AStore
Encyclopedia
aStore is an Amazon.com
affiliate product
which website owners can use to create an online store on their site. The program is free and is available world-wide.
The aStore interface is intended to be accessible to those with basic HTML skills, using configuration pages to customize the content and design.
The store does not allow website owners to sell their own products directly. Website owners pick products from Amazon's store and earn advertising referral fees on the products purchased by their readers. The current fee structure ranges from 4% to 15% of the product price; with a cap for electronics, and a few exclusions.
(a) promote or contain sexually explicit materials;
(b) promote violence or contain violent materials;
(c) promote or contain libelous or defamatory materials;
(d) promote discrimination, or employ discriminatory practices, based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age;
(e) promote or undertake illegal activities;
(f) include any trademark of Amazon or its affiliates, or a variant or misspelling of a trademark of Amazon or its affiliates, in any domain name – for example, a domain name such as, , , , or would be unsuitable;
(g) include any trademark of Amazon or its affiliates in any username, group name, or other identifier on any social networking website – for example, a username such as “Endless Shoes,” “Amazon Japan,” or “Kindle For You” registered on a social networking site such as Twitter or Facebook would be unsuitable; or
(h) otherwise violate intellectual property rights.
The aStore program does not actually require the use of an aStore. A website owner may chose not to use it, and instead take advantage of the data, images, links, and other widgets that Amazon provides its associates. These may be used in conjunction with, or without the aStore.
Under the Fixed Program there is no advantage for selling more products. One earns 4% of qualifying sales regardless of quantity.
Under the Volume-Based program, the associate has the opportunity to earn more money as the number of items sold increases. For example, the referral rate for the sale of 3 books is 4%. Should the month end with a sale of 25 books, the associate would earn 6% of sales. (Note that some items earn more. Currently items from Amazon's Endless store earn 15%).
The quantity figure is calculated on a per month basis. Thus at the beginning of the month, the associates 'starts over' at the 4% rate and must 'earn' the higher percentages.
Fees do not accumulate under each plan for 'clicks'. Sales are determined when the product ships. Consequently orders shown may be lower than earnings at any particular time.
Breakdown:
1. Site hosting. Common complaints include no instructions for how to access the site after purchase. aStore's have associate ID's—which generally end with -20—and customers are not shown how to insert their own ID's for the temporary codes. In the worst cases, the original site programmers have their own Amazon ID's in place so that if there were any sales, they would gain the credit.
The same is true for the Adsense ads that are on these sites. (Adsense is a Google program.)
2. aStore design. Some disreputable sellers of sites manufacture aStores without a website. Amazon does not regard a stand-alone store as being in line with its TOS (terms of service). Thus, these sites are worthless.
Other companies sell what is essentially the same website over and over. Since traffic comes from search engines it is important to have content that is different from other sites. Google, for example, does not index either stand-alone aStores, nor clone-sites, even if they are in a website and have a different domain name.
3. Guaranteed results. Some companies promise that for a fee they will guarantee visitors to the site they offer. This is often the case, as these 'visits' are made possible either by computer programs or by other means. These clicks fulfill the contract but do not result in sales.
May school organizations participate? Yes.
I run a business and would like to provide incentives for my employees to shop through my site. Is this allowed? No. Amazon specifically states that associates are not allowed to offer any incentives.
I'm working on my first aStore. What can I expect to make next month? For about 99% of stand-alone aStores you can expect to make only a few dollars a year. The tried-and-true saw seems to be that only sites with lots of original content make money, and that it takes years to develop a site that draws enough traffic to reliable bring in income.
Can I use Adsense on my website too? Yes. In fact, Adsense works well with aStore websites and will frequently earn more money than sales from the aStore; although that may vary from month to month.
Note: Answers for FAQ's come from the Amazon Associates Discussion Board and are to be considered 'common knowledge' and not facts derived from statements from Amazon, except where specifically stated. Since the Program TOS changes, it should be referred to frequently and any important questions should be referred to Amazon directly.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
affiliate product
Business model
A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...
which website owners can use to create an online store on their site. The program is free and is available world-wide.
The aStore interface is intended to be accessible to those with basic HTML skills, using configuration pages to customize the content and design.
The store does not allow website owners to sell their own products directly. Website owners pick products from Amazon's store and earn advertising referral fees on the products purchased by their readers. The current fee structure ranges from 4% to 15% of the product price; with a cap for electronics, and a few exclusions.
