Buying an Affiliate Site: The “Leaky Bucket” Fix for Amazon Links
Key takeaway: You can’t take over the seller’s Amazon account—but you can safely swap the tracking ID site-wide fast if the link infrastructure is set up correctly.
You just wired $50,000 for a “profitable” Amazon affiliate site. Traffic is pouring in. People are clicking “Buy on Amazon.”
But the commissions are still going to the seller.
That moment is every buyer’s worst fear—the leaky bucket phase: the site is yours, but the affiliate links are still “tagged” to the previous owner.
So the next question is always: “Can’t I just take over the seller’s Amazon Associates account and change the password?”
No. And trying to do that is a fast way to get the account permanently banned.
The Hard Truth: Amazon Associates Accounts Are Non-Transferable
Verdict: You’re not transferring an account—you’re migrating tracking IDs so the money flow redirects to you.
Amazon Associates accounts are tied to a specific person or business entity (tax details like SSN/EIN). Amazon does not allow you to “take over” someone else’s Associates account.
When you buy the site:
- The seller keeps their Associates account
- You use your own Associates account (or create one)
- You generate your own Tracking ID (example: yourbrand-20)
So the real job isn’t “transferring the account.” It’s swapping the tracking tag inside the links—site-wide—without breaking anything.
Just like you’d verify content quality to survive Google updates, you must verify link infrastructure too. Read:
Google HCU Survival Guide: How to Vet Affiliate Sites for AI Penalties
The Link Migration SOP: Swap 5,000 Links in Under 5 Minutes
Key takeaway: The fastest handovers happen when the site uses centralized link tools—one change updates everything.
There are three common scenarios. Your job is to identify which one you’re dealing with and use the right method.
Scenario A: The “Plugin Dream” (AAWP, Lasso, Amalinks)
Verdict: If the site uses a professional Amazon link plugin, link migration is a 60-second settings change.
If the site is professionally built, it usually uses an Amazon linking plugin.
What you do:
- Open WordPress dashboard
- Go to the plugin’s settings
- Replace the seller’s Tracking ID with yours
- Click Save
Result: Every product box, button, and text link updates automatically across the entire site.
This is the cleanest possible handover.
Scenario B: Raw Amazon Links Pasted into Posts (Database Swap)
Key takeaway: If links were pasted manually, a database-level find/replace fixes the whole site without editing posts.
Sometimes the seller manually pasted links like:
amazon.com/dp/XXXX?tag=sellerID-20
What you do:
- Install the WordPress plugin Better Search Replace
- Search for: ?tag=sellerID-20
- Replace with: ?tag=yourID-20
- Run the replace
Result: In about a minute, your database updates all links everywhere—without editing posts one by one.
Scenario C: The Shortlink Trap (amzn.to)
Verdict: Shortlinks hide the tracking ID—so you must expand them before you can control the money flow.
If the seller used amzn.to shortlinks, the tracking ID is hidden. You can’t simply “find & replace” what you can’t see.
Fix:
- Use a plugin/tool that can expand or convert Amazon shortlinks into full URLs
- Then run the same replacement method to expose and swap the tag safely
Result: You regain control of link tagging without rewriting thousands of pages manually.
The Compliance Handover (Don’t Skip This)
Key takeaway: A clean link swap is useless if the site becomes non-compliant—fix legal + disclosure on Day 1.
Link migration is only half the job. The other half is staying compliant and cleaning ownership traces.
Quick checklist:
- Ensure the affiliate disclosure is present (footer or site-wide)
- Update privacy policy / terms pages to reflect your entity name
- Remove the previous owner’s name from legal pages and contact details
If you’re worried buying a site means constant technical chaos, this breaks down the real workload honestly:
The “Passive” Lie: The Real Weekly Workload of a Turnkey Online Business in 2026
Conclusion: You Can’t Buy the Account, but You Can Own the Money Flow
Verdict: The goal is simple: no leak, no downtime, no lost commissions—your tracking ID must control every monetized click.
You cannot transfer the seller’s Amazon Associates account. But tracking ID migration is a straightforward, repeatable SOP—especially if the site uses the right tools.
The goal is simple: no leak, no downtime, no lost commissions.
At Ecom Chief, we guide buyers through link migration so the handover is clean and you earn from Day 1.
Video: Bulk Updating Links (Visual Walkthrough)
Key takeaway: Watch this once and you’ll understand how pros swap link tags at scale without touching each post.
Use this walkthrough to see link replacement in action:
Next Step
Verdict: If you want a clean Day-1 handover, only buy sites where link infrastructure is centralized and documented.
Stop worrying about technical handovers. Our ready-made businesses come with complete migration support so you earn from Day 1.
