# PTP: Defining and refining the options **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 13, 2001, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ptp-defining-and-refining-the-options/93187 "2001-11-13T21:16:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ptp-defining-and-refining-the-options/93187/41 "2001-11-24T20:08:57Z")
[Amazon’s Associate program](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/associates/join/associates-join2.html/104-2765099-4199143) offers _at least_ 5% on every purchase. Items linked directly by the account can earn up to 15% but they are somewhat vague about what determines the actual price. > [@](#): > > _from the link above_ > [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) Associates earn up to 15% of the sale price on individually linked books that you feature on your site and 5% on anything else that is purchased through your links, including CDs, videos, DVDs, toys, consumer electronics, and more. It’s free to join, and there are no hidden quotas or performance tiers to reach before you start earning the highest level of referral fees. Even at that ambiguous rate mechanism, if we only work with the 5% rate dopers will have to purchase about six-thousand items a year from Amazon (collectively, of course) to pull in thirty-thousand a year (that is assuming an arithmetic mean sale price of $10, which is actually pretty low). I alone spend about $500 a year at amazon between books and CDs, which would put my lot in at $10 a year to the Straight Dope, given the lowest tier percentage. As others mention, however, even non-dopers could be encouraged to click through. I know my mom wouldn’t mind (she’s a lurker, never registered). Directly linked books make higher revenue as well, so if persons (like me) who often refer to books and are not afraid to preview their posts learn how to code direct links to books with the SD account this could only improve the situation. I would much rather put forth effort into learning to code an associate url than I would to just give the SD money! (not that I don’t think they deserve it, of course, but as a matter of preference this would allow me to get two things for the price of one: a great message board and good reading material). In fact, the linking process isn’t especially difficult. [If you’ll look here](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/associates/join/basic-links.html/104-2765099-4199143) you can see that a direct book link would take the following form: [**url=“[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201354934/your\_associates\_id](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201354934/your_associates_id)”]Read this book for a clear understanding of basic HTML[**/url]. More concisely, of course, and given my godly coding skills, we would see [that this book](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316180661/some_associates_id#) clearly demonstrates the need for a better paradigm for consciousness, starting from the ground up. From [this page](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/associates/join/faq-overview.html/104-2765099-4199143) we see the following criteria: > [@](#): > > Most Web sites will qualify to participate in the program; however, we may reject Web sites that we determine are unsuitable. Examples of sites that would NOT qualify for participation include: > > Sites that promote sexually explicit material > Sites that promote violence > Sites that promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, physical disability, sexual orientation, or age > Sites that promote illegal activities > Sites that violate intellectual property rights I think that the mods and administration strictly adhere to the above (even though Amazon themselves [don’t adhere](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1559501820/) to that code of conduct! (check out the nifty combo they offer, lol)). **Space Dog** , I’m not sure any regular doper could be perfectly trusted with something like this. Hey, I know _I_ would be honest with it, but there is a pretty high doubt-level here on an effectively anonamous message board, no? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ptp-defining-and-refining-the-options/93187.md?page=2)