Amazon - A Complete Disgrace

Guswold · 10-11-03

I don't know if anyone else has had this problem with Amazon.co.uk, but in September we noticed that our Amazon stats showed a huge number of products that people had clicked through to as "No longer available". However, when I checked a sample of these products they were all obviously still available.

I contacted Amazon about this, even speaking to one of the UK programme managers, and pointed out that we were almost certainly losing sales as a result. I was told that they were aware of the problem and were working on a fix.

In early October the problem seemed to be fixed, so I asked Amazon what they were going to do to compensate for lost earnings. Amazon replied to say "We have thoroughly investigated this matter and found that no referral fees were lost whilst this issue was ongoing". I replied showing that our conversion rate was a third down on the previous year.

After some time I final got some banal e-mail telling me how to create links to Amazon products! Having asked (again) what Amazon was going to do about compensation they replied: "If you still feel that you have lost due commission may I ask you
confirm how much you think have lost, and provide detailed
information to validate the amount due."

At this point I gave up - how can I prove what people would or would not have bought? I did say to Amazon that, in such circumstances, most merchants offered a higher commission for a set period to compensate. However, they simply replied: "Unfortunately, as you are unable to provide details to validate the amount of commission lost we are unable to compensate you."

This just sucks! I've always been a big advocate of Amazon, but the stance that they have taken on this is simply pathetic.

Sadly, I think I'm gonna have to stick with them just 'cos I'm so closely tied in, but just wanted to make others aware in case you experience the same problems.

Anyway, thanks for "listening" - had to get this one off my chest.

Qui Gon Jinn · 10-11-03

I can totally sympathise. I think Amazon has more and more competition nowadays so you have posted in the right place..

Can they prove you didn't earn anything?

I have contact for their affiliate manager somewhere, if you don't have it would you like me to find it for you?

Fraser · 10-11-03

I can sympathise - I've never found Amazon support any good to deal with. They have a tendancy to quickly read one line of your email and then just send a standard template email back which doesn't answer anything.

ianm · 10-11-03

Have to agree, the support is very slow at times - I emailed them on 30/10 querying why I hadn't received my BACS payment when others had.

I got a reply on 6/11 telling me it had been paid - which I already knew as I'd received it 4 days before they finally bothered to email me.

I think half the problem is that they have so many affiliates they can't handle support reliably, and they don't make any attempt to workout which of their affiliates are pulling in the cash for them and provide them with dedicated support.

This current farce with the stats is another example - how long would it take to stick a message on the affiliate center home page saying "sorry there's a problem with reporting we're looking into it". I bet they've had loads of people emailing them asking why their figures have gone down since last week.

Guswold · 11-11-03

Thanks everyone - to be honest I've spent two months trying to get some acknowledgement from Amazon that they caused a problem, but nothing, na-da, zip... just the standard template e-mails, as you said. Where I have had what is obviously a personal response the tone has very much been "prove it", despite the fact that I spoke to them in September and they admitted it was their fault.

Sadly, I know that other were affected by this (Amazon said "a small number", but to me that translates as "quite a few"), so I think it is despicable of Amazon not to offer some kind of restitution for it.

Just as an aside, I also agree that Amazon has a problem at the moment with its affiliate programme, particularly in not being able to destinguish between the "level" of affiliates and provide the relevant level of support.

QGJ - thanks for offering details of the Affiliate Manager, but if its the one in Slough it was her I spoke to in September (she seemed VERY surprised that anyone would dare to call her!)

giveasyouget · 11-11-03

I had a fairly fierce email the other day from amazon stating I was breaking the terms of the contact since I was displaying a price on my site that in no way matched up to the price on Amazon
(a customer had mailed both me and amazon to point out a box set cost £13.99 on my site but on arriving at Amazon it jumped to £40)
and then suggesting it was a marketplace item and pointing out they didn't pay commission on marketplace items (they did, two days later)

Thing is the prices were served up by AWS and so completely out of control - I replied to this effect, and pointed out the script I was using shouldn't be requesting marketplace information anyway but they never wrote back

and yes, I still get quite a few products that click thru to 'no longer availible'

silliness..