Amazon Issues about Associate Links Researched by Lee Foster
At the July BAIPA meeting, three questions regarding Amazon were posed by BAIPA members. To find out the answers, BAIPA member and travel writer Lee Foster did some research by asking Amazon. Here is what he found out:
Question: Is it OK for author/publishers to use Amazon Associate links to advertise their own books and get a 4 percent added sales return on those sales?
Answer: Yes, author/publishers are welcome to use the Amazon Associate links to advertise their own items that are for sale on Amazon, and to receive a commission on those orders.
Question: Is it OK for author/publishers to go into Amazon with their Associate links and buy third-party objects, getting back a “discount” payment of 4 percent of any sales on any object?
Answer: No, an author/publisher is not permitted to use their own Associate links to make purchases, if it is to purchase another item besides their own book. The reason is that the Amazon.com Associates Program is an advertising program, rather than a discount program. Amazon’s goal is to have Associates refer new customers to Amazon 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.
Question: Does Amazon have a 24-hour tracking pattern, so that someone going in through a link is remembered if he or she goes offline for a few hours, and then returns to Amazon at the same computer? Does that link remain trackable?
Answer: Yes, there is a 24-hour shopping window. You may earn an advertising fee for any qualifying items placed in a customer’s shopping cart during a 24-hour window. This window begins at the time a visitor clicks through your Associates link. However, the session window will close if the customer submits their order or reenters Amazon.com through another Associate’s link.
Thanks, Lee, for doing this research! Lee’s e-mail address is: [email protected] .