Monetization

Amazon Commission Rates Got Cut in 2026: Where Review Creators Are Moving

By Miles · Updated Sep 27, 2026 · every claim sourced & dated

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By Miles | Updated: September 21, 2026 (correction, see below)

Correction, September 21, 2026:

This post previously said “Amazon Haul pays 7%, not the 25% still circulating,” and claimed it as a verified rate. That was wrong. We checked Amazon’s own Associates Program Standard Commission Income Statement directly (no login required) and Amazon has no percentage row for Haul at all, not 7%, not 25%. Haul appears once on that page, as a flat $4.00 one-time bounty for a customer’s first Haul purchase. This post is corrected below to say what Amazon’s page actually says, not to swap one wrong number for another.

Quick answer: Amazon Haul is not a percentage-commission category on Amazon’s own rate page. It pays a flat $4.00 one-time bounty when your referral makes their first purchase from Amazon Haul, on top of whatever rate the specific item’s own product category pays (commonly 1% to 4.5%). Both the 7% and the 25% figures that circulate for Haul come from third-party sites and social posts, not from Amazon. Amazon’s public rate table hasn’t officially moved otherwise, but multiple trade outlets reported quiet, unconfirmed cuts hitting some categories since around March 9, 2026, and Outdoors specifically is reported to have fallen from near 8% to under 3% on-site. None of this is confirmed category by category, so check your own Associates Central Commission Summary before you make a plan around any single number. This post covers the myths and the reported cuts; the full current rate table is already published here.

What Amazon Haul actually pays, corrected

Amazon Haul, the budget marketplace tab, is not its own rate line on Amazon’s page. It shows up exactly once, under Special Commission Income, as a flat $4.00 bounty for a customer’s first purchase from Haul. Whatever specific item they buy through Haul earns commission at that item’s own category rate, the same table that applies everywhere else on Amazon. There is also no separate “Amazon Games” category paying 20% on Amazon’s own page; game purchases fall under the ordinary 1 to 2% tiers. If you saw either number, 7% for Haul or 20% for Games, treat it as unverified until you check it against Amazon’s own Commission Income Statement, not a third-party blog.

The reported cut nobody at Amazon has confirmed by category

Starting in May 2026, multiple trade outlets, including Adweek, eMarketer, and Hello Partner, reported that Amazon quietly overhauled parts of the Associates program, with cuts up to 50% in some categories and reduced reporting-tool access for some accounts. Amazon has made no public announcement about it, and a spokesperson told Hello Partner the changes affected “a tiny fraction of associates,” without naming which categories. The full breakdown of that story, including the still-unchanged public rate table, is already covered on this site, so this post won’t repeat it line for line. What’s new here is one category with an actual number attached to it.

Trade coverage from Logie Buzz reports Outdoors fell from nearly 8% to below 3% on-site. That’s a single-source figure from independent trade press, not from Amazon directly, so hold it as reported rather than official. But it’s a real, citable number if you sell in that category, and it’s specific in a way the broader “tiny fraction” statement isn’t.

Why creators are talking about TikTok Shop and YouTube right now

The honest reason this topic keeps coming up in creator threads isn’t that TikTok Shop or YouTube Shopping definitely pay more. It’s that when your Amazon rate on a category feels uncertain, having the same review footage usable somewhere else with its own commission structure is real insurance. Both platforms run commission rates set per brand or per creator deal, not one fixed public table like Amazon’s, so there’s no single number to give you here that would be honest. What is worth doing: if you’re already filming a review for Amazon, check whether the same product has a live TikTok Shop or YouTube Shopping affiliate link before you assume Amazon is the only place that footage can earn.

What to actually do about it

Check Associates Central → Earnings → Commission Summary for your own account. “A tiny fraction” doesn’t tell you if you’re in that fraction.
Don’t build a content plan around a Haul-specific rate. There isn’t one on Amazon’s own page. Haul pays a $4.00 first-purchase bounty plus the item’s own category rate.
If you sell in Outdoors, budget for the lower reported rate until your own account confirms or contradicts it.
Keep your review footage portable. A clean, disclosure-compliant cut works on Amazon, TikTok Shop, and YouTube Shopping alike. This is exactly the kind of file ReviewCut is built to produce: it trims dead air and filler, keeps your best take, adds captions, and burns in the FTC disclosure automatically, so the same finished video is ready wherever you post it. Your first finished review is free, no card required.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Amazon Haul commission rate really only 7%?

No, and this post originally got that wrong too. Amazon’s own rate page has no percentage line for Haul at all. It lists a flat $4.00 bounty for a customer’s first Haul purchase; the item they actually buy earns whatever its own product category pays. Neither 7% nor 25% is Amazon’s own number.

Did Amazon officially announce commission cuts in 2026?

No. Multiple trade outlets reported cuts starting around May 2026, and a spokesperson called the impact “a tiny fraction of associates,” but Amazon has not published an official category-by-category change list.

Is the Outdoors commission cut confirmed by Amazon?

No. It’s reported by independent trade press (Logie Buzz), not confirmed by Amazon directly. Treat it as reported, and verify against your own Commission Summary.

Where do I find the full current commission rate table?

The complete category-by-category table is on this site’s rate table post, kept current separately from this one.