BigCommerce is a securely hosted ecommerce platform with built-in carts, payment gateways, and reporting, and it also supports selling through other channels — Amazon, eBay, and more. A related but distinct tactic is integrating Amazon affiliate products into your store: placing affiliate "buy on Amazon" links so you earn commission on items you do not stock yourself. This lets you run a hybrid store — some items sold directly, some as Amazon affiliate products — broadening your catalog without holding the inventory. This guide explains how to do that and, just as important, when it is and is not a good idea.
Note (updated): the original article relied on a video and screenshots of the Amazon Associates interface and BigCommerce admin. Those interfaces change frequently, so this version describes the durable process and the current rules rather than UI that goes stale. Always follow Amazon's current Associates Program policies — they are enforced and they change.
Direct selling vs. affiliate: choose deliberately
Before implementing anything, be clear on the trade-off. Selling products directly on BigCommerce means you own the customer, the data, the margin, and the experience. Affiliate links send the customer to Amazon: you earn a (typically modest) commission, you do not own the customer or the post-click experience, and the buyer completes the purchase on Amazon, not your store. Affiliate products make sense to fill catalog gaps, test demand for categories you do not stock, or monetize content traffic — not as a replacement for products you could profitably sell yourself. Mixing the two carelessly can also confuse shoppers and dilute trust, so signpost clearly which is which.
Prerequisites
- An approved Amazon Associates account. Approval is conditional and Amazon can remove accounts that violate policy — read the current Associates Program Operating Agreement before you build around it.
- A BigCommerce store where you can edit product fields and theme content.
- Clear FTC-compliant affiliate disclosure on your site — this is a legal requirement in the US, not optional.
How the integration works
The core technique is straightforward: for each item you want to offer as an affiliate product, you create a product page in BigCommerce as usual, but instead of the standard add-to-cart purchase path you place your Amazon affiliate link/button so the call to action sends the shopper to Amazon with your associate tag attached.
- Get the affiliate link. In Amazon Associates, locate the product and use the link/site-stripe tool to generate a text affiliate link containing your unique associate tag. (Use the simple text link form; you only need the tagged URL.)
- Create the product in BigCommerce. Add the product with your own title, description, and images where permitted — respect Amazon's rules about product images and pricing display (Amazon restricts scraping/displaying live prices; do not show a hard-coded price that can go stale).
- Replace the buy action with the affiliate link. The historical method placed the affiliate link in a product field (the original guide used the "availability" section) so the product's call to action points to Amazon instead of the native cart. A cleaner modern approach is a custom theme/template treatment or a dedicated field that renders an "Buy on Amazon" button for flagged products — either way, the goal is the same: that product's primary CTA is your tagged Amazon link.
- Disclose and label. Make it obvious to the shopper that the item is sold via Amazon and that you may earn a commission. This is both an FTC requirement and a trust necessity.
- Test the link and the tag. Click through and confirm the destination is correct and your associate tag is present in the final URL, otherwise you earn nothing.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Stale prices. Amazon prices change constantly and Amazon restricts displaying them. Do not hard-code a price that will misrepresent the live cost — mismatches frustrate buyers and can breach Amazon's terms.
- Missing or buried disclosure. Inadequate affiliate disclosure risks FTC action and Amazon account termination. Make it clear and close to the link.
- SEO of thin affiliate pages. Pages that are just an image and an outbound link add little value and can be treated as thin content. If you build affiliate pages, give them genuinely useful original content, or you will not rank them anyway.
- Policy drift. Amazon updates the Associates agreement and commission rates regularly. Build on the assumption it will change, and review periodically.
- Cannibalizing your own margin. Do not affiliate-link a product you could profitably sell and fulfill yourself — you would be trading a full sale for a small commission.
When this strategy actually makes sense
Because the implementation is easy, it is tempting to affiliate-link broadly. Resist that. The hybrid model earns its keep in a few specific situations and quietly loses money in others. It works well when you have content traffic (guides, comparisons, category pages) for products you sensibly should not stock — high-variation, low-margin, or bulky items where holding inventory is irrational but the buying interest is real. It works as a low-risk way to test demand for an adjacent category before you commit capital to stocking it: if the affiliate links convert, that is evidence a direct line is worth the investment. And it works to keep a content-rich page useful by pointing to a credible fulfillment option for items outside your range. It does not work as a general substitute for products you could profitably sell yourself — every affiliate click on such an item trades a full-margin sale and an owned customer for a small commission and a customer who now belongs to Amazon. It also does not rescue a thin page: an affiliate link on a page with no original value is still a thin page. The honest test before adding any affiliate product is one question: would I rather earn a small commission and hand this customer to Amazon, or could I profitably own this sale myself? If the latter is plausible, sell it directly. Affiliate is a complement to a strong direct catalog, never a replacement for one.
Frequently asked questions
Is selling Amazon affiliate products on BigCommerce allowed? Yes, provided you follow Amazon's current Associates Program policies and disclose the relationship properly. The rules are enforced, so read and follow them.
Should I display the Amazon price on my product page? Generally no — Amazon restricts displaying prices and they change constantly. Link out rather than risk a stale or non-compliant price.
Will affiliate pages hurt my SEO? Thin affiliate pages can. Add real, original content and a clear purpose to any page you want to rank; a bare link page is not worth indexing.
When should I sell directly instead? Whenever you can profitably stock and fulfill the product yourself — direct selling keeps the margin, the customer, and the data that affiliate links give away.
A hybrid affiliate-plus-direct store can work, but it needs to be built cleanly — compliant, well-labeled, and not at the expense of your own margins or SEO. Our BigCommerce development and SEO teams can help you set up channel integrations and content that actually earns rather than just linking out.