• Amazon Associates

Overview

Amazon Associates has a rating of 1.7 stars from 53 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Amazon Associates most frequently mention customer service problems. Amazon Associates ranks 79th among Affiliate Programs sites.

  • Service
    10
  • Value
    10
  • Shipping
    6
  • Returns
    6
  • Quality
    10
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 0%
Positive
0
Neutral
0
Negative
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What reviewers want you to know

Positive highlights

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Critical highlights

  • Essentially, I had a site running under the affiliate program for about a year.
How would you rate Amazon Associates?
Top Positive Review

“Best Affiliate Program”

HikingGear L.
1/10/18

Comparing to all Affiliate Programs, Amazon Affiliate program is the best available in the world. If you are loyal to your advertising site, Amazon will be very loyal to you. Promoting products are made very easy on the platform. Moreover, Amazon made very easy for associates to promote their different products internationally by introducing "OneLink". The reports are very transparent and helpful to associate.No doubt, the advertising fee payment system is to be appreciated.

Top Critical Review

“Always Broken + HORRIBLE supprort”

Steve K.
6/14/23

WARNING: Anyone who is considering using the associates program, I warn you. It is always broken. Weeks on end, every month. Then the support team has no clue what is going on. I am pretty sure that they just hire walk-ins off the street, and their training is about 5 seconds. It is simply responding with "We're working on it". I would suggest looking elsewhere, this is a sinking ship run by monkeys.

Reviews (53)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

affiliate program (9)
Thumbnail of user stevenkovacs1988
1 review
0 helpful votes
June 14th, 2023

WARNING: Anyone who is considering using the associates program, I warn you. It is always broken. Weeks on end, every month. Then the support team has no clue what is going on. I am pretty sure that they just hire walk-ins off the street, and their training is about 5 seconds. It is simply responding with "We're working on it". I would suggest looking elsewhere, this is a sinking ship run by monkeys.

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Value
Shipping
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Thumbnail of user allenk240
1 review
0 helpful votes
October 3rd, 2023

They Scammed me of my little savings in the name of I can't afford to place an order, even after top up.

Tip for consumers:
Don't try with a faint heart and no plan B.

Products used:
They place expensive orders

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Value
Shipping
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Thumbnail of user stephaned31
1 review
12 helpful votes
June 4th, 2021

You start your website, setup the links and everything, and after a while they close the account, don't tell you why, and you have no more access to anything. Since I'm in Europe I'll ask them all my data regarding my affiliate account, but I guess they'll never answer, because they don't care about you since the beginning.
And worst of all, they ask you to reapply.

Tip for consumers:
They can close your account whenever they want

Products used:
Affiliate

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user rachelb771
1 review
15 helpful votes
June 9th, 2021

Wow, I feel like they stole time from me, where I could have been more present for my family, rather than working for them for free. 86 sales, 0 commission. Shame on you Amazon.

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Value
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Thumbnail of user seanp15
3 reviews
9 helpful votes
December 17th, 2013

This is good affiliate program because lots of internet users purchase from it and also it is trusted eCommerce website. This program beneficial only for publishers. If you want to participate here then you need a good website or blog to generate huge extra income.

Thumbnail of user gladysm133
1 review
7 helpful votes
February 22nd, 2022

Someone bought a large ticketed item through my link. They didn't not give me a commission. I reached out and they claimed it was flagged because it appeared to be either me or someone I knew buying the item. What? I do not know who bought the item. But, the sports bra I linked also? Oh, yeah, we'll give you 19 cents for that. I am frustrated and plan to use a different affiliate program altogether when and if I refer them again.

Thumbnail of user matthewh1413
1 review
7 helpful votes
November 19th, 2021

Amazon closed my account and refused to pay for sales I made over 5 months. A week after I entered my payment details, they closed my account with zero warning and without paying. They have now ignored my email asking what' going on. They have ignored multiple emails at this stage. They also don't have a phone number so it's impossible to actually speak to a real person. Never trust a business that doesn't have a phone number. All legit, trustworthy businesses have phone support or an account manager you can contact.

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Value
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Thumbnail of user maryh148
4 reviews
12 helpful votes
April 12th, 2016

Very pleased with the large selection of ebooks that kindle has to offer.

Thumbnail of user martionc
1 review
3 helpful votes
January 4th, 2022

Stay away from these scammers, I made about 100$ and they removed my account, now when I log in, I have to register first, put website, ID, name etc. when I did that and get to the earnings tab, I checked and showed 0$.

Don't promote these fuc*sters

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Value
Shipping
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Thumbnail of user badeks
9 reviews
44 helpful votes
March 6th, 2016

I have used this site for my blog and website creation. I don't tend to earn much. Easy to display ads, banners, links and widgets. The Astore function is really cool. I shop on Amazon alot. http://astore.amazon.com/pleasetakealo-20 I am in the UK and joined the US site first. It's a shame that you can't merge the UK and US account together.

