Amazon prices

12 years ago

I think you need to copy the amazon offers right off their website, well, that's how they work right?

You can't set your own price for someone else's product.

Thanks
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matt5409

12 years ago

Originally Posted by daangertenaar

I think you need to copy the amazon offers right off their website, well, that's how they work right?

You can't set your own price for someone else's product.

i do copy them, is this what that statement means?

Thanks

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daangertenaar

12 years ago

As far as I can understand this is what they mean

, because they serve the link and they show the availability and price of that product.

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matt5409

12 years ago

little bit cryptic isn't it... i'm going to email them to make sure. thanks!

Thanks

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matt5409

12 years ago

anybody else? i need to figure this out as quickly as possible really, i know there's a good few amazon affiliates out there - how do you guys handles prices?!

Thanks

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daangertenaar

12 years ago

Well, actually I translated it literally to Dutch (in my head) and what I said makes most sense

. I'm sure for 95% but you can verify it, this might be a lesson for me as well.

Thanks
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traceye 12 years ago

Because Amazon prices change quite often due to sales etc, often the price that you have on your website is different than the one that Amazon is currently selling it for that day.

Therefore, unless you plan on updating it everyday, they don't want you to include a price because very likely it might be wrong which would give the customer a bad experience.

Instead you can say something like, 'this product usually retails for $50, but very often Amazon has sales on it, check here for the latest price'. Or something like that because it's not misleading.

I don't include prices in my reviews at all although sometimes I will give a guide.
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Sojourn

12 years ago

Matt - My interpretation (and that's all it is) of this particular Amazon TOS is that you can only show the Amazon price IF the price information is being served by Amazon (coming from Amazon's server directly) and not from you having copied and pasted it into your site or manually typed it into your site.

My assumption is that Amazon wants to control the price that shows up on any website advertising their products so that they can ensure the best, most accurate information is being displayed. If you copy and paste it into your site and don't keep it updated and the price subsequently changes, those who click over from your site might be in for a surprise and it won't always be a good one. I've actually seen prices increase on a single product by as much as 30% depending on available volume and listing seller.

If you use their banner, ads, widgets, etc, and copy the complete code they give you, then Amazon is serving the price and you're good to go. If, however, you format your own text or image links, you should not include the price as Amazon can't update that info when the price changes.

I try to use this to my advantage, since I don't use the banners and widgets or the API. I'll ask the visitor to "click here" to see today's price or to see the lowest price, etc. They're more likely to click out of curiosity.

Hope that helps, although, getting clarification from Amazon directly would be your best source of information.

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JohnMcCabe

12 years ago

Originally Posted by matt5409

Hi everyone

I just saw in another thread something about Amazon prices on affiliate sites. I wondered if anybody could help me out here, as I have looked at their terms and don't really understand what it is saying:

your site may only show prices and availability if: (a) we serve the link in which that price and availability data are displayed;

now I don't use any API's or anything I simply copy the price off the site (the full price, even if it's in the sale). but what does the above statement mean? Am I doing wrong by including the price and linking to the product? any help on this ASAP would be massively appreciated as I have 3 sites all showing prices!

Thanks in advance

Matt, it means going into the Associates area and using their page to create your links. Take the standard link - you have a choice of plain text, picture only or mixed. The mixed link will have a small photo, the name of the item, and the current prices pulled in real time from Amazon's database.

If you are copying the list price, you may be okay. I see you intend to email them, which is a sound move.

However, Amazon changes their sale prices regularly and often, so any Amazon sell price you post could be outdated. As another poster put it, you are not allowed to set Amazon's selling prices for them.

If you don't want to use Amazon's link builder or the API, the simple solution is to not show prices. You've gotten some good alternatives on both this thread and the one you referenced in your OP.

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matt5409

12 years ago

Many thanks to all - I hardcoded the prices in, using their RRP prices (not the sale prices as I'm aware these change frequently).

I now need to go through all my products on all my sites and remove the pricing to avoid ambiguity and at worst, being banned from the programme. Thanks all, checking out...!

Thanks

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Matt Ward

12 years ago

Does there exist a WordPress plugin that will pull just the item prices from the Amazon site to be used in whichever way we want?

If not, I'll maybe get around to making something like that when I feel like it. Would be very useful.

Thanks

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seasoned

12 years ago

Originally Posted by matt5409

Hi everyone

I just saw in another thread something about Amazon prices on affiliate sites. I wondered if anybody could help me out here, as I have looked at their terms and don't really understand what it is saying:

your site may only show prices and availability if: (a) we serve the link in which that price and availability data are displayed;

now I don't use any API's or anything I simply copy the price off the site (the full price, even if it's in the sale). but what does the above statement mean? Am I doing wrong by including the price and linking to the product? any help on this ASAP would be massively appreciated as I have 3 sites all showing prices!

Thanks in advance

It's impossible to manually copy the exact current details off their site. Sooner or later, that WILL change. Technically, you are supposed to honor the listed price. Many such ads have a disclaimer saying that they are NOT responsible for such things. Your lack of care makes AMAZON look bad, and they just don't want to deal with it.

Basically, they are telling you NOT to list prices and availability, but it is OK if that comes from their site near the INSTANT that the visitor vists your site.

BTW even REGULAR prices can change frequently. And Amazon has NO real control over the USED price. THAT could vary every day.

Steve

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matt5409

12 years ago

*bump* please see original post for further details from amazon

Thanks
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jeffczyz

12 years ago

I'll throw in my 2 cents that has worked for me regarding showing prices.... I don't.

Instead, I create a button or text at the bottom that states something like

"This product may qualify for a discount, click here for details"

This has worked well for me without issue. I never use the words buy, claim, get etc on my sites. I'd rather have the reader investigate on their own by clicking the link. Of course the link goes to the product page and 99% of the time Amazon has a list price and a you save or discounted price so my statement is congruent with what is on the Amazon site.

Jeff

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matt5409

12 years ago

Originally Posted by jeffczyz

I'll throw in my 2 cents that has worked for me regarding showing prices.... I don't.

Instead, I create a button or text at the bottom that states something like

"This product may qualify for a discount, click here for details"

This has worked well for me without issue. I never use the words buy, claim, get etc on my sites. I'd rather have the reader investigate on their own by clicking the link. Of course the link goes to the product page and 99% of the time Amazon has a list price and a you save or discounted price so my statement is congruent with what is on the Amazon site.

Jeff

good tip there jeff, thanks!

Thanks

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Amazon prices

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