No Cell Phone Commissions on Amazon.com, Bleh
By Eric Nagel • January 29, 2008
Looking through my Amazon Associates stats today, I noticed I sold a Sony Ericsson W580i with AT&T Nation 450 Rollover Minutes. The phone itself is only $0.01 with a 2-year contract (new or extension). The service is as follows:
AT&T Nation 450 Rollover Minutes
(Monthly service charge of $39.99 billed by Cingular)
AT&T 2-year Contract (One-time activation fees apply: first new line of service, $36; each new additional line, $26; contract extension, $18.)
(No Charge: Included with Cingular’s Monthly Rate Plan)
Regulatory Fee
(Monthly service charge of $1.25 billed by Cingular)
So while I earned commission on $0.01, the user will end up paying:
$0.01
+ $479.88 ($39.99 * 24)
+ $36 (assuming new contract)
+ $30 ($1.25 * 24)
—————
$545.89
At 4%, that should be a $21.84 commission. Instead, I earned $0.00. No wonder I don’t like working with Amazon.
Editor’s Note: This post guest written by Eric Nagel. Disclaimer: his Amazon affiliate link is used on that cell phone link above — not that he’ll make any money off it, but it should be fully disclosed 
Comments
3 Responses to “No Cell Phone Commissions on Amazon.com, Bleh”
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You will end up paying them money :)) with this type of products…
Amazon is the work affiliate program in history. End story. Session cookies only (are you kidding me?) and horrible payouts. But they’re “trusted” and have a big selection, so people use them.
Oh, I also like the fact that they charge you $30 if your account lies dormant for too long. Awesome!
Sadly, there are quite a few exceptions to Amazon’s affiliate program. That’s worth watching closely before pimping their products.