Written by Brook Schaaf

Amazon made a big, unexpected, unwelcome announcement this week regarding its Associates (affiliate) Program. Effective Friday the 20th, “creators should not attempt to earn commission from programs outside of Amazon for the same qualifying traffic or using the same affiliate link(s), through manipulation of tags or any other methods to receive duplicate commission from the same customer traffic.” In other words, no more double dipping for affiliates using the Amazon Associates Program along with a seller network such as Archer Affiliates, Levanta, PartnerBoost, or Wayward. 

A seller network generally works by utilizing a marketplace seller’s attribution data on Amazon to identify and credit affiliates for driving external traffic to the seller’s page. Sellers typically receive a credit of about 10% for such traffic, called the Brand Referral Bonus (in the US only), which covers most of a seller’s fees or, in this case, commissions and other fees. Double dipping is thus when a seller network link is attached to an associate’s link for payouts from both the seller and Amazon.

This is bad news for seller networks. Is it so bad that it means their age has already ended, just after Levanta announced a 20 million dollar raise?

The Case for Growth, or at Least Survival:

Seller networks have not been banned outright, and affiliates are not required to only work with one or the other. Rather, an individual link can no longer attach both together. Seller networks will still be attractive because their commission payouts will, on average, be multiples higher and their cookie durations weeks longer. Publishers will have access to exclusive promotions, paid placements, free products, and advanced tracking. Moreover, seller network relationships are traditional, personal, trust-based, reliable… and unlikely to suddenly change or terminate.

The Case for Decline, or Even Destruction:

Powerhouse publishers may be forced to use direct Amazon links to hit their performance tiers, especially with halo commissions, shifting focus away from seller networks.

Why Did Amazon Do It and Why So Suddenly? 

No statement is likely to be forthcoming, but it presumably means that the numbers pointed this way – perhaps it was too expensive to pay both the commission and bonus. If so, one wonders why Amazon didn’t simply selectively end the bonus? Another explanation is that Amazon wants to push its own Creator Connections tool, which competes with the seller networks. Like Amazon’s Onelink, CC has a poor reputation. 

My own guess is that this new policy will cause real harm without knocking the business model out entirely. The growth of the seller networks has been explosive these last few years and marketplace sellers are highly motivated to nurture direct relationships with publishers. It may even open up an opportunity with Temu, Shein, Walmart, and other marketplaces, especially for products in undifferentiated categories. 

At FMTC, we’re still integrating these networks in our integration queue, and I anticipate we’ll still launch them next year. As Rob Schab from Levanta told me, “We’re confident in the future of this.”

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