Enrollment
To enroll in Amazon's aStore Associates program you must fill out the application form and identify the sites which will be associated with your membership. Amazon will assess these sites to determine if they are suitable. Unsuitable sites include those that:(a) promote or contain sexually explicit materials;
(b) promote violence or contain violent materials;
(c) promote or contain libelous or defamatory materials;
(d) promote discrimination, or employ discriminatory practices, based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age;
(e) promote or undertake illegal activities;
(f) include any trademark of Amazon or its affiliates, or a variant or misspelling of a trademark of Amazon or its affiliates, in any domain name – for example, a domain name such as
(g) include any trademark of Amazon or its affiliates in any username, group name, or other identifier on any social networking website – for example, a username such as “Endless Shoes,” “Amazon Japan,” or “Kindle For You” registered on a social networking site such as Twitter or Facebook would be unsuitable; or
(h) otherwise violate intellectual property rights.
The aStore Program with and with-out the aStore
The "aStore" itself is a giant widget that is not meant to be used as a free standing site. It is hosted on Amazon's computers and is meant to be integrated into an independent website or blog.The aStore program does not actually require the use of an aStore. A website owner may chose not to use it, and instead take advantage of the data, images, links, and other widgets that Amazon provides its associates. These may be used in conjunction with, or without the aStore.
Two Fee Plans
Amazon has two fee plans. The first is "Fixed Advertising Fee Rate" and the second is "Volume-Based Advertising Fee Rate for General Products*". (*note: Amazon defines “General Products” as any Products other than those for which we pay a fixed advertising fee rate.)Under the Fixed Program there is no advantage for selling more products. One earns 4% of qualifying sales regardless of quantity.
Under the Volume-Based program, the associate has the opportunity to earn more money as the number of items sold increases. For example, the referral rate for the sale of 3 books is 4%. Should the month end with a sale of 25 books, the associate would earn 6% of sales. (Note that some items earn more. Currently items from Amazon's Endless store earn 15%).
The quantity figure is calculated on a per month basis. Thus at the beginning of the month, the associates 'starts over' at the 4% rate and must 'earn' the higher percentages.
Fees do not accumulate under each plan for 'clicks'. Sales are determined when the product ships. Consequently orders shown may be lower than earnings at any particular time.
International Sales
Amazon has different divisions for different countries and regions of the world. These divisions are considered separate companies and associates that wish to make sales in, or be paid in currencies other than the dollar, must sign up with these separate programs.Related Scams
No scams have been reported that involve Amazon directly. However, many scams exist which take advantage of people who do not realize that the program is free. Disreputable companies have been known to charge thousands of dollars for site hosting, website design, and 'guaranteed' results. In fact, what they provide is little support and stores based on templates that they use repeatedly. In the latter case, this means that there are many 'clone' sites: stores with different names but which show the same header image and products for sale. Since these sites have no original content, they are not indexed by Google and have little chance of making money.Breakdown:
1. Site hosting. Common complaints include no instructions for how to access the site after purchase. aStore's have associate ID's—which generally end with -20—and customers are not shown how to insert their own ID's for the temporary codes. In the worst cases, the original site programmers have their own Amazon ID's in place so that if there were any sales, they would gain the credit.
The same is true for the Adsense ads that are on these sites. (Adsense is a Google program.)
2. aStore design. Some disreputable sellers of sites manufacture aStores without a website. Amazon does not regard a stand-alone store as being in line with its TOS (terms of service). Thus, these sites are worthless.
Other companies sell what is essentially the same website over and over. Since traffic comes from search engines it is important to have content that is different from other sites. Google, for example, does not index either stand-alone aStores, nor clone-sites, even if they are in a website and have a different domain name.
3. Guaranteed results. Some companies promise that for a fee they will guarantee visitors to the site they offer. This is often the case, as these 'visits' are made possible either by computer programs or by other means. These clicks fulfill the contract but do not result in sales.
Frequently Asked Questions
May I or my family buy from my site? Associates need not worry about making making purchases through their sites. However, they will earn no commissions. Amazon has not stated how it makes 'familial' determinations but mailing address and computer IP have been sited as likely means.May school organizations participate? Yes.
I run a business and would like to provide incentives for my employees to shop through my site. Is this allowed? No. Amazon specifically states that associates are not allowed to offer any incentives.
I'm working on my first aStore. What can I expect to make next month? For about 99% of stand-alone aStores you can expect to make only a few dollars a year. The tried-and-true saw seems to be that only sites with lots of original content make money, and that it takes years to develop a site that draws enough traffic to reliable bring in income.
Can I use Adsense on my website too? Yes. In fact, Adsense works well with aStore websites and will frequently earn more money than sales from the aStore; although that may vary from month to month.
Note: Answers for FAQ's come from the Amazon Associates Discussion Board and are to be considered 'common knowledge' and not facts derived from statements from Amazon, except where specifically stated. Since the Program TOS changes, it should be referred to frequently and any important questions should be referred to Amazon directly.