27 replies
Now that Amazon has pulled the plug on California-based affiliates, does anyone have any good leads for affiliate programs that sell physical products like Amazon?
#amazon
  • Profile picture of the author Rudder
    Worldwide Brands

    The owner there is Chris Malta. He offers a free E-book Starting Your Internet Business RIGHT!
    This e-book prints out to 67 pages and takes you from step A through step z.

    "THIS IS IMPORTANT: Any "Complete Internet Store Solution" that offers you both a web site AND products to sell, should be AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS!"
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    • Profile picture of the author bloomingrose
      "THIS IS IMPORTANT: Any "Complete Internet Store Solution" that offers you both a web site AND products to sell, should be AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS!"[/QUOTE]

      :confused: Why???
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    • Profile picture of the author PatrickP
      Originally Posted by Rudder View Post


      "THIS IS IMPORTANT: Any "Complete Internet Store Solution" that offers you both a web site AND products to sell, should be AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS!"
      Why should this be avoided?
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      • Profile picture of the author tpw
        Originally Posted by PatrickP View Post

        "THIS IS IMPORTANT: Any "Complete Internet Store Solution" that offers you both a web site AND products to sell, should be AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS!"

        Why should this be avoided?

        Because most companies selling those websites are the only ones making money, and they are making the money by selling the site and charging exorbitant hosting fees.

        Most of those companies will not let you move to another hosting company, even though you "own" your website.

        And most products listed in these stores are selling products at above MSRP.
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        Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
        Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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  • Profile picture of the author minmin
    There is a site called zazzle , I came across it today. I have the same problem here in NC. I haven't had much time to look at the site and it seems the products are a bit overpriced
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  • Profile picture of the author Sojourn
    So many online retailers have affiliate programs that you'll have no problem finding alternatives. In fact, I'm sure there are already similar threads on here you could find through search but make sure not to miss out on joining Linkshare so you can apply for Walmart's affiliate program.

    Target, Home Depot, Sears, and plenty of others all have affiliate programs. Type the name of a store and the word "affiliate" into Google for a down and dirty method for finding out if a particular store has an affiliate program.

    Also, Shareasale has lots of retailers who offer high commission rates, too. With some of those retailers, you can get a personal commission rate that's higher than the stated commission rate just by hitting certain targets.

    Poke around in some of those networks and you'll find options to match your existing sites and plenty of new options, as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      [DELETED]
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      • Profile picture of the author soontobefishing
        sounds like Sojourn summed it up. Amazon rocks but if you cant use em there are other retailers that have good affiliate programs. Just build like you would for an amazon review site right? sucks they pulled the plug for some states
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  • Profile picture of the author netlexis
    You might want to try Skimlinks. You do have to share 25%, but something is better than nothing. Prior to being tossed out by Amazon, I tried some of other brick and mortar retailers, but nothing really worked. Amazon has always converted the best for me. It's been two week since I installed SL and I can happily say today I finally made a sale. That may not sound impressive, but I'm really slow and behind on this, so I'm just happy. It will probably work faster for someone else.

    Oh, I forgot to add, I'm selling Amazon products through Skimlinks. All you do is add a plug-in to your site if you're using WP and then regular Amazon links. The plug-in takes care of all the rest.

    Anyway, it can't hurt to give it a try, but do you're own research first.

    Good luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rudder
      Go with World Wide Brands unless you want to give your profits to a middleman.It's better to get your product directly from a wholesaler who will work with us - the home business type's.

      Absolutely forget affiliate programs-Why would you want to support someone else's lifestyle?
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    • Profile picture of the author jerryp
      Originally Posted by netlexis View Post

      You might want to try Skimlinks. You do have to share 25%, but something is better than nothing. Prior to being tossed out by Amazon, I tried some of other brick and mortar retailers, but nothing really worked. Amazon has always converted the best for me. It's been two week since I installed SL and I can happily say today I finally made a sale. That may not sound impressive, but I'm really slow and behind on this, so I'm just happy. It will probably work faster for someone else.

      Oh, I forgot to add, I'm selling Amazon products through Skimlinks. All you do is add a plug-in to your site if you're using WP and then regular Amazon links. The plug-in takes care of all the rest.

      Anyway, it can't hurt to give it a try, but do you're own research first.

      Good luck.
      Hi Netlexis,

      I've been with Skimlinks a month and am finding hardly any sales. When I was with Amazon I was getting 3-5 sales a week and now 1 sale since I've been with Skimlinks. What's your experience?
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    • Profile picture of the author bloomingrose
      Originally Posted by netlexis View Post

      You might want to try Skimlinks. You do have to share 25%, but something is better than nothing. Prior to being tossed out by Amazon, I tried some of other brick and mortar retailers, but nothing really worked. Amazon has always converted the best for me. It's been two week since I installed SL and I can happily say today I finally made a sale. That may not sound impressive, but I'm really slow and behind on this, so I'm just happy. It will probably work faster for someone else.

      Oh, I forgot to add, I'm selling Amazon products through Skimlinks. All you do is add a plug-in to your site if you're using WP and then regular Amazon links. The plug-in takes care of all the rest.

      Anyway, it can't hurt to give it a try, but do you're own research first.

