The reply from Amazon

[julesjones]

Here's the weasel word reply from Amazon about that message saying "You are receiving this email because our reports indicate that you have sent users directly to www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca or www.endless.com through paid search advertisements that were displayed to users who searched on keywords which you bid upon and purchased in search engine keyword auctions." You will note that they are now trying to claim that it was just a reminder, and not in any way acknowledging that I was explicitly and falsely told that I appeared to have been engaged in the forbidden activity. Wonder how many people they annoyed with this nonsense, given that it's clearly a form letter set up for the helldesk drones to use on the annoyed.


Hello,

The email notification you received was intended to be a reminder that as of May 1, 2009, we will no longer pay referral fees to Associates who send users to www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca, or www.endless.com through keyword bidding and other paid search advertising on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and their extended search networks. We sincerely apologize if you received this message and aren't engaging in paid search advertising activities of this kind.

We want to reassure you that this change only affects traffic generated when Associates purchase advertising on search engines and use an Amazon URL as the destination URL. You will continue to receive payment for all qualifying sales you refer to Amazon as long as those sales are not generated through paid search advertising of this sort.

We appreciate your understanding.

Sincerely,

Comments

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

They really aren't very good at PR, are they?

[spacefall.livejournal.com]

Hmm, not unlike the memorable reply I was sent when Amazon sent me the wrong item some years* back. I opened a package one morning to find it contained a video of Death to the Daleks instead of Britten's Death in Venice. I returned the video with the labels provided, but heard nothing. Finally I emailed to ask when Amazon was going to send the correct item or refund me, and was told that.

1) Amazon had not received the package I'd returned.
2) Amazon had not contacted me because they were waiting to see what I wanted them to do.

Apparently the support drone did not see the contradiction in those two statements. I stopped bothering with low stock items on Amazon after that, as 'low stock' apparently meant 'imaginary stock'.

All the Amazon stupidity lately has led to me splashing out on fun books from other sellers. I had another in the post today ;)

* probably the best part of a decade, but the stupidity stuck with me.