Thumbnail of user scotts1219
4 reviews
6 helpful votes
February 9th, 2021

Amazon affiliate program is crazy restrictive some people get the approved and threatening termination email at the exact same time.
The rejection process is actually the worst I've ever seen they don't even really tell you why many folks get an email from with links that don't work as a reason for rejection or termination. Once you have been terminated that's it no second chance ever. This includes if your site or links fall below the set traffic rate and again if this happens no appeal no second chance so if you have a dry spell that option is gone.
Customer service does not apply to affiliates do not expect the same level of service you get when shopping "thank you for being a prime member" etc
The affiliate contacts are harsh some open with a cheery hello then immediately demand removal of any and all ads (even if you have none) and threaten further action against any account on Amazon related to the affiliate program or not.

Good luck figuring out why you may have been rejected even if you have followed all the rules.

Any and all content on your sites Must meet their rules and regardless if amazon sells it or you purchase it off amazon they can terminate your account without reason or recourse and in fact tell you specifically they will not read or accept any further communication from you after the first reply

The list of rules that you have to follow is vast and you need to read every one and follow them
Amazon seems to be more allowing of affiliates over seas which makes it difficult if you are in Canada a quick look on YouTube will tell you that.

It can be beyond frustrating spending years working towards the goal of being an affiliate to be shunned so abruptly and without reason or reconsideration.

Amazon expects you to be understanding of their screw ups late or lost items extreme overcharges, double billing, removing prime features but never dropping the price etc but they do not pay that forward to you.

Once you have had this experience it will affect every other interaction with Amazon depending on what the reps writes on your account and your name your sin# banking information social insurance number credit cards etc are all in their database so they have everything about you.

The pandemic changed amazon they no longer need people to like them they own it all so the service has changed it really shows they don't need affiliates or even your business they have everyone else's so your not important.

Save your time and use another affiliate program because amazon can and will gut you without explaining and black list your information making online business very difficult for you in the future it's not worth the risk

Thumbnail of user kellyc88
2 reviews
44 helpful votes
April 6th, 2016

I discovered something that is really bad about Amazon. If you use Amazon to promote specific products here is the big problem: You put rectangular boxes on your site that have a "Shop Now" button on the bottom. When someone clicks on it they get a very intimidating message from Amazon that says "Please confirm that you wish to add this item to your cart." The customer is given a second link that says "No thanks! Please return me to Amazon.com." 19 out of 20 customers will bail no matter how much they were interested in the product. To make matters worse, Amazon erases the record of an affiliate link click. Even if the customer ends up buying the product or another product in the same category, the affiliate gets zero credit because Amazon automatically deletes the cookie showing a click on the Amazon link.
When using Amazon Associates you can avoid this problem by creating links to categories of products based on a search term, not links to single products. Be aware that you will have serious problems if you use links to specific products on your website. Who wants to be told that they can't look at reviews or other information about a product before they actually add it to their cart?

Thumbnail of user hollyb185
1 review
15 helpful votes
November 14th, 2019

Amazon associated is a whole separate world from what you may be used to with Amazon. They shut down my account for a vague reason when I started making too much money. They also locked me out of it so I will have no idea if they pay me correctly if I even see payment. The customer service for Associates is rude and condescending! Other who said they set you up to fail are right.

Thumbnail of user jasonm1992
1 review
12 helpful votes
July 27th, 2021

Amazon Associates closed my account after 2 weeks. They owe me around $460 for sales accured during that time. I have emailed them twice and used their contact form but they do not bother to respond. It's a digusting and dihonest way of conducting business but they know they can get away with treating people badly like this.

Service
Value
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Thumbnail of user bethb723
1 review
4 helpful votes
March 8th, 2022

I though my orders looked low. Amazon admitted to not paying me for orders. Claimed they were from friends and family but won't share why they think that. My link is only on my website and has NEVER been used elsewhere. None of my orders were from friends and/or family. None of them. Unethical practices.

Tip for consumers:
Don’t do it

Products used:
Associates program

Service
Value
Shipping
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Thumbnail of user joet969
2 reviews
9 helpful votes
September 29th, 2022

One sided program that takes advantage of users who help sell products. Amazon Associate program is designed to milk your work and then add fees to avoid payment. Fall short of their demands and all your work is lost while they continue to take advantage of your sales.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
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Thumbnail of user juany23
1 review
8 helpful votes
December 15th, 2020

I referred someone to order products that I've used from Amazon. That person bought 35 items in one month and I received 0 commission. I was told that my referrals were ineligible for earnings. I was unable to dispute and they would give me no direct answer as to why the decision was made.

