Amazon Associates Study: 66% Loss in Profits since the Commission Change on March 1 2017:

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I originally created and published this post on my super secret squirrel blog, but decided it would be a good fit for my favorite sub-Reddit as well:Truth be told, I actually hate the fact that I have to pen this article, because I really do love Amazon as a company, and use them a whole hell of a lot… but the truth must be told.So, for any of you out there living under a rock, Amazon has an affiliate program, which for so long, was the number one choice for most bloggers and website owners out there.I’ve personally been using the program for so long, that I remember the glory days of a 30 day cookie, and commission percentage increases that actually applied to your account indefinitely if I remember correctly… or did it reset after a year?I can’t remember if it was indefinite, or reset after a year, but my point is, when Amazon switched it to a monthly reset, well… I’m sure that really hurt and upset some peeps across the board, but at that time, I really wasn’t making enough to really care.Then the 30 day cookie change to just a measly 24 hour scandal hit, and that one I can assure you… I remember all too well.The question everyone was asking was: How the hell am I supposed to convert all these clicks into sales within a 24 hour period?Well, we still managed to do it, but I must say… there were many a days where I would daydream about how much money I was most likely losing, when ole Dick or Jane decided to buy their items the next day instead.Alright, enough living in the past, and reminiscing about the glory days as an Amazon Associate. Now it’s time to step into the painful present, and discuss Amazon’s latest tampering with their now fallen from grace affiliate program.Below, is a chart for February of 2017, and if you notice, I started it on the 4th instead of the 1st, which is a Saturday by the way. The reason for this, is because in March, for the first few days, I was still receiving sales commissions based off of the old model.Click here to View my Chart for February of 2017By doing this, I would make the analysis more accurate, and decided that a 7 day sample size was good enough for the study. Some of course would argue, that I should have waited to do this study with an entire months worth of data.I’d say you were right, but come on… these numbers show the true nature of things to come, so why wait until the end of the month? I will in fact, update the article, if enough people request it, but I’m sure you got your own analytic charts to cry over.Alright, so now I’m going to show you my analytic chart for March of 2017, and remember, this is just a 7 day sample, but they both start on the same day, and day of the week, which again, is a Saturday. This makes it as accurate as possible for a seven day study.Click here to View my Chart for March of 2017Yep, I know what you’re thinking… well that fucking sucks right?Oh, and that it does my friend… that it does, but again, this is what happens when you play in other peoples playgrounds. They are the gatekeepers, and they hold old the keys my friend. If you didn’t understand this going in, well… you probably do now.All in all, I suffered a massive 66% drop in profits, which equated to an $88.48 loss difference, for the same 7 day period from the month before the dreaded Amazon Associates commission update.All of this totally fucking sucks!I get that, but all we can really do is carry on… or move on.I myself spent the whole first half of my adult life in the United States Marine Corps, and one of the many many lessons I’ve learned while in, was that we must always adapt and overcome… no matter the situation.This is one of those situations my friend, and let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment… does Amazon really need us Associates?Fuck no they don’t, and they know full well they don’t.Another thing they know, is that the majority of all our affiliate commissions come from people buying items that had nothing to do with what was originally pitched to them, and now Amazon is making us, make them, buy all the stuff that is hard to move.Everyone knows that higher priced items generally shell out more profits, hence the reason why Amazon has increased the commission rate for luxury goods. Everyone also knows, that those items are much harder to sell.Amazon has incentivized their Pantry program with such a high and mighty commission rate, because guess what… what’s better than having people signed up to continuously purchase and receive consumable products each month?It’s the only thing stopping Amazon from fully dominating places such as Costco and Sam’s Club at the moment, so they decided to equip their army of affiliates with the right weapons, and (high commission incentive) munitions to accomplish their mission.Well anyway, I think we’re all at a crossroads at the moment, and now we have to make a decision. Do we play Amazon’s game, and help them conquer more of the retail world … or do we move on to greener pastures?I myself am still undecided, but don’t get it twisted… I am always looking for better ways to passively monetize my different businesses and hobbies.Please sound off in the comment section if the new Amazon Associates affiliate commission changes have helped you or hurt you?Will you be moving on to something else?If so, maybe you can give us some information as to what it is you plan on doing?

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