      Good luck.
      So you found a way to work around this and sell Amazon products even though you were in a banned state?
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  • Profile picture of the author Cool Hand Luke
    Enough with the "We're in California, what do we do now that Amazon doesn't want us!" threads.

    I live in San Diego and set up an out of state biz for less than $500 thus avoiding the entire freak out when Amazon ditched California associates. And you know what? It was remarkably easy. Anyone who had done the slightest bit of research could have made the transition VERY smoothly.

    Stick with Amazon, no other comparable online retailer converts as well. Set up shop out of state; its worth it.

    Hell, I'll probably just make a free WSO about how to do it and throw it up in the War Room, because these nonstop threads are getting ridiculous.
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      There certainly are other programs that offer similar products also such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, in addition to affiliate networks such as CJ, Sharesale, Linkshare, etc. There are many options available.
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      • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
        You could do a forum search for one of the many threads about how to easily get your Amazon account back.

        Or, whatever products on Amazon you were promoting, do a search for that product + affiliate to look for specific programs.

        Or, sign up for PopShops because it has the ability to search product feeds across many major affiliate networks. So while PopShops won't help with the California issue, it can be used as a search engine to identify merchants within affiliate networks with certain product offerings.

        .
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      • Profile picture of the author tpw
        Originally Posted by myob View Post

        There certainly are other programs that offer similar products also such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, in addition to affiliate networks such as CJ, Sharesale, Linkshare, etc. There are many options available.

        Some of the affiliate managers with those companies are a bit slow in the head though.

        Wal-Mart rejected my application for inclusion. So did B&N.

        It took Best Buy 2-1/2 months to approve my application.
        Signature
        Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
        Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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        • Profile picture of the author myob
          Originally Posted by tpw View Post

          Some of the affiliate managers with those companies are a bit slow in the head though.

          Wal-Mart rejected my application for inclusion. So did B&N.

          It took Best Buy 2-1/2 months to approve my application.
          They probly couldn't unerstand all them exorbitantly fancy wurds on yer web sight.
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    • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
      Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke View Post


      Enough with the "We're in California, what do we do now that Amazon doesn't want us!" threads.

      I live in San Diego and set up an out of state biz for less than $500 thus avoiding the entire freak out when Amazon ditched California associates. And you know what? It was remarkably easy. Anyone who had done the slightest bit of research could have made the transition VERY smoothly.

      Stick with Amazon, no other comparable online retailer converts as well. Set up shop out of state; its worth it.

      Hell, I'll probably just make a free WSO about how to do it and throw it up in the War Room, because these nonstop threads are getting ridiculous.

      I think someone beat you to it.

      Just seen a WSO a few weeks ago that was addressing that issue by some lady who normally launches WSO products.

      She beat you to the draw gunslinger.

      The 13th Warrior
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  • Profile picture of the author Brad789
    Gscott -

    Brad here. I believe the Amazon story is a reminder not to "put all our eggs in one basket". Everyone is guilty of doing it - but in marketing on the internet with so many changes it can be very painful.

    There are a lot of programs on clickbank that support digital products. But Amazon was more physical products. I like Commission Junction. I just wrote a post on their program. Take a look - I would be interested in your comments.

    Commission Junction also has a vested interest in our success. Successful affiliates for CJ mean sales for their major clients - the product marketers.

    As a result CJ continues to provide key affiliate information. It is not the canned training we get when we first start on the internet. This is up-to-the-minute industry news.

    They also work with affiliates to help maximize sales. It is true that some programs on CJ will reject an affiliate - but persistence will pay off. Many will approve you too.

    Hope this suggestion and my post are useful in your research.

    Cheers !
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Jordan
    Try Barnes & Nobles, Sharesale and Worldwide brands and many other options that you can read from previous threads or search in the internet.
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  • Profile picture of the author Online Bliss
    Just crossed the border
    and setup a new business
    in Nevada. Problem solved.
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  • Profile picture of the author EUA
    You can also choose VigLinks. It's similar to SkimLink. They also take %25 commission (which is too high I believe). VigLink also give some statistics like affiliate links and pages... Here is the full comparison between them VigLink vs SkimLinks
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  • Profile picture of the author Chri5123
    Also what you can do is check out Commission Junction and other networks and find products that you were having success with on Amazon and find them cheaper elsewhere.

    Then you can actually use it to your advantage as long as you can find a good paying affiliate program for the product.

    You can always pick up the phone as well and ask for an affiliate program with most products...

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author oda
    From an aussie that may have no idea.

    Can you guys in The banned states JV with people outside the state to keep your business alive?

    It seems to me that this the perfect solution or am I missing something?
    Some people are walking away from years of work, surely there are likeminded people out there that are keen to team up.

    Its the old 2 heads is better than one saying.

    can you guys do this or is there a law or something stopping you?

    Just curios to know if this is an option.

    Cheers

    oda
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  • Profile picture of the author Rumpleteazer
    Would people in "banned" states be able to be Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.ca affiliates? Smaller market, but less competition.
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  • Profile picture of the author PatrickP
    Ah ok got it thank you!

    What if a company was willing to build a store with products priced properly and that gave it to affiliates with no fees at all?
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    You can also try Ebay Partner Network.
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