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Jocko October 10, 2011

Never Mind! Amazon Associates Program and Netflix Reverse Course

I got this email last summer. It was quite a shock and came without warning. It was notice that I was about to be unceremonious booted from the Amazon Affiliate Program:

Notice of Contract Termination Due to Potential New California Law
Amazon.com Associates Program
Jun 29, 2011

Hello,

For well over a decade, the Amazon Associates Program has worked with thousands of California residents. Unfortunately, a potential new law that may be signed by Governor Brown compels us to terminate this program for California-based participants. It specifically imposes the collection of taxes from consumers on sales by online retailers – including but not limited to those referred by California-based marketing affiliates like you – even if those retailers have no physical presence in the state…

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And then followed the boot…

Notice of Termination due to New California Law
Amazon.com Associates Program
Jun 29, 2011

Hello,

Unfortunately, Governor Brown has signed into law the bill that we emailed you about earlier today. As a result of this, contracts with all California residents participating in the Amazon Associates Program are terminated effective today, June 29, 2011. Those California residents will no longer receive advertising fees for sales referred to Amazon.com, Endless.com, MYHABIT.COM or SmallParts.com. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned before today will be processed and paid in full in accordance with the regular payment schedule…

Well.. ok. Luckily I don’t make my living from such things. Those people who do were up a creek. But today we’re back in apparently:

Important Update for California Associates
Amazon.com Associates Program
Oct 6, 2011

Hello,

As you may have heard, California Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation repealing the law that had forced us to terminate our California Associates. We are pleased to invite all California Associates whose accounts were closed due to the prior legislation to re-enroll in the Associates Program…

Why so fickle Jerry and Amazon? Well, upon further research it looks like the reinstatement may be temporary based on a compromise that relieves some retailers of the tax requirement for the time being.

Netflix, however has permanently dumped it’s plans to split it’s business into two: Netflix and Quickster. When I first heard about it I thought “Wow. That seems like a really dumb idea.” I can understand their move to recover costs by charging for both their streaming and disk program separately. In fact I felt a little guilty for the good deal I was getting from them for the past year or so… basically unlimited streaming entertainment for no additional cost to my basic 1 disk service.

Trying to dump their dying disc based business into a new company, however,  seemed doomed to fail. Quickster looked like the anchor that could pull the whole thing, Netflix and all, into Davey Jones Locker. Luckily, Netflix’s CEO has a newly acquired taste for crow, based on the multiple emails of apology I’ve received from him recently.

So, the moral of the story is, no matter how stupid a mistake you make, you can always  make it right.

Filed Under: Amazon Affiliate Program Tagged With: Amazon, Netflix

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