Operating Agreement update March 2015 FAQ
What is changing?
From 1st March 2015, Amazon will launch a commission rate structure for its Amazon.co.uk affiliate marketing programme. Associates signed up to that programme will now earn a flat commission for product sold within a particular product category, regardless of how many total items an Associate refers in a month. With the new rate structure, Amazon also removes the limit of £7 fee per product. You will find these new rates in the Associates Advertising Fee section of your Operating Agreement available on your Associate Central account page. This will be amended on the 1st March 2015.
Why are we changing the commission rate structure?
We believe the new category-specific commission rate, as well as the removal of the volume-linked tiers and £7 limitation, will enable associates to make their marketing activities more targeted and to focus on specific product categories to earn higher revenue shares from the first referral on.
Is the £7 fee cap still applicable?
No, the limit of £7 fee per product will be removed.
Are the volume-linked tiers still applicable?
No, the volume-linked tiers will be removed.
How will these changes impact my pay?
Until today the rates were volume-based, starting from 5% and going up to 9%, if an associate referred more than 30,000 items per month. In addition, the maximum advertising fee was capped at £7 per item, i.e. even if an associate achieved the 9% revenue share rate based on his referred volume, the maximum fee per item was capped at £7. The removal of the cap will benefit the sale of certain high-valued products like Tablets, Smartphones and Watches. For example, Amazon will now pay a 3% revenue share on Electronics without any maximum limitation per item. In the past an associate referring an Electronics item of £500 earned a commission of £7 even when their revenue share was at 9%. With the new commission structure, the associate would now earn £15 for the same item. We believe that our shift from volume-specific to category-specific commission rates will enable us to offer more competitive fees to our associate partners, and to improve the efficiency of the marketing activities of our categories.
Will this have an impact on my links, banners or existing widgets?
The changes will apply only to the commission rates accrued via the affiliate marketing programme on Amazon.co.uk. No changes will be made to the functioning of links, banners or widgets.
And what about sales referred to other Amazon sites, like Amazon.com, Amazon.de, or Amazon.fr, ?
These changes only apply to sales referred to the Amazon UK Site.
When will this change be applicable?
The new commission rates will become effective from 1st March 2015 onwards. All transactions prior to 1st March 2015 will follow the rates previously listed.
