Amazon Affiliate Commission Structure
Amazon Associates is an affiliate marketing program run by Amazon which allows you to sell its products on your own website in exchange for a cut of the profits. This enables you to boost your product range, test new types of products on your audience or even build a full business around this and perhaps other affiliate programs. For small businesses that currently sell products online, this could represent a great source of added revenue, if you sell additional products through Amazon, without worrying about getting the products yourself. Amazon conducts the sales and ships them directly to the client.
Commission Fee Structure
Amazon operates a volume-based advertising fee structure. The more products that are shipped as a result of your affiliate links, the more you’ll make per sale. Once you have sold enough products to move up to a different advertising rate, all subsequent sales will give you commission at that rate, until and unless you reach the next fee level. Note that some products are exempt from this commission structure.
Commission Fee Schedule
Until 2017, Amazon offered a stepped commission structure so that affiliates who sold a lot of products were paid a higher commission than those who sold little. However, Amazon eliminated this structure and began using flat commission rates for different types of products. While this is likely to continue evolving, examples of the commission structure in 2018 are as follow:
- 1.0% for video games and game consoles
- 2.0% for televisions and digital download games
- 2.5% for computers, computer components, DVD and Blu-Ray
- 3.0% for toys
- Amazon tablets and Kindle devices: 4.00%
- 4.5% for paper books, healthcare, personal care, sports, kitctchen, car and baby products: 4.50%
- 5.0% for digital music and video downloads; grocery items, handmade items or musical instruments
- 6.0% for headphones, beauty products, musical instruments, business and industrial supplies
- 7.0% for clothes and accessories, Amazon TVs, Amazon Echo products and jewelry
- 8.0% for furniture, lawn and garden, home improvement, pantry and pet products
- 10.0% for Amazon fashion items and Amazon Coins
Most other categories will earn affiliates a four percent commission, while Amazon gift cards and wine do not pay any commission.
Receiving Payment from Amazon
Amazon will not pay you unless your affiliate sales reach a threshold of $10 if you choose to be paid by direct bank deposit or Amazon gift card, or $100 if you want to be paid by check. If you fail to reach the threshold, your affiliate balance is carried over to the next month and added to the sales you make then. Amazon pays affiliate sales at net 60 days, so, for example, sales that reach the threshold at the end of January will be paid in late March.
