A Problem with the Amazon Affiliate Program

Amazon.com provides linking to third party products. This is a place where users have a chance to list their used books. Some organizations use this system to spread the literatue without even thinking about profit. Those books usually cost only $0.01. While this feature is certainly useful for the users, some people think it is not good for the affiliates.

Used books have very little value. There are books which can be read several times. It gives us pleasure and entertains to read them again and again. While other books which you read only one time are worthless. Once read they take place on a bookshelf and getting dusty. One can try to sell them at a bookstore or just give to somebody else. Anyway you can hardly make anything out of this deal.

There are several book swapping sites like paperbackswap.com , bookmooch.com and whatsonmybookshelf.com which provide a system to trade used books. Users earn points by sending books to other members and use those points to request books they like. Such sites are usually free, making profit from advertising and affiliate programs with the bookstores.

Bookstore affiliate program usually works in the following way. If someone buys an item being referred from a partner site, publisher gets a commision depending on the item cost. So if you referred a book costing $50 you will get up to $6 at Amazon. Commison rate depends on how many books you referred in that period. On the other hand if you refer a book costing one cent you will get nothing in commision.

Publishers strive to maximize their profits. And non-profit sites try to use Amazon to spread books almost for free. These goals have nothing in common. Amazon affilate program has to be changed to allow blocking of low cost third party sales.