Thumbnail of user samanthag2
5 reviews
25 helpful votes
July 10th, 2010

Amazon hardly makes it worth your while to affiliate with them. They're incredibly cheap about commissions and hold your funds for quite awhile. On the plus side, they make doing affiliate business very easy and their banners, links, etc. are easy for a novice.

Thumbnail of user ashleyd122
7 reviews
50 helpful votes
April 5th, 2020

I had been an affiliate with Amazon for YEARS from early on when I started blogging. I always followed their guidelines and reached out whenever I had questions. About a year ago (give or take at this point) I received a notice from Amazon that I was removed from their affiliate program for "violating their guidelines" and to correct the issues to avoid the account closure, but it was not clear nor did it state exactly WHY or WHAT I did. I responded and asked for an explanation several times and NEVER received a response back. About a month later, after NO response from them (via both responding to the email and contacting them through the contact form on the Amazon associates dashboard, I got the official notice of the closure to my affiliate account. Again, no clear explanation.

To my knowledge, I never actually violated their terms. I always left the disclosures, etc. If I did actually violate their terms, as they claim, why would they never respond to my reply? It comes across as a complete setup to get free advertising then using a false claim to not have to pay people. I've heard of this happening to quite a few others as well. Amazon has proven over the years to be a dishonest company and clearly doesn't treat it's employees nor affiliates well. Everyone is just another number to them.

Thumbnail of user ss859
1 review
2 helpful votes
November 2nd, 2021

They will make a claim that the associate made a purchase, all to not pay the associate. I have closed my account with them and will not be looking back!

Thumbnail of user josephr483
3 reviews
12 helpful votes
June 18th, 2019

They canceled 2 of my accounts for no reason. One with $1000 on it in commission. The other only $5 bucks. However money the second time is nothing. I had to create everything, by my self took over 6 months. Redo my other links for the new account. Out of nowhere cancelled my account and would help. Just said final. I want to complain to there boss. And to Jeff. I personally hate Amazon now. And will stop using them as much

Thumbnail of user nn226
1 review
16 helpful votes
February 25th, 2020

I never leave a bad review but affiliates doing storefronts for amazon get absolutely nothing paid out... everything is categorized as someone who has a personal connection to you places an order.

Either a friend, family, or personal but they never state how this assumption is made how on earth can you tell if someone is a friend or stranger... because clearly they will be following you at some point to be able to see your website link even though they are not your friends... horrible service and program and they never state how they make their decisions so be ware that anyone will be considered a friend.

Thumbnail of user mikel1473
1 review
5 helpful votes
April 18th, 2021

Amazon associates use to be a great company to promote products and receive a FAIR commission. Now it's peanuts and not worth it. Do not waste your time creating content and promoting their products. Not worth it at all. We went from generating $40,000 a year to generated $5,000.

Thumbnail of user marceloa35
1 review
5 helpful votes
December 18th, 2020

It's one of the worst service from Amazon India regarding the payment.
When it comes for payment no-one will respond to your email.
Once you close the account you will get a mail.
You keep on opening new Account once your commission go up they will close your account and again you will get the same email to reapply.
Below is a line of a mail from Amazon. Till date no payment is confirmed from Amazon

What's Next? You will be paid for any outstanding fees accrued prior to this notice. You're welcome to reapply once our programme requirements are met by submitting another application here: Amazon Affiliate Programme For more information please refer to these resources: Operating Agreement, Affiliate Programme Policies, Affiliates Help Thank you for your interest. Amazon.in.

Thumbnail of user kevinb7
36 reviews
206 helpful votes
December 9th, 2010

Amazon own a swarm of traffic with the busiest intersections, they probably have the largest inventory online boasting a stupid number of products, a stupid number. Sales and their threshold on the market is an iron fist, their prices and range alone do this as well as brand awareness, So to have an affiliate programme offering very little is understandable, it does make a nice training ground for new comers.

Where i can't help but give them an evil grin, the affiliate tools and options? In my opinion are designed to fail, their cookie policy is a slap in the face, visually? There isn't a lot freedom as to what you can do? How you choose to integrate amazon with your site? If i came across a site with an amazon link and maybe had something i thought was interesting i'd go straight to amazon by passing there affiliate link simply cause it's straight ugly I did however discover amazon through no doubt an affiliate but i never bought anything, in my experience i found no way at all to integrate them into my sites as the tools are limiting at least with google ads you are able to customise them completely, at best a square banner that was high res and clear from amazon maybe maybe i'd use it. So yeah my guess is the affiliate programme is indeed set to fail pushing more and more consumers to visit direct.

Thirdly merchants are or can be unreliable so if you are with amazon be sure to check merchant outlets, make sure there direct outlets not third party shipping, but thats a whole new conversation

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