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Amazon declined me! Now what?

by Arran82
15 replies
Basically Ive been making a celebrity site, it's an authority site to go along with the 10-11 micro-niche sites im doing and one of my main ways of monetizing the site was to link products from that celebrity to amazon.

Lets say the celebrity is.....Christina Aguilera. I would link to her CD's calenders, whatever. Its an authority site in the making...only about 40 pages now but increasing as fast as i can.

Anyway I try to join amazon yesterday so I could link to their products and make some sales that way...I get an email back saying they are refusing me as the site has nudity on it!!!!!!! It does admittedly, its not hardcore porn or anything, its in no way an 'adult site' but it does have some photos from 'glamour magazines' and 'lads mags' that are partial nudity I guess.

My question is...what the hell do I do now? I based my entire site around linking it through to amazon products, im considering sending a reply stating....''hold on, you sell porn left, right and centre, how can you possible penalise me for it when you do it?''....but im guessing i'll get nowhere...so any ideas?
#amazon #declined
  • Profile picture of the author jkibbles
    You aren't going to win against Amazon by arguing with them. Best advice is to remove the nudity and try again.
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  • Profile picture of the author jamesrich1
    I thought to myself while reading this... Its a simple fix, remove the nudity and re-submit your site. Its a no brainer.
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    • Profile picture of the author whland
      Originally Posted by jamesrich1 View Post

      I thought to myself while reading this... Its a simple fix, remove the nudity and re-submit your site. Its a no brainer.
      Agreed. That sounds like the best way. If you still want to use amazon affiliates. Your not gonna win the argument with amazon.

      Chad
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  • Profile picture of the author velvetadvert
    The whole situation seems quite awful... But all I can say, don't argue with them. You won't win. If your site was built to work with Amazon, just remove those pics...
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Dybka
    Originally Posted by Arran82 View Post

    Basically Ive been making a celebrity site, it's an authority site to go along with the 10-11 micro-niche sites im doing and one of my main ways of monetizing the site was to link products from that celebrity to amazon.

    Lets say the celebrity is.....Christina Aguilera. I would link to her CD's calenders, whatever. Its an authority site in the making...only about 40 pages now but increasing as fast as i can.

    Anyway I try to join amazon yesterday so I could link to their products and make some sales that way...I get an email back saying they are refusing me as the site has nudity on it!!!!!!! It does admittedly, its not hardcore porn or anything, its in no way an 'adult site' but it does have some photos from 'glamour magazines' and 'lads mags' that are partial nudity I guess.

    My question is...what the hell do I do now? I based my entire site around linking it through to amazon products, im considering sending a reply stating....''hold on, you sell porn left, right and centre, how can you possible penalise me for it when you do it?''....but im guessing i'll get nowhere...so any ideas?
    Look at section 2 in their operating agreement

    "To begin the enrollment process, you must submit a complete and accurate Program application. You must identify your site in your application. We will evaluate your application and notify you of its acceptance or rejection. We may reject your application if we determine that your site is unsuitable. Unsuitable sites include those that: (a) promote or contain sexually explicit materials;
    (b) promote violence or contain violent materials;
    (c) promote or contain libelous or defamatory materials;
    (d) promote discrimination, or employ discriminatory practices, based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age;
    (e) promote or undertake illegal activities;
    (f) include any trademark of Amazon or its affiliates, or a variant or misspelling of a trademark of Amazon or its affiliates, in any domain name, subdomain name, or in any username, group name, or other identifier on any social networking site (see the Trademark Guidelines for examples); or
    (g) otherwise violate intellectual property rights.
    If we reject your application, you are welcome to reapply at any time. However, if we accept your application and we later determine that your site is unsuitable, we may terminate this Operating Agreement.
    You will ensure that the information in your Program application and otherwise associated with your account, including your email address and other contact information and identification of your site, is at all times complete, accurate, and up-to-date. We may send notifications (if any), approvals (if any), and other communications relating to the Program and this Operating Agreement to the email address then-currently associated with your Program account. You will be deemed to have received all notifications, approvals, and other communications sent to that email address, even if the email address associated with your account is no longer current.
    In addition, if at any time following your enrollment in the Program you become a resident of Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Rhode Island, or Connecticut, you will become ineligible to participate in the Program, and this Operating Agreement will automatically terminate, on the date you establish residency in that state. In addition, you must promptly notify us in writing of your Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Rhode Island, or Connecticut residency, which you may do via the Contact Associates Customer Service form available here.
    ent"

