Forum Moderators: skibum
Direct payments can only be made to US affiliates, everyone else is stuck with cheque payments, though Amazon is waiving the $8 fee for addiliates in countries who cannot use direct transfer.
Though it wasnt mentioned however, I guess the S100 min still applies. This will by a nice financial bonanza for Amazon who never need to pay out to new affilates who never make the S100 threshold. To get $99, those affiliates would have already sent 1,000's of unique users, and up to $2,000 or more of revenue. But unless you get another bucks worth, Amazon will keep it all to themselves.
Even more astounding, the new system begins in q4 THIS year, so affiliates have been selling for the whole quarter in the belief that they will receive a cheque at the end, but 3 weeks before payment time, Amazon suddenly announces that many, many sites will not be receiving any cheque at all.
Is this part of a trend of affilate marketing dying for small sites or for those who just use it on the side, rather than in 100% affiliate sites?
And is this part of a trend of web amazons like Ls and amazon and (?) treating their partners and customers like morons?
the minimum for cheques will be $100
but for the new direct deposit system it will actually be lowered to $10
this applies only to US based affiliates
BUT
All countries in the world except for one have no option than to continue with cheques and accept the $100 min...
...unless i read it wrong or the fine print actually included a benefit rather than a penalty! This is while we have all been working our bottoms off expecting to get a cheque in the new year (at least those in non-US countries and with less than $100 in revenue.) They will have to wait another quarter to make it to a S100. My bet is a lot of small mom and pops will forget they even have an account, or give up out of boredom!
Basically the rules were changed while the race was being run.
Sound familiar?
(this is not a rant; just an observation)
of course you need a bank account to receive direct deposits, but assuming you have one its a much better deal.
if you are not US based it looks like a worse deal as the threshold has been raised, but at least there is no charge.
I would hazard a guess that this group is Amazon's less profitable market segment.
It looks like they are willing to sacrifice this group for larger US affiliates.
Good strategy? Dunno.
it's a shame they didn't just apply the new structure to US affiliates.
Maybe I miss the point, but I can't see any benefit in being in a program that would pay me less than $33 a month...
Nick
At least they warned me in time, I was getting ready to convert a lot of links from BN to Amazon - my winter project. Saves me a lot of trouble to just stick with BN and be done with it. :)
1. My point is that people will start off being an associate, try hard for a while, and then give up, and maybe take the links off, therefore never recieving a payment. Rather than just gaining up to $ 25 from the quitters, Amazon now makes up to S 100. IId lve to see the figures on how mant associates sell a few or maybe even 90 bcks worth, and then give up when they realise it isny working for them. I reckon there are 1,000's of these people. Add it all up and its a great windfall for amazon.
2. To many people in overseas countries, S100 is a major amount of money (and buys me around 200 dinners of special fried rice - keeping me fed for half a year!) Add a few more affiliate agreements and a website owner from a low currency country can make a good living.
As you say, YOU dont see the worth of a program that dosent pay YOU 33 a month. To me I do. Don't forget that the world does not start or end in your backyard or in the US or UK. To you $ 100 is nothing obviously - to a guy from Delhi it may well pay the rent for a year - to a pensioner it is a large amount, and to a student it will buy quite a few text books.
I do think that Amazon has really achieved the main objective of any affiliate program - brand recognition - years ago. And now does not need those thousands of links from everywhwere, from many sites that prbably dont even sell one book. This probably does make sense, but may cause some bad PR.
[edited by: chiyo at 6:28 pm (utc) on Dec. 11, 2002]
Good points though...
Nick
Being in the US, this works better for me than the previous arrangement.
This isn't correct really. I'm from India. $100 in Delhi is at best a month's rent.
Last time I visited my UK bank with a $ check, they wanted $30 for the pleasure and 3 weeks to clear it.
