Despite the lower commission structure this quarter, I still did surprisingly well, making a commission of $192.21 on 133 items worth $4,238 (the average commission was 4.54% vs. 5.98% last quarter). There were 73 iPod battery packs sold, mostly the Belkin with 45. The inexpensive Griffin Tunejuice sold 13 units and the EZ Gear Powerstick sold 7. I think I could have sold a lot more Belkins (and other stuff incidentally) if it hadn’t been for Amazon having higher prices than Best Buy on that model. I have a link on the web page to Best Buy for $20 and Amazon for $24 and some people still choose Amazon, but I see a lot of out clicks to Best Buy. It would be very helpful if Best Buy would raise their price or Amazon would lower theirs.
On electronics I earn a 4% commission but on anything else I was getting 6.5% because I sold over 90 items in the quarter. As I mentioned elsewhere the most expensive thing this quarter was a $566 GPS navigation system, but I also sold a 30 GB iPod for $283 and a copy of Windows XP for $140. If someone buys anything on a visit that started with a click from my site or even if they return to Amazon on their own within 24 hours after visting through one of my links, I still get a commission which is why these bizarre things are sold (though I think the GPS system may have been bought by someone who read one of my messages on the Associates bulletin board). For instance, I also sold a $300 vacuum cleaner and a $130 wagon, which both qualified for the higher 6.5% rate. People also bought 20 books, 3 CD’s, a thermos, a sprinkler timer, and a blood pressure monitor.
I should get paid in about a month and I was hoping Apple would introduce new video iPods soon after that I could spend my money on, but some analysts are now saying it will have to wait until early next year. So I’m thinking I will just keep waiting and saving up. There are some really neat products out there by Archos, Dish Network, and others with 5″ or 7″ screens and hard drives up to 100 GB that will record TV or video (and play MP3’s), so it only makes sense that Apple will come up with something similar.
You say you sold this and you say you sold that, but actually you haven’t sold any thing. In fact you could argue that the money you receive is a gift and not taxable.
Maybe you could put your profits towards a new roof? Do you need the name of a roofer?