    If you want to get accepted into Amazon or any other affiliate program you will need to respect their terms,otherwise you will just end up having problems in the future with them.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author jonj31070
    I agree with everyone else. Remove the nudity and resubmit the site. They should accept it then. Otherwise I feel that you are out of luck with Amazon.
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  • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
    "Sexually explicit" is not by any stretch the same as nudity.

    Here is a link to an Amazon book with full nudity on the front cover:

    My Nude (Photography): Stern View: 9783832792152:...My Nude (Photography): Stern View: 9783832792152:...
    No one has seen the OP's site, but I would create another site for submission, or remove the nudity if Amazon is that important to have as a partner, or seek managerial review of the site and reason for denial.

    Ironically: if you are an Amazon affiliate promoting the above book then Amazon may be displaying nudity on your website when the product picture is displayed. I would use that as an example and seek a re-review.

    .
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Dybka
      Originally Posted by kindsvater View Post

      "Sexually explicit" is not by any stretch the same as nudity.

      Here is a link to an Amazon book with full nudity on the front cover:

      My Nude (Photography): Stern View: 9783832792152: Amazon.com: Books

      No one has seen the OP's site, but I would create another site for submission, or remove the nudity if Amazon is that important to have as a partner, or seek managerial review of the site and reason for denial.

      Ironically: if you are an Amazon affiliate promoting the above book then Amazon may be displaying nudity on your website when the product picture is displayed. I would use that as an example and seek a re-review.

      .
      Very good point,seems Amazon allows sellers to sell it but affiliates not to promote it. It's hard to win sometimes.

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author Chris Lockwood
        Originally Posted by Steven Dybka View Post

        Very good point,seems Amazon allows sellers to sell it but affiliates not to promote it. It's hard to win sometimes.

        Steve
        Not true- I went into my affiliate account and was able to get an aff link for that.
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  • Profile picture of the author BeautifulWebsites
    Simply remove anything that has sexual type photos, it is not necessary to use this tactic in sales.
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  • Profile picture of the author techbul
    I don't think you actually have any other option than to do what you are told.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Arran82 View Post

    it does have some photos from 'glamour magazines' and 'lads mags'
    Just a question (for yourself - no answer needed/expected!), Arran, but do you own the copyrights or have written permission to reproduce each photo on a website? You appreciate that you'd be living on borrowed time and under risk of lawsuits, as well as DMCA notices served on your host, without that? http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post7037361
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  • Profile picture of the author JabMonkey
    Amazon are such hypocrites! They sell softcore porn, and being that Amazon is the biggest online seller in the world, it makes them one of the biggest porn promoters and distributors in the world.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by jkibbles View Post

      You aren't going to win against Amazon by arguing with them. Best advice is to remove the nudity and try again.
      Given the sheer volume of searches for phrases like '[celeb name] nude', removing the questionable photos might remove the major appeal of the site.

      Originally Posted by kindsvater View Post

      "Sexually explicit" is not by any stretch the same as nudity.

      Here is a link to an Amazon book with full nudity on the front cover:
      Ah, but there is a big difference between an art book and the "upskirt, nip slip" type photos most celebrity sites offer. Those paparazzi photos are purely for titillation (pardon the expression).

      Even the Meese committee back in the seventies couldn't define porn. One Supreme Court justice supposedly quipped, "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it." Another supposedly said, "if I admire it, it's art; if it turns me on, it's porn."
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  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    Amazon is like the evil empire now lol.

    Once they disapprove, you can't do anything to "sneak" in.

    You have to oblige to their request.
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