Working with Amazon Associates and its specialists has been one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. I definitely would not recommend anyone creating a blog, tool, or other web application that hinges its success solely on generating income through Amazon’s Associate Program.

I previously had an Associates account that was in good standing for several years. In early 2018, the account received warnings from the program that some unspecified part of my profile was no longer in compliance. I was going through a difficult time in my life, and other complications took precedent. As a result, these emails from Amazon went ignored and my Associates Account was permanently closed.

I take full responsibility for that lapse. I was no longer compliant with the Operating Agreement, and program like Associates can’t run letting that go indefinitely.

I later created a new account. It’s important to note that the reason I’ve been trying to work with Amazon Associates is to use data from their Product Advertising API to plug in to a niche price reporting application I am developing. But the PA API isn’t immediately available to new accounts unless you’ve received final approval. So I ask Email Support for an exception. I’m not a blogger, I don’t have reviews on Wordpress or Facebook that I’m ready to add links to, I have an actual shopping tool that I’m ready to plug the PA API data back into as soon as I get access. My MVP site is ready to go, I just need the switch flipped on that access and I can plug the data in and immediately begin delivering value to the world.

When a specialist reviews an exception for PA API access, they go ahead and decide whether or not to give your account final approval. And do you know what the specialists do when some part of your account is not to their liking yet, or they don’t understand your request? They don’t email you back. They don’t ask for clarification. They don’t give you time to correct whatever trivial mistake you’ve made. They DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT and invite you to reapply. Meaning if you would like the pleasure of taking a shot in the dark to see if you’ve corrected whatever has compelled the specialist not to give you final approval, you must fill out all of the profile info, and W2, and plug new affiliate tagged links into your site, all over again.

The specialists repeatedly denied my requests for early PA API access, accusing my site of currently having no content. Yes, that is correct! I have no content because it is a price reporting tool! It needs the data to plug into my programming, and the content will be generated! The whole concept of the niche price reporting tool depends on comparing Amazon price data.

I explain this concept to specialists over and over again. I invite them to consider if the site camelcamelcamel.com were started while this policy was active. They would never get off the ground because their product, an Amazon price history reporting tool, depends on the data as well, and would never get final approval from these specialists to use the PA API because the initial site would be “lacking content.”

I finally ask a support rep what I should do. They suggest leaving the tool off of my profile site list to begin with, creating a blog and writing about something that interests me, and using that as my primary site for the Affiliates Program specialists to see as “having content” to get my final approval.

I’m not a blogger, and this is a ridiculous expectation for someone who just wants to launch an unrelated business, but fine. If that’s the game, I can do that and not complain. So I create a WordPress blog. I write articles about topics that interest me. I create a new Associates account (because, like all other times, the last time I asked for approval for PA API was denied and my account DELETED).

My new account is created. My blog is online. My affiliate links are plugged into the blog. My Amazon affiliate disclosure is listed on every page of my blog. I have even already generated clicks and revenue through the blog. I’m paranoid, because I want final approval. After months of back and forth, the end is nearly in sight. I proactively contact a support rep and ask them to help me do a “sanity check” and go through my profile, blog, and make sure everything I’m doing is 100% compliant. I don’t ever want to violate the operating agreement again. I want no reason to be denied. They help me and tell everything looks good to go, there are no issues, and I’m using everything correctly.

What do I wake up to the next morning? An email from Amazon Associates specialist, letting me know that since my account is associated with another account that was previously closed (the one mentioned in the beginning of this story), this account will be closed as well. I email a reply kindly asking for a second chance to do business, owning the mistakes of my previous account but reiterating that I’m in 100% compliance now, committed to staying that way, and even proactively contacted support to help me double check that I am following the rules of the operating agreement. 2 days later? An email letting me know the decision is final.

I don’t know if the “specialists” who work with Amazon Associates are completely void of human empathy and basic reasoning. I don’t know if there’s a rigid policy enforced on them that allows no individual authority for common sense judgement. But I know that whatever the process is at Amazon Associates, it is severely lacking in the arena of second chances, flexible policies, and common sense reasoning, and I can’t be the only person it’s currently losing money on as a result of this.

If you have an existing blog you can easily plug Amazon affiliate tags into for easy revenue, that’s great. But if you’re considering building any kind of business or delivering any content to the world that would rely on Amazon commissions to make up your expenses, don’t waste your time. Sadly, the specialists have made it clear that I have surely wasted mine.