How many times can 1 person use my affiliate link?

Let's say my friend has a website and he posts his affiliate link to an item on Amazon. How many times can I purchase that item or those items before he stops getting a fee from it? The way I understand their affiliate program is that they put a cookie on your computer and whichever item you buy, your friend gets a cut of that. But what if I buy an item, delete the cookie, click another link for another item, and then buy it again? Will his account get banned for it? Will my account get banned for it?

Backstory: I buy a lot of items on Amazon and only return it if it's faulty, which rarely happens. So as long as I'm buying all these items, why not have a friend make some cash back from each one?

 

I think he'll get a comission every time you purchase something, so long as he referred you. Not sure, though.

 

If that's the case (still want someone experienced to chime in on this), then what would happen if I started to dropship items from amazon to other websites and use the affiliate link each time?

 

Amazon might notice the pattern and ban will ensue, so you want to keep buying so your friend keeps making a small commission. Not worth the risk

 

I just called them and the answer that they gave me was a bit odd. They said that there really isn't anything against the TOS specifically that will bar someone from clicking the same link to make a purchase each time. I told them that my friend buys like 10 things a day and the customer rep told me that it was fine. Then I asked him what would happen if my friend bought 100 items through amazon using my link each time (so clicking once, buying 1 item, clicking link again, etc) and he said that he doesn't know if that would be an issue, but the algorithm might pick up something and he has no knowledge of that. But he has no knowledge of that being explicitly against the TOS.

 

You will get commission only the first time someone buy something through your affiliate link.

 

I did find this on their TOS, though:

"You will not purchase any Product(s) through Special Links for use by you or for resale or commercial use of any kind. Similarly, you will not request or encourage any of your friends, relatives, or associates to purchase any Product(s) through Special Links for use by you or them or for resale or commercial use of any kind. Further, you will not offer any Products on your site for resale or commercial use of any kind."

 

Right, buying an item will end the cookie session, but clicking that link again opens a new session

 

I know of people being banned for encouraging friends and family to click links, maybe not worth the risk

 

Gotcha, thanks for the info

 

no problem, we can answer your questions anytime