Amazon Ads May Be Stealing Money from You - Warning for All Publishers

About this video

Sean posts a warning based on a student in his program who reported possible overcharging by Amazon Ads. The student said his ad payment limit was $350 and he was startled by an unsuccessful $351 payment attempt while sleeping, though he remembered spending only $251 from April 2 to April 16. Comparing invoices campaign by campaign, he found large discrepancies in clicks and spend — Sean relays that one new paperback campaign showed far more invoiced clicks than its actual activity — and concluded he was overcharged by up to $100. Sean says the student contacted support, who at first saw no mistake, then, after he sent a screen recording focusing on the anomaly, admitted a significant amount of invalid clicks and promised resolution and a refund in the next billing cycle. Nearly 20 hours later, Sean says, the account still showed a billing-issue suspension, campaigns were not delivering, and a second live chat told him to raise a separate case with the billing team — despite, the student said, his book having reached a BSR of 16,000 before the problem. Sean stresses he does not think Amazon is intentionally crooked, urges publishers to check invoices carefully, and hopes many complaints will force better reporting.

Key takeaways

• Check Amazon Ads invoices campaign by campaign against actual clicks and spend, Sean urges — do not assume the invoice is correct
• The student in Sean’s account had a $350 payment limit, faced a $351 charge attempt, and believed he had spent only $251 for April 2-16
• Sean says support admitted significant invalid clicks only after the student sent a screen recording highlighting the anomaly
• A promised refund in the next billing cycle did not immediately restore delivery — Sean says campaigns stayed suspended nearly 20 hours later
• Report abnormalities to support: Sean argues Amazon will only fix reporting if many publishers complain at the same time

Episode details: published April 19, 2024 · 6:14 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Sean Dollwet’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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