It is the end of the year, and time for a little fun.
What’s the funniest, weirdest, or most surprising thing someone has bought through one of your affiliate links on Amazon?
I was trawling through my Amazon Associates reports yesterday to see what items were selling, and here’s my list of the funniest things people have bought in 2010 (note: the following links are all affiliate links):
Warning: #1 is a little NSFW. Please look away if you’re easily offended. It certainly made me blush.
- Jimmyjane Little Platinum Eternity Vibrator with Diamonds (Update: no longer available on Amazon) – this one made me laugh out loud, both because of what it was, and because a little over 8% of $3250 is nothing to be sneezed at! Interestingly my tracking links show that the sale came after someone clicked a link here on ProBlogger. I don’t know who bought it but I hope you have a very merry Christmas.
- Lobster Pot Adult Costume (pictured here) – someone’s gearing up to surprise their family at Christmas lunch this year (this was bought in the last week).
- Perky Pet 209 “Our Best” 30 Ounce Hummingbird Feeder – who would have thought there were enough 30 Ounce Hummingbird Feeders to have to differentiate this one by saying it’s the “best” one?
- Dart 31112212 Race Series 9.025 – if you’re looking for one of these engine blocks for your Chevy, you better hurry—they only have 2 left in stock! And they’re only $4662.27!
- Vampire Bites – I can’t express how disappointed I am to find that these are out of stock!
- Santa’s Lump of Coal Christmas Soap – as I compile this list the Santa Coal Soap is in the top 100 beauty products being sold on Amazon. I think that I could be in the wrong niche.
- Muscled Foot Model Articulated Extremity – no home should be without one … or two!
- iRobot Roomba Pet Series 562 Vacuum Cleaning Robot – I should get one of these to permanently follow my kids around.
- Classic Rowing Machine in Black Walnut Wood Accessories: Heart Rate Receiver – I do prefer my rowing machines to be in Walnut Wood.
- CS88BN – COLD STEEL NADACHI SWORD – probably bought by a blogger wanting to deal with trolls.
- Stern Pinball Iron Man™ Arcade Pinball Machine – I want one!
If nothing else, this list should prove the power of getting people in the door at Amazon as a way to build your income from there.
What’s the funniest, wierdest or most surprising thing you saw bought on Amazon via your affiliate links in 2010?
Also – what was the largest sale you saw this year?
Funny list! Not had that many crazy items this year but this one definitely wins.
I have no idea why someone would want to buy one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000J057
Pricing? By far, it’s the cheapest camcorder I’ve seen.
HI Durkin,
I guess the RCA CC4352 Full-Size VHS Camcorder could have been bought by muzium curator or an hardcore fan of camcorder from year 2000.
Well, This proofs online marketing works !
Cheers
haha yes possibly, and yes at least I get paid for it too :)
As an ex-pinball tech let me tell you that the top glass on those pinball machines is a bigger smudge magnet than an iPad.
Actually the whole thing is a maintenance headache, you spend as much time cleaning and replacing little worn out parts as you do playing.
Still, they’re awesome fun :-D
Ha! Never pictured you as a pinball fan :).
Iron Man’s a crap table, not as bad as the new Family Guy table, eurgh.
I haven’t had any wacky Amazon affiliate buys, but I can’t believe some of the stuff people have bought though your affiliate link, oh well it’s made you money! Haha
Hilarious! I was following your tweets last night, and just had to check what was brought through my Amazon affiliate links recently.
Most expensive? An in-home surround sound system ($280).
Most risque? Women’s hand-painted silk robe.
I have to say, Q-4 sales have been astounding.
Merry Christmas, Darren!
Darren, love this post!
It is hilarious to see what people buy off Amazon through affiliate links.
I have not had any as exciting as yours… yet.
– Craig
PS – Shane keeps having people by Hello Kitty merchandise off his tech blog. Wonder what that means???
#1 Made me LAUGH OUT LOUD, literally LOL.
Amazon has the craziest and funniest collections ever! Thanks for the hilarious post Darren.
Jane.
Hey Darren,
I looked to see if any wierd purchases were done…Nothing like your list!
Plus, the highest purchase was $300. That is awesome people are buying items in the $1000’s.
Chat with you later,
Josh
Wow thats crazy, I am trying to get people to buy stuff through my amazon link but so far without success.
