Amazon Cut Us Off Today!

Amazon Associate, Read-Up Before Choosing Which Links to Use

This is the first time that we are not writing about a fitness topic since starting our website. So, if you are an Amazon Associate, please be careful to choose the correct advertising method for your site. And, if you are a new site, please wait before trying their API. It will save you lots of time if you get established. I know, it’s tempting to use the API, but trust us and ready on…

Our Amazon Associate story…

Here’s the thing… As you know, we sell Amazon products to help offset the cost of our website. And although we have hundreds of clicks, we have had few purchases. We are stubborn though, and won’t give up until this is the most convenient and trusted site you know for purchasing your fitness products, or any product from Amazon. We know that even finding products on the internet can be time-consuming and we want to help with that.

And I always buy my fitness products from Amazon (I absolutely love my Ab-Carver Pro, Fitbit and workout clothes), but my purchases are excluded from qualified for advertising fees. Amazon said they ‘are not a discount house’ for an Amazon Associate. Hey, I get that. Although, I do feel that most companies give employees discounts when they buy their products, because they are working for them.

Technically, we are working for Amazon when we try to sell their products. And, I have always tried my best to be a fair person and would think they would at least count towards the activity on our site (heavy sigh), not so we get paid, but at this point, we just don’t want to be cut off from using their Amazon Associate API…

So… Amazon said that we’re cut off (see email below) because we haven’t had three (3) sales within their timeline (now it is 3 months). Ok Amazon, we get it!  Tell us something we didn’t know! But, they said, we can reapply after getting consistent traffic. But we love our readers and appreciate every view and cherish the time you spend with us!

We work hard to keep our readers interested in a lifetime commitment to fitness. And we only show Amazon product links that help you attain your fitness goals, and, of course, clothes that make you look good while doing it…

We Read This About Our Amazon Associate Account and It Ruined Our Weekend…

Ok, Will Amazon Please Tell Me Something I Didn’t Know!

Do they think that we wouldn’t love to sell products? Shouldn’t a company as large as Amazon help a small business who is trying to help them in return? What they also do (not sure what I think of this – do you have thoughts on it?) is use the information when customers click on a link to show ‘recently visited’ items to you again. You may even receive an email if you logged into your Amazon account. We don’t receive advertising fees for that, or get credit toward our three (3) items. So, even with hundreds of clicks, Amazon can still cut us off.

What I don’t understand is – what would it cost Amazon to keep a website active? So they are getting free advertising and then they cut us off… I don’t think that’s right… Do you? What do you think we should do? There are hundreds of links that we recently changed for Canada and now the UK has to be changed too.  I would rather we put our efforts into researching the latest fitness trends.

A Further Explanation

So, let me show you what I’m talking about. We find products on Amazon, they have a great API which creates the links. And you choose the countries you want to sell to and apply for an Affiliate ID. That ID is put on each link by their API. We select the products and you know from shopping online, this can take hours to find the right item. Especially when you find a great product but then you cannot find it in another country. Knowing that our native language may refer to something different, you look up what they call leggings in Italy, Spain, Canada, United Kingdom, France, and Germany and the terms are just a little different so you check translations to see if you missed something. So you see, it’s not for lack of trying…

It looks like this online:

[amazon_link asins=’B075YR6111,B07FNQ46GV,B07FMJBWV5,B06WD21ZHN|B07C4W7QRD,B07BM5BQ54,B07FKCN74J,B071FQYF83|B079GWFNPL,B077J2XM6L,B07B4F41J7,B077J2S34Y|B07B6LR6DS,B0786TJ6DF,B077HV5372,B07D1MLYCK|B074M8PS9P,B078THR3GW,B078ZVDYKZ,B07GBYFYZJ|B07GN9WMGF,B07F5SVQF7,B07F43BW94,B07FHYWY89|B07BPZB8N7,B076V8XLM8,B078XFLD1P,B078ZW9XW3′ template=’ProductGrid’ store=’nnn-20|nnn-21|nnn-20|p0nnn-21|nnn21|nnn-21|nnn-21′ marketplace=’US|UK|CA|FR|IT|ES|DE’ link_id=’4790db67-a5b1-11e8-9f1d-753896e09a02′]

[amazon_link asins=’B078W1R8TR|B07DRBNHJW|B075XCSLQ9|B078VZQ7LP|B078VZQ7LP|B07BCCX1N3|B078W3429D’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’p03977-20|p0397703-21|p0397703000a-20|p0397700-21|p0397704-21|p039770a-21|p039770d-21′ marketplace=’US|UK|CA|FR|IT|ES|DE’ link_id=’3232d4db-a670-11e8-8932-7955d373f168′]

What Amazon is proposing is that we check each post and change the link’s manually (there is no Change-All button on WP). We did this for Canada’s links once before, but we were just getting starting with the API method so although it deviated from our goals, we may have missed a post so it wasn’t too terrible. But at this stage, this is awful! Just look at all the links in our Bookstore alone!!

Before the API, we downloaded each picture and attached a link. Then I found that the links were only good in the United States. What! Well, that wasn’t good at all – but I realized why with the exchange rates and different currency’s, we felt it was in the best interest of our customers. So, we signed up for the different countries we listed on our side-bar and went to work. We’ve had fun and found some products we really like (I’ve gotten some of the activewear and love it!), but thought that we were past the issues with Amazon.

Look familiar?

Stick with Amazon?

Of Course we will! Our goal is to help people get and stay active and healthy. We believe Amazon has great prices which means you can buy more, and we know firsthand about their great customer service, especially on big-ticket items. So, for us, offering you, our loyal readers, the convenience of great products and shopping online to save you time, is a no-brainer. Whether we get advertising fees or not, we’ll still offer you their great prices because you deserve it.

And in the meantime, all our links are valid and will still bring you to Amazon to buy now. And we will apply for an affiliate status again and correct all our links as time allows. Enjoy your products, have fun shopping online, then enjoy the benefits that come with using your new products to stay active and health through exercise and good nutrition!

And if you like to read, try our bookstore – where each month we look for 3 books that you might find interesting and helpful. Always stay active and always keep learning!

Advice?

Also, if anyone has advice or words of wisdom on the best way to set up Amazon accounts, we’d love to hear from you. And we appreciate any help you can give us.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  Wishing you the Best of Health!