I was wondering... is it okay if I buy things using my own amazon affiliate link? Would I get credited the 10% of the purchase? Like say I buy 5 video games from myself at $50 each for a total of $250, would I get 10% (25 dollars) back?
I did this accidently and then asked them about it and they told me not to. However their letter was like a standard, don't do this cause it's not good for us etc when I was really just trying to tell them so they don't ban me.
It may be against thier rules, I never really thought about it actually, but I have purchased through my own link since I've had it- and I buy frequently. It seems to me just to make sense really. If you have a sell milk at your store are you going to go to someone else's market to purchase milk? Nothing has ever came of my buying through my own link. I do see both sides of the coin though
What is the other side of the coin here though? I just don't agree. Owning a store does not mean you can't be an affiliate for your self. If this was the case then CEO/Owners would not have salary's. I am so bummed about this. I hope I don't get banned but I honestly had no idea this would ever be against the rules because quite frankly it doe snot make any sense what soever and the stance of other programs that ALLOW this makes me feel like I am not so crazy after all.
If the affiliate program says it is against the rules, then you should not do it. People who break these rules devalue the affiliate program and increase the costs of operating it. The ones that pay are those affiliates that are following the rules.
Define value. Because if you make a purchase then it does in fact means the advertising worked even if it was for yourself. I really can't see the "de value" in a program if the links sell regardless of who buys them you know what I mean? In my case I really ahd no idea that it was in the TOS because it just doesn't make a whole bunch of sense to me. Basically Amazon is saying we don't want your money if your an affiliate. Because they don't want o shell out a %. ON that note I do see what you mean by getting the discount when it is not really warranted. But again why do *most* companies not frown upon it and then others are completely against it? Must be different business practices I would imagine.
Most merchants do not mind if you purchase via your links as long as you do legitimate business with no intention of defrauding/seeking refunds or other tricks to pocket commission but give no business to the merchant. Commissions to affiliates is really the cost of advertising. No one I know in the business would ever complain if their affiliates or affiliate's relatives and friends used affiliate links to buy products for their own use.
Amazon seems to be the only one had a lengthy conversion with a few others and every one encouraged me to do so. Unreal.
I read about this not being allowed when I was looking into an astore and webstore the other night. I sell stamps and labels for another company and purchase from myself all the time. But, on the other hand, I use Google to search all day long but am not allowed to use the Google search bar on my own site. I think I should be able to earn a commission on both the Amazon sales that I order through my own store AND get the kickbacks from Google for searching. Mostly because I put the effort into installing all this stuff to make a little extra money. The other option, which I did share with a friend one time, use eachother's sites to purchase from or search from. We both make a commission that way. I thought it was a good idea, but never did see their participation so I quit. It would work though. KeyzerSoze - good to see you again
The reason Amazon has this in place is because frequent shoppers would register affiliate accounts and regularly take 4-7 percent off their monthly purchases among other reasons.
I have admittedly purchased from my own affiliate link before, while it is against the TOS I would consider it more a 'perk' of the job, rather like getting the odd free pen frmo work. If you abuse it and are obviously buying large amounts from your own website of course you will get banned.
Yes. Amazon will pay me if I buy through my affiliate link but that is one reason I buy from their website. I get some discount from them..
I accidently purchased something for my mother 2 nights ago and noticed i got $2 for it. scale & cd. didn't realize i did it either. The tracking cookie must've been on my system when i purchased it. I'd advise don't do it but if you do it by accident, don't do it again. Haven't gotten anything from them regarding an email but wouldn't surprise me if i did.
probally the same for all such affiliates, why risk it, if you wanted to do it, then use a bogus name or your wifes etc, then you still save a few $$