Concerns About Transparency and Compliance with Amazon’s Sponsored Products Promotional Clicks Credits
I wanted to share my recent experience with Amazon’s Sponsored Products promotional credits and highlight some significant concerns regarding compliance with the terms, lack of transparency, and inadequate support in resolving the issue.
Background:
I participated in Amazon’s promotional offer that promised $500 in promotional clicks credits for reactivating Sponsored Products campaigns. The terms of the promotion were straightforward: The Advertiser must resume a paused or renew an old Sponsored Products campaign during the promotional period to complete the “Qualifying Action.”
Amazon would apply the $500 promotional credits to the Advertiser's account within 14 days of completing the Qualifying Action.
Believing I had met the criteria, I resumed campaigns on 11/02/2024 using the provided link and spent over $500 on advertising during the promotional period (11/02/2024 – 11/17/2024).
The Issues:
1. Delayed Credit Application
Despite completing the Qualifying Action, the credits were not applied within the promised 14 days. This delay was especially frustrating because I launched and maintained campaigns during the promotional period under the assumption that the credits were active.
I contacted Amazon Support multiple times and referenced Case from 11/04/2024, where it was confirmed that I had completed the Qualifying Action. However, the invoice for the period 11/02/2024 – 11/17/2024 showed no applied credits.
2. Misinterpretation of Promotional Terms
Support responses suggested a misunderstanding of the 14-day timeframe, with vague explanations that contradicted the promotional terms. Despite repeated clarifications, it seemed Support failed to understand the fundamental issue: that the promotional credits were not applied as promised within the specified timeframe.
3. Inadequate Resolution and Uncertainty About Credits
After escalating the issue and opening multiple cases, I was finally granted the $500 promotional clicks. However, this resolution came too late, and I had already been charged the full $500 from my account. Worse still, there is no transparency regarding whether these belated credits will actually work as intended or if I risk being charged again for future advertising.
Key Concerns:
Lack of Compliance with Terms: Amazon failed to apply credits within the 14-day period as explicitly stated in the promotional terms.
Transparency Issues: Advertisers have no clear way to verify whether promotional credits have been applied without resorting to guesswork or extensive communication with Support.
Inadequate Support: Support repeatedly misunderstood the issue, resulting in delays and further frustration.
Risk of Double Billing: Even after being granted credits, there’s uncertainty about their functionality and potential for further charges.
Impact on Advertisers:
The entire experience undermines trust in Amazon’s promotional offers. Small businesses and advertisers rely on these incentives to plan and allocate their budgets effectively. Delayed or mismanaged credits can lead to significant financial strain and wasted efforts.
My Questions to the Community and Amazon:
Why aren’t promotional credits automatically and transparently applied once the Qualifying Action is completed?
What measures can Amazon take to ensure promotional terms are honored without advertisers needing to open multiple cases?
How can advertisers ensure they aren’t being double-billed when promotional credits are eventually granted after significant delays?
I hope sharing this experience encourages Amazon to address these issues and improve its support processes for promotional campaigns. Transparency, adherence to terms, and clear communication are essential to fostering trust between advertisers and Amazon.
Let me know if others have faced similar issues or found effective solutions!
Concerns About Transparency and Compliance with Amazon’s Sponsored Products Promotional Clicks Credits
I wanted to share my recent experience with Amazon’s Sponsored Products promotional credits and highlight some significant concerns regarding compliance with the terms, lack of transparency, and inadequate support in resolving the issue.
Background:
I participated in Amazon’s promotional offer that promised $500 in promotional clicks credits for reactivating Sponsored Products campaigns. The terms of the promotion were straightforward: The Advertiser must resume a paused or renew an old Sponsored Products campaign during the promotional period to complete the “Qualifying Action.”
Amazon would apply the $500 promotional credits to the Advertiser's account within 14 days of completing the Qualifying Action.
Believing I had met the criteria, I resumed campaigns on 11/02/2024 using the provided link and spent over $500 on advertising during the promotional period (11/02/2024 – 11/17/2024).
The Issues:
1. Delayed Credit Application
Despite completing the Qualifying Action, the credits were not applied within the promised 14 days. This delay was especially frustrating because I launched and maintained campaigns during the promotional period under the assumption that the credits were active.
I contacted Amazon Support multiple times and referenced Case from 11/04/2024, where it was confirmed that I had completed the Qualifying Action. However, the invoice for the period 11/02/2024 – 11/17/2024 showed no applied credits.
2. Misinterpretation of Promotional Terms
Support responses suggested a misunderstanding of the 14-day timeframe, with vague explanations that contradicted the promotional terms. Despite repeated clarifications, it seemed Support failed to understand the fundamental issue: that the promotional credits were not applied as promised within the specified timeframe.
