Amazon numbers don't match up

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   Lynne-Modranskiposted 10 years ago

   I am self published, so I add amazon modules to my hubpages where ever they are relevant.   Lately I've noticed that my sales on Amazon don't line up with my royalties on hubpages.  I can see a clickout for each sale, but out of the last 10+ sales on my Amazon Author account, only one is showing as shipped on Hubpages.  When I was on Squidoo the sales always lined up well.  Any suggestions!

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      Millionaire Tipsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      There are two different Amazon programs. One is where you get your own ID, and Amazon keeps track of your purchases.  The other is where you use HubPages' ID so you can garner a higher commission.  Do you think you may be using HubPages' Amazon program?

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      1. 82

         Lynne-Modranskiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Definitely using Hupbages Amazon program.  I use the Modules for every Amazon link I want to create.   But when I got sales on Squidoo, I could match them almost exactly one for one to my Amazon back door.  Unfortunately, in November, I have at least a dozen sales according to Amazon account and only one on my Hubpages report.

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         1. 78

            Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Your own personal Amazon account is something entirely different from a Hubpages Amazon account. Anything you sell on Hubpages if you signed up for the Hubpages program will not show on your personal account at all. Do you have Amazon products listed somewhere else that it is showing sales?

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            1. 82

               Lynne-Modranskiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I am sorry, I don't think I explained myself very well.  I am selling MY OWN BOOKS on my Hubpages page.  SO, I get a sales report from Amazon that says how many of MY BOOKS that have sold.  I can't tell where the sales come from, but historically every sale has had a sale match on my Squidoo pages, so one would think that every sale NOW would have a match on my hubpages sales page.  Sort of creates a "double dipping" effect.  I make money from the sales on Amazon (my cut of the sales on my books) and the 7-10% here on hubpages.

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               1. 84

                  Solarasposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  HP takes 40% of the sales on HP Amazon modules. So you will only see 60% of your Amazon sales. In return you get a 8% commission on most products. 10% on many clothing items.
                  
                  Also, if people use Paypal and the payment is delayed, or if there is no stock on the item and shipping is delayed, you will not see the order come through as a legitimate order.  The order exists in your Amazon account but there is no revenue/earnings until it is paid for and shipped.
                  
                  I currently have one order with 10 items on it that has been sitting for 2 weeks.  I guess it will expire unfulfilled shortly.

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                  1. 82

                     Lynne-Modranskiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     I am obviously not explaining myself very well.
                     
                     I have an AUTHOR'S PAGE on Amazon.  I only see the books and Kindle books that have been paid for and shipped.  I don't even know how to see what's sitting in people's carts.
                     
                     In the several years I've been doing this, within 3 or 4 days of the sale showing up in my Amazon Author account, it showed up on my Squidoo account.  Truth is I'm not a popular enough author to have my books sold without a referral from my Hubpages.   
                     
                     In November I sold 5 real books and about 10 Kindle books.  Some were very early in the month.  Only one is showing up on my Hubpages report.

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                     1. 85

                        Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        The system works differently here.  On HubPages you don't get paid for every sale.   
                        
                        In the Amazon capsules, your associate ID will show 60% of the time and HubPages' own ID will show 40% of the time.
                        
                        If someone clicks and buys when your ID is showing, you get 100% of the commission from that sale.   If someone clicks and buys when the Hubpages' code is showing, you get no commission on that sale.   
                        
                        Also, on Squidoo, you were simply using the main Squidoo account so reporting could just be passed straight through from Amazon.   On HubPages, you have your own sub-account which is not connected to Amazon in any way - HubPages has to allocate sales internally, which probably means there is a delay.

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                        1. 82

                           Lynne-Modranskiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           Thank you!  I've never seen the 40/60 split explained that way before.  That makes more sense.  And I don't think the time is much different.  I have a sale from November 26 showing up already. 
                           
                           Thanks again!

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                           1. 78

                              galleryofgraceposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              Did i understand you correctly- You're using hubpages to sell your own books?????
                              Oh, but if the rest of us authors were allowed to do that!

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                              1. 85

                                 Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                 Of course you are!  There is no law against doing that on HubPages.  I did it myself for a while (the book is no longer published).