Thanks for the laugh! I always loved selling on Cafrepress and seeing what shirts people thought were funny. It’s amazing how many Serenity fans there are.
Nothing special or original really, 99% of people that visit Amazon from my blogs buys books about the subjects I write about on my sites.
That is so random! I can’t believe people are buying products over $4000 off of Amazon.com. Maybe It’s just me, but I’d at least like to see and test it in person. And no, not talking about #1, I’m talking about the pinball machine ;)
Greg, I’m with you. I can’t imagine buying something that expensive without seeing it in person. Then again, maybe it’s hard to find and they’re super fans.
Well Darren..I don’t do any marketing with Amazon just yet..but if people are buying crazy stuff like the lobster costume..then I think its best for me to jump on board now. so funny..
“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”
Hi Darren, thanks for share this article.
I love n. 11.Stern Pinball Iron Man™ Arcade Pinball Machine – I want one too!
I haven’t had that many unusual sales but it is extremely rare that I see someone buy the actual product that I am promoting. As you mention, just getting people to Amazon can be enough to build your income.
HI Aaron,
I have never referred anyone to Amazon. Still long way to go.
Vampire Bites are out of stock ! This proves it’s still so popular ;)
LOL. A very funny list and you’ve ordered them pretty nicely – from funniest and weirdest down.
Ha! I’m glad you did this post Darren because I’ve wanted to do the same one. As you know I have an iPad blog and a lot of affiliate links for related products. But pouring over my reports reveals that while I sell some related stuff – the things that keep catching my eye are:
5 Hello Kitty Toasters (that actually put a kitty on the bread)
4 Hoover vacuum sticks
6 cans of Donna’s famous Soups
Love Hurts MP3
Love is a Battlefield MP3
I’m So In Love MP3
A $600 watch
Silver tipped Stilletos (yeah, I think the person that bought your #1 also went to my blog and got these)
Amazon wins the award for the most interesting affiliate model I have ever used.
This cracked me up. I have this strange image of someone making Hello Kitty Toast and listening to Love is a Battlefield. My list is not as exciting.
– doesn’t everybody have a mechanical Pinball Machine in their basement? *g*
My highest gross sale in amazon in 2010 was a Monark Exercise AB 871E Mini Rehab Trainer ($1,099.00) but the next highest sale was $57.99. I had some success with mp3 downloads that were $0.99 each and I earned only $0.04 on each sale … I almost broke $50 on those 4c commissions, but didn’t and the bulk was carry over from 2009 xmas season.
As for the wackiest .. I don’t think anything purchased was wacky, although found it fascinating that most of the amazon books sold in my account had no bearing whatsoever to any of my blog topics at all and were all over the place topic wise.
Really entertaining post Darren. I trolled through the 1,300 products I’ve sold this year and though most are in my niche (music-related for my Jimmy Buffett and Kenny Chesney sites), there were a couple interesting ones. The most random was a Georgia O’Keeffe 2011 Softcover Engagement Calendar.
Looks like the most expensive thing bought through my links was a 46-inch Samsung HDTV at $929.98. Another person bought a 32-inch Samsung but it was only $599.00.
Most expensive? LEGO Exclusive Green Grocer Set @ $275.
Most earnings? Medication system with alarm. Sold 9 so far in Dec @ $59 each.
I’ve sold 150 items from Amazon in Dec alone, all from one site. I can’t wait to duplicate the success and see what happens next.
Online Christmas shopping still has a couple days left but I am already looking forward to next Christmas!
Thanks for your Post,
Those are some pretty amazing Products….,
Personally I haven’t had any particular hilarious products that I know of.
However I did had a somewhat strange occurance,
‘I once suddenly noticed that I sold 4 Products
that I didn’t even know I was Selling!’
Apparently on my Travel Lifestyle Blog there had been a demand for Not One, Not Two,
but FOUR All-in-One Travel Power Plug Adapters! O.K. but enough of that, currently it’s almost Christmas, and yhoe oooaaaaal might eat way to much and sit inside (or sit behind the computer) waaaaay to long without any excersising, so now simply rush over to my Healthy Lifestyle Blog and order one of the most expensive Treadmills, or better Start your own ‘Mini-Gym’ and buy a bunch of them
to train your whole family, and make them all (and me) Feelgooder :)
All the Best,
To your Happy – Blogging – Inspiration,
HP
Hilarious! Thanks for the laugh. Loved #1 too, shared it around the office. And really who doesn’t need a muscled foot model? I certainly do.
