With Amazon.com announcing a new compensation plan recently, it has produced a flurry of outrage that is being expressed through postings all over the web.
Many of those who rely heavily upon the Amazon Associates' affiliate program were extremely unhappy with the new plan that was unveiled. The new plan that was announced through an e-mail, says that the new plan will include a flat-rate commission and will do away with their popular link bonuses.
Ecommerce guide said "The Amazon Associates program currently allows affiliates to build links to Amazon content and merchandise with an embedded affiliate tracking code. When a user actually buys something from Amazon, the affiliate gets a percentage ranging from 4 percent all the way up to 10 percent. Affiliate links can be built via Amazon Associates online tools or via Amazon's E-commerce Service, which allows affiliates to build their own virtual store.
"According to the new referral structure, affiliates using the "Performance Structure" compensation plan will receive between .75 percent and one percent more in commissions. This applies to 21 or more total items shipped in a quarter. Affiliates earning commissions on 20 or fewer items shipped in a quarter will actually receive a smaller commission - four percent instead of the old five percent. Associates will now also earn a flat four percent commission on consumer electronics items. Electronics currently follow the tiered compensation schedule."
Some of the posts that have been made have said that under the new compensation model they could lose between 15% to 20% on the same merchandise they sold last year.
A lot of anger has been directed at the e-mail that Amazon sent as it said that "Using your feedback and suggestions, we simplified the Performance fee structure and made it easier for you to make more money!"
This comment set off some fury as it is believed that the statement made is false and that the comment that it was the affiliates "feedback and suggestions" that was the motivator behind the change. Some went so far as to call it an outright deception.
Another complaint was the fact that Amazon sent it out only two days before the change was to occur, and a number of affiliates had spent a lot of time setting up the links that were no longer going to be part of the program.
Overall this is a good lesson in how not to do treat your partners.
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