Amazon's 3 sales in 180 days rule, and what to do if Amazon closes your account
Amazon gives every new Associates account 180 days to make its first three sales. This guide shows what you can do during those 180 days, and what to do if Amazon closes your account. Your store keeps working either way.
How the 180 days work
- The clock starts when you apply to Amazon Associates.
- You need at least three qualifying sales through your Amazon links within those 180 days.
- Your own orders do not count. Amazon also does not allow friends or family to buy through your links.
- After your third sale, Amazon reviews your account and the sites you listed. It then tells you its decision.
- If you do not reach three sales in 180 days, Amazon withdraws your application and closes the account.
This is Amazon's rule for every new affiliate, not a FreshStore rule. We cannot extend it or turn it off.
Before you apply
Build your store first, then apply. The 180 days start on the day you apply, so an account opened months before your store is live loses that time.
Go to Connect Amazon. It walks you through the application one question at a time and saves your tag to all of your stores at the end.
🔗 How to open your Amazon Affiliate account
During the 180 days
1. Make sure your tag is on your store
Every sale that counts must come through a link with your tag in it. Go to my.freshstore.com/settings/amazon, choose the Amazon country, paste your tag into Associate tag, and click Save and apply to my stores.
Then check it. Hover over a buy button on your store. The link should contain your tag, for example tag=yourname-20.
🔗 How to check your store affiliate links
2. List every store in your Amazon account
Amazon reviews all of the sites you have listed, and asks you to keep that list up to date. When you build a new store, add its address to your Amazon account. Add any social pages where you post Amazon links too.
3. Keep adding content
Amazon's review looks for original content that is recent, generally from the last 60 days. Adding an article every week or two keeps your store current. It also gives search engines more pages to send visitors to.
4. Do not buy through your own links
Buying from your own store, or asking friends and family to buy, breaks Amazon's rules. Amazon does not count these orders, and it can close your account for them. To test your store, check the tag in the link as in step 1. You do not need to buy anything.
5. Connect eBay now
eBay offers are switched on in your stores already. Add your eBay Campaign ID and every eBay click earns for you while you wait for your Amazon sales. If Amazon closes your account later, your store still earns from eBay.
🔗 How to open your eBay affiliate account
If Amazon closes your account
Your store is safe
Nothing on your store is deleted. Your products, prices, articles and buy buttons all stay. The only change is that the old Amazon tag stops earning.
1. Read Amazon's email for the reason
- Not enough sales in 180 days. This is the most common reason. Amazon says you are welcome to apply again.
- Your content or site was not suitable. Amazon says you can apply again once your site meets its requirements.
- Any other reason, or a rule was broken. Amazon says you cannot rejoin without its approval first. You ask for that through the Contact Us form in Associates Central.
2. Apply again and get a new tag
Amazon cannot bring back a closed account or its old tag. Your new application gives you a new tag and a new 180 days. Use Connect Amazon to go through it again.
3. Put the new tag on your stores
Go to my.freshstore.com/settings/amazon, paste the new tag, and click Save and apply to my stores. This updates every store that uses your account tag.
The page names any store that has its own tag. Those stores keep their own, so update each one in that store's dashboard: Settings > Affiliate Settings > Amazon, in the Amazon Tracking ID field.
4. Let eBay carry your store in the meantime
- Make sure your eBay Campaign ID is saved, as in step 5 above.
- To add more eBay products, go to Products > AI Tools > Product Finder in your store dashboard and choose eBay as the source.
- To fill whole categories at once, use Products > AI Tools > Fill Categories with eBay as the Product Source.
🔗 Product Finder: Feature Guide
🔗 AI Fill Categories: Feature Guide
Questions and Troubleshooting
Does it help if I buy something from my own store?
No. Amazon does not allow it and does not count it as a sale. It can also put your account at risk. The same applies to friends and family.
Can I keep my old tracking ID after a closure?
No. Amazon cannot reinstate a closed account or its ID. You get a new tag when you apply again.
Is my store deleted when Amazon closes my account?
No. Your store keeps running with all of its products. Only the old tag stops earning until you add a new one.
I built a new store. Do I need a new Amazon account?
No. Add the new store's address to the site list in your existing Amazon account. One account covers all of your stores.
Can FreshStore open an Amazon account for me?
No. The account has to be yours, in your own name and with your own payment details. We do not open affiliate accounts for members, but Connect Amazon walks you through every question.
Amazon rejected my application after my third sale.
Read the reason in Amazon's email. If it was about your content, add more original articles and apply again. If it was for another reason, contact Amazon through Associates Central before you apply again.