Very interesting list! I can only dream now of the day when I’ll giggle with what people buy from my affiliate links.
LOL Darren, too funny. I however had no sales from amazon, guess I must be doing something wrong or my blog is less than a year old.
Honestly! If your readership has that kind of cash and uh… creative time, they need me to help them channel their ambitions into a small business start up. Self Serving Plug-licious comment.
I have had people buy leather furniture from affiliate links in the past, I never understood the person who could buy a couch without ass testing it first. I also loved selling high end chronographs as an affiliate.
Ok Darren I lied, just went to my report on amazon and sold 5 items. Not bad for first time…woo hoo..lol
Tony
As a food blog, most of our Amazon links are to cookbooks that we get recipes from, or kitchen gadgets and ingredients that we use. Interestingly, the bulk of our affiliate purchases are NOT food-related, but baby related! There must be a new mother who regularly reads our site and then goes and buys stuff for her kid.
Like a $370 Tomy Super Deluxe City Railway Set, a $238 Britax car seat, and a $90 KidCo PeaPod Plus portable travel bed. Thank you, mystery mama!
Last year, we did a holiday gift guide for foodies, which included Amazon affiliate links and earned us $50 in advertising fees from Nov-Dec 2009. But this year we didn’t do one and so only earned $17 from Nov until now. Money left on the table :-(
#1 sold at $3250 and only $4.95 for shipping??? They’re not insuring it???
Somehow a bunch of blacklight posters just don’t make the grade against what people bought through your links . . .
I set up my amazon affiliate account in 2008 but stopped using it because I did get much success with it. But this article has confirmed to me Amazon can work. Am giving amazon a second chance.
These certainly made me smile :D
Let’s see… Highest sale? LG BD570 Network Blu-Ray Disc Player x2 for $456
Most “interesting” sales? Sex Scratchers: 100 Sexy Lottery Tickets to Scratch and Win! … and Blue Q – Cat Butt Magnet Set
Haha, fun list. My top items on Amazon are several Disney Board Games with the hit being Disney’s Trivial Pursuit :-)
I sell self-developement books on my site and I was rather amused to see I’d sold a carton of soy milk and a box of tampons!
I’d be interested to know, Darren, if there is a way for Australians to get cash payments rather than gift certificates – I don’t have much incentive to pursue Amazon, especially as the bigger ticket items that I might want, like cameras, don’t ship to here.
If I were to see that someone bought number 1, it would make me giggle a little but I also wish them a Merry Christmas ;) LOL!. The most ridiculous though for me is the Vampire Bites, why do they need to buy it when they can use makeup to draw those holes.
Most of what was bought from Amazon was fairly closely related to my topics. The most unusual items purchased were probably the Groovy Girl Accessories Chic-A-Delic Chaise, a crystal riding whip, and some kind of silk hat covering.
Oh, and I didn’t really make any large individual sales this year, but quite a lot more smaller purchases so ended up making more via Amazon overall than in 2009.
Outstanding! I needed a good laugh.
I have Amazon links on a few Squidoo lenses and I have noticed that the items people purchase are almost never the ones they clicked through on, and rarely relate to the same subject. It certainly does prove the power of getting them through the Amazon front door. Clearly some of them run wild once they get there!
More than $3,000 for a vibrator? Oh my! Diamonds or not, that better be the “best in class” so to speak. ;)
I sure don’t have anything nearly half as exciting on my list of items sold through Amazon as anything on your list, Darren.
I’ve sold mostly books and DVDs, and many of my items sold have been items I’ve linked to in my posts, and mostly items related to Midwest US topics. No four-figure sales…yet :)
I guess the oddest item I’ve had someone purchase through my links was a small piece of resistance equipment used for rehab after suffering from “tennis elbow”.
Great list. Over the last 5 years I have sold a number of “adult toys” but the funniest has to be the “green mankini” made famous in the Borat film.
I have sold 3 of these – I just hope they are students buying them for a stunt/fancy dress party and not someone sincerely purchasing them to wear on holiday!!!
wow!
a $3,000+ vibrator – that is EXPENSIVE especially for something that is going to spend its entire life IN A DARK HOLE (drawer or elsewhere)!!! an 8% return is also very nice!!
I wish I had some funny amazon buys – mine were only little girls books – and some headphones
Lump of coal christmas soap is genius