was my first crack at it in a while and I was doing pretty well.

Wake up on day 3 my Amazon account details weren't working. Check my e-mail - I was declined to the amazon affiliate program for not having enough content. What. FUCK. I fucked up.

Take all links down, double my content, reapply, re add links.

2 Days later, and tons of sales later. Denied again - This pissed me off. I decided the traffic was tapering down anyway so I scrapped all of it and decided to move onto my next project.

Check my analytics randomly and notice I just got a huge surge of traffic, I had gone semi-viral in the niche again.

Sigh
Fuck it
Reapply, Readd links, Don't touch the site.
NOW I get accepted, without changing a single thing.

Fucked out of 1 week sales. I missed affiliate marketing.
:banana_sml:
 


How many dollaz are you planning to make per day with all these $0.2-0.3 commissions per sale of a $5 product?

Just review TVs or watches, ffs.
 
dzianis said:
How many dollaz are you planning to make per day with all these $0.2-0.3 commissions per sale of a $5 product?

Just review TVs or watches, ffs.
Click to expand...

It's not just about the commission on the product, people usually buy a lot more shit before checking out completely.

But I just got something clarified, I guess I had way too many links in my posts and it looked spammy. I'm a dumbass afterall. My bad Amazon u str8. :sadcrying4:
 
dzianis said:
How many dollaz are you planning to make per day with all these $0.2-0.3 commissions per sale of a $5 product?
Click to expand...

Don't forget bout dat cookiez bro. Yes it's only 24hrs but still the victim could buy a TV. Maybe it's his shopping day.

Besides, it's a good start anyway. And gaining experience. And he is already accepted :smilie_weihn_winki:
 
JakeTheSnake said:
It's not just about the commission on the product, people usually buy a lot more shit before checking out completely.
Click to expand...

golan said:
Don't forget bout dat cookiez bro. Yes it's only 24hrs but still the victim could buy a TV. Maybe it's his shopping day.
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I know all about the cookie. Still, higher-end products bring people that are able to spend more money, so if they idly browse your TV reviews there's a very high chance they'll branch out to another store department and grab a monthly supply of diapers with your cookie. As opposed to people browsing e.g. lipstick bargains on your site.

In any case it all depends on the kind of product you are reviewing, maybe yours is an entry level for spenders as well. E.g. if you are selling $5 cockrings you might always score a lube barrel buyer [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Natural-Water-Based-Lubricant-Gallon/dp/B005MR3IVO"]Amazon.com: Passion Natural Water-Based Lubricant - 55 Gallon: Health & Personal Care[/ame]
 
Why not become the vendor?

Source the product yourself and direct link (if you can't keep the affiliate site up)?

Make more in the margin than the shitty commission.
 
Sooner or later they'll fcuk you in the butt again...Like with any affiliate program, the best position to be in is to own the product, rather than promote it.

P.S. inb4 Captain Obvious.
 
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There is risk involved in almost every online business, that's why we need not to put all eggs in one basket.
 
Blackman said:
Sooner or later they'll fcuk you in the butt again...Like with any affiliate program, the best position to be in is to own the product, rather than promote it.

P.S. inb4 Captain Obvious.
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This.

This is exactly why I'm not an affiliate anymore. Kudos to those of you who put up with this crap (and thanks for keeping me in business). Maybe I'm not deeply involved enough in the space anymore, but it seems that these sorts of shenanigans haven't improved much in the last 5 years.
 
manihatethis said:
its a bad payout but a good way to see how much an item sells. Then go out and make your own
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That's how I've always done it. I push the offer as an affiliate first and then build my own offer. It's not for everyone though. If you don't mind playing the merchant account game, it's pretty rewarding.

I've you want to run a serious offer, be sure to understand the Visa and Mastercard rules like the back of you hand since it will present you with a lot of opportunity.
 
manihatethis said:
its a bad payout but a good way to see how much an item sells. Then go out and make your own
Click to expand...

The good thing about dealing with Amazon (for affiliates) is the trust factor. Amazon has been around for 20 years now and there's a huge amount of public trust in that company. And, most people have either shopped at Amazon or seen one of their many (Kindle related) advertisements on television.

They would be more likely to shop and give their credit card details at Amazon for a product, than with MrNewGuyWhoJustPutUpHisProductWebsite.

And, though commissions are really lousy on some products (and lots of competition for affiliates), that trust factor or 'warming up' a prospect is already taken care of by Amazon.

I'm not saying you can't make money if you source your own product, just that you will have to take the time to establish the trust factor (as in make them willing to trust you will sensitive credit card details), long enough so that you can get paid and ship the item to the customer.
 
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