Amazon Associates Operating Agreement

This agreement sets the rules for earning commissions by linking to Amazon — you only get paid when visitors use your Special Links to complete qualifying purchases. Amazon can change the rules at any time, immediately suspend or terminate your account for a material breach, and permanently cut off your commissions, while your ability to recover losses from Amazon is tightly capped and limited to direct damages only. You also must post a specific disclosure statement wherever you use Amazon's program content and handle any disputes individually through arbitration rather than in court.

The Amazon Associates Operating Agreement establishes the terms under which associates participate in the Associates Program, earning commission income contingent solely on customers using Special Links to complete qualifying purchases or actions on the Amazon Site. Amazon Associates reserves the right to modify any term of the Agreement at any time in its sole discretion upon notice, and may immediately terminate or suspend an associate's account upon written notice of a material breach without a cure period, and may permanently eliminate all commission income to the extent permitted by applicable law. Associates bear a broad indemnification obligation covering Amazon, its affiliates, licensors, and their personnel for all claims and costs including attorneys' fees, while Amazon Associates excludes liability for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, and exemplary damages and caps its aggregate direct liability at twelve months of commission income paid or payable preceding the triggering event. All disputes must proceed through binding individual arbitration rather than court, with a narrow small-claims-court exception, and class, consolidated, or representative proceedings are prohibited. Participation is barred for any person subject to U.S. sanctions or sanctions consistent with U.S. law imposed by the country of use.

As an associate, your commission income is not guaranteed — it arises only when customers click your Special Links and complete qualifying purchases or other qualifying actions. Amazon Associates can change any term of the Agreement at any time in its sole discretion, can immediately suspend or terminate your account upon written notice of a material breach, and can permanently stop all commission payments. If something goes wrong, your maximum financial recovery from Amazon is capped at the total commissions paid or owed to you in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, and categories such as lost revenue, lost profits, and lost data are excluded entirely. You are required to post the exact phrase 'As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases' clearly and prominently wherever you display Program Content. If a dispute arises, you must pursue it individually through binding arbitration — not as part of a class action — unless the claim qualifies for small claims court.