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                              2. 82

                                 Lynne-Modranskiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                 I sell my books; however, I offer a lot of what they read in the books free right on the pages here.  I might sell more if I didn't give it away, but it certainly makes my Amazon modules relevant and people know exactly what they are getting.   In fact, on Squidoo, I had links to free PDF download of my devotions (only one per download) and it seemed to increase my hits.  I can't do that here because it's too many links out to a single domain.   
                                 
                                 If you write, and have books on Amazon, I highly recommend creating helpful pages here on Hubpages to promote your books.  Fill the pages with information, NOT sales pitches.  Make the sales module more like something that's there to assist the reader.

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                           2. 71

                              Matthew Meyerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              Here is an FAQ entry related to impressions.
                              http://hubpages.com/faq/#impressions

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                        2. 78

                           DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           Oh, wow!  I did not even realize that!  No wonder I seem to get "no" Amazon sales.  In fact, I've had only a single one, for a small item.
                           I guess the HP code is showing every time someone reads one of my hubs with any Amazon capsules! 
                           Makes me wonder if it's even worth bothering with, now!

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                           1. 98

                              Rochelle Frankposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              My Amazon earnings exceed (sometimes double or more) my other earnings, and have done quite well since the beginning of this year. 
                              The key may be, at least in my case, offering products that offer possible solutions to a problem. If people are searching for answers on the internet, they may be willing to buy a product that could help them. I only have a couple of hubs that seem to do this, but they have made a big difference for me.

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                              1. 78

                                 DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                 Well, I don't have very many hubs trying to 'sell a product,' by way of product reviews or anything.  Most are supplemental to the subject matter, such as camping gear on my 'how to go camping for the first time,' or shampoo machines on  my 'how to shampoo your carpets" article. 
                                 I'm guessing that people don't order stuff like that from Amazon, but buy it locally.
                                 Other than that, most of my Amazon capsules are for books that offer further information on the topic, or examples of other books in an author's repertoire where I've written a review.

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                                    Rochelle Frankposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                    Actually, I wasn't  even trying to sell products, but I'm not complaining. The hub originally came out of a newspaper feature I had written some time ago about people having a particular problem and the various ways they tried to solve it.
                                    It just happened that there are several types of products that address the issue, and I added a few Amazon capsules. I was really surprised when I started getting sales-- especially sales unrelated to the specific products, where people have apparently gone on to do additional shopping.

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                           2. 85

                              Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              I doubt that's the reason.  If you're making no sales then chances are, neither is HP.  I'd say it's far more likely that your products are not relevant enough, or you don't give your readers enough reason to buy.  For instance, in your water-saving Hub you show a garden drip kit but all you say is "If possible, use drip irrigation".  To make a sale, you'd need to say something like "A drip irrigation kit is an effective way to water the garden and this model by ... is good value because ...".

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   tlcsposted 10 years ago

   When I write I do involve the item in the content, however, that said not as descriptive as you are suggesting, perhaps your right, perhaps I need to make sure I have enough content about the actual product that I am trying to sell rather than what I am trying to get across to the reader.

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   1. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I would say "as well as", not "rather than".

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3. 82

   Lynne-Modranskiposted 10 years ago

   Is there a chance that there is a bug in the Amazon module and reports?
   So far in December I have sold 18 units of my own books on Amazon - NOT ONE has shown up in my Hubpages revenue.  I understand that not every click on my links nets me revenue; however, out of 18 sales, NONE of them end up credited to me . . . that seems odd.  I have gotten revenue from one other item sold, so obviously the sales reports are working.   There is a possibility that the Amazon sales are coming from an Amazon search; however, that's never happened before.  On Squidoo where I was paid a portion for every sale, every Amazon purchase corresponded with a Squidoo payment.   It's just not adding up.

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4. 83

   Corrinna-Johnsonposted 10 years ago

   Lynne, it is quite possible the sales are not originating from hubpages or yourself, but rather another blogger/writer could be promoting or recommending your books within their own articles.

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   1. 82

      Lynne-Modranskiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That would be really cool . . . just weird that the first time it ever happened in three years was after I started at Hubpages.

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   LongTimeMotherposted 10 years ago

   You should google the title of your book. Maybe someone else has written a review of it and pasted their own amazon link.
   
   Also google an excerpt of your hub's text in "inverted commas". You might find someone has copied your entire hub - and added their own link to it.

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