3. Inadequate Resolution and Uncertainty About Credits
After escalating the issue and opening multiple cases, I was finally granted the $500 promotional clicks. However, this resolution came too late, and I had already been charged the full $500 from my account. Worse still, there is no transparency regarding whether these belated credits will actually work as intended or if I risk being charged again for future advertising.
Key Concerns:
Lack of Compliance with Terms: Amazon failed to apply credits within the 14-day period as explicitly stated in the promotional terms.
Transparency Issues: Advertisers have no clear way to verify whether promotional credits have been applied without resorting to guesswork or extensive communication with Support.
Inadequate Support: Support repeatedly misunderstood the issue, resulting in delays and further frustration.
Risk of Double Billing: Even after being granted credits, there’s uncertainty about their functionality and potential for further charges.
Impact on Advertisers:
The entire experience undermines trust in Amazon’s promotional offers. Small businesses and advertisers rely on these incentives to plan and allocate their budgets effectively. Delayed or mismanaged credits can lead to significant financial strain and wasted efforts.
My Questions to the Community and Amazon:
Why aren’t promotional credits automatically and transparently applied once the Qualifying Action is completed?
What measures can Amazon take to ensure promotional terms are honored without advertisers needing to open multiple cases?
How can advertisers ensure they aren’t being double-billed when promotional credits are eventually granted after significant delays?
I hope sharing this experience encourages Amazon to address these issues and improve its support processes for promotional campaigns. Transparency, adherence to terms, and clear communication are essential to fostering trust between advertisers and Amazon.
Let me know if others have faced similar issues or found effective solutions!
4 replies
Seller_x8UeNdi04uSnf
Hi there. I've had exactly the same issue and spent almost £1000 that was unexpected. The response I got back from customer support was basically 'tough it's in the terms and conditions'. I believe this campaign from Amazon is very misleading and designed to trap people in to spending. I've raised a concern with the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) in the UK about this as I acted in good faith and have been conned out of this money. I will let you know how that turns out
Seller_hp0FaRMxWUwol
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to provide an update on my ongoing issue with Amazon Support regarding the $500 Promotional Click Credits offer, as it perfectly illustrates the misunderstandings and contradictions in their responses.
Summary of Amazon's Responses:
1. Contradictory Statements on Campaign Eligibility:
Amazon Support recently claimed that my old Sponsored Products Amazon Campaign, which I ran daily during promotional period, is not eligible for promotional click credits because it was "enabled before the promotional period." However, this completely ignores the Promotional Clicks Terms, Bullet 2, which explicitly states:
"The Advertiser must resume a paused Sponsored campaign, renew an old Sponsored Products campaign within the promotional period (‘the Qualifying Action’)."
The campaign was indeed resumed during the promotional period, yet they continue to dismiss its eligibility based on irrelevant technicalities.
2. Misleading Explanations About Timing:
Support insists the promotional credits were applied “within 14 days” of a qualifying action, but in reality, the credits were only applied 25 days later, after I escalated the issue and opened multiple cases. By that time, I had already been charged $500, rendering the credits useless.
3. Inconsistent Rationale Across Responses:
Each update from Amazon contains a new and conflicting explanation for why the credits weren’t applied properly. For example:
One response blamed the campaign’s original creation date (before the promotional period) despite it being reactivated during the period.
Another claimed the issue was with frequent enabling/pausing of the campaign—something the terms don’t even mention as a disqualifying factor.
4. Refusal to Escalate:
Despite my repeated requests, Amazon Support has refused to escalate the issue to higher management for review. Instead, they’ve continued to provide vague and contradictory responses, making the resolution process incredibly frustrating.
Key Takeaway:
This experience shows a lack of transparency and accountability in how Amazon manages its Promotional Clicks offers. It seems designed to confuse sellers, delay the application of credits, and ultimately result in unexpected charges.
Has anyone else experienced similar contradictions in Support responses? How did you get your issue resolved?
Danny_Amazon
Hello @Seller_hp0FaRMxWUwol- I appreciate you posting this robust feedback on your experience with an Advertising promotion. I've made sure to log the feedback appropriately our Advertising team for visibility, though I do need to confirm that working through the specific issue will need to be completed with our Advertising support team.
I can provide this Help page on advertising promotions, which includes the tip:
"Tip: If you don’t see the promotion applied to your account, check the terms and conditions for the promotion to confirm the timeframe that Amazon Ads said it would apply the promotional credit (for example, within 14 days of completing the Qualifying Action). To use your promotional clicks, you’ll need to enter your billing details in your Amazon Ads account."
While I won't have any details on why the promotional credits can't be immediately applied once the qualifying action is completed, they are applied within the stated timeframe. I can advise that our support teams work hard to address advertiser issues, through whatever cases are created. Finally, you may wish to review the following content on understanding Amazon Ads charges and invoicing, and these Billing Frequently Asked Questions to help with any double billing concerns you might have.
Thanks again,
Danny
