Amazon is massive, there is no doubt about that, there can’t be an internet user that at some stage hasn’t heard of Amazon and knows what they offer, at 43rd compared to eBay at 46th in the 2009 best global brands survey*.
What many people aren’t aware of is their Associate program that actually lets a website owner ‘tap into’ the Amazon success and promotes the products from Amazon on their website. The site is really simple to use and has such a wide variety of products you can’t fail to find something to link to, everything from Jewellery to CD’s even music downloads.
There are also great tools for integrating into your site, from simple product links to full blown stores, yes you can create your own store, take a look at these two.
I personally use Amazon a lot I find it easy and simple, a good reporting tool and although it doesn’t make huge amount of money it does provide a small and useful ancillary income.
Amazon Associates advantages:
• there is a huge choice of products to choose from
• reliable payment system
• options for different payment types for both you and the customer
• I find it very easy to use
• a massive variety of linking tools
• Amazon are a well regarded brand and trusted by consumers
Amazon Associates disadvantages:
• only quarterly payments (many other programs are monthly such as Adsense)
• commissions can be lower than some other programs (although they have an incentive/bonus program that increases the % when you sell certain targets)
• some of their buttons and link methods can look a bit dated
I have written previously about eBay selling here
My thoughts on eBay for 2010 here
(*source Interbrand http://www.interbrand.com)
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