Amazon Associates Hack for VB3

This hack converts any US amazon link posted on your board to use your affilliate id and is based of some work Logician did for me in Vbulletin 2, but is an improved rewrite. The old version did not track well with Amazon because it did not strip out Amazon session ids.

Please note that you need to change my affilliate id to use yours.

Also note that the chunk of code you are looking for in edit.php may not be an exact match in your file. You are looking for the query that updates the post table with the edited post.

Regarding Update.zip Update.zip contains a new functions_amazon.php that I would like some people to try out before I add to the regular zip file. The new function handles Amazon's new link format, and I believe, works better than the original function. Please LET ME KNOW if you try it and it works for you.

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This hack will always be free, however your donations are kindly accepted and will help towards further development. If you donate, please leave me some info (either your forum site or username at vB.org) so that I can thank you.

[amykhar]

I have updated the code so it now works in private messages as well. In addition, I tweaked things so you only have to change the affilliate id in one place, and have made the code a bit easier to install.

If you have the old version installed, you will need to remove the changes you made in functions_newpost.php and editpost.php.

[limey]

getting double //ref=nosim with latest code. Not that it matters really I think it still tracks ok.

Great hack!

[RichieBoy67]

I am sure this will sound stupid...

I am trying to edit the functions_amazon.php file and I am very confused as to where my associates ID goes.... It asks for it in a few places... I don't want to mess up...

help please..

[amykhar]

Originally Posted by RichieBoy67

I am sure this will sound stupid...

I am trying to edit the functions_amazon.php file and I am very confused as to where my associates ID goes.... It asks for it in a few places... I don't want to mess up...

help please..

// enter your associate id here

$associate_id = "your_id";

You only need to change it in one spot. The rest use the variable. Change it right where it says your_id.

[amykhar]

Originally Posted by limey

getting double //ref=nosim with latest code. Not that it matters really I think it still tracks ok.

Great hack!

Yes, it still tracks

[RichieBoy67]

Cool, That is exactly what I did but I wanted to be sure....

Thanks

[amykhar]

Don't hold me to this one, gang, cause I haven't tested it. But I THINK you can make this work for international Amazon sites simply by changing the .com to the extension you desire whereever it occurs in the Amazon functions file. (Please don't try to do this if you can't code. Wait until somebody with experience tests it first)

For example, if you use the Canadian Amazon, you would change .com to .ca everywhere it occurs.

If you use more than one Amazon because you are a multicultural site, you would just have to repleat the code blocks - once for each country. AGAIN DON'T TRY THIS IF YOU AREN'T A CODER. LET SOMEBODY ELSE PAVE THE WAY.

I'm not going to support the internationalization aspect because I don't use it. Try it at your own risk.

[Slave]

Just looking at this .. and a question comes to mind ..

What's the point/need for the "/ref=nosim/"?

(This is for co.uk Amazon btw .. not .com)

[limey]

Originally Posted by Slave

Just looking at this .. and a question comes to mind ..

What's the point/need for the "/ref=nosim/"?

(This is for co.uk Amazon btw .. not .com)

ref=nosim means that when you goto amazon's product/item page there are NO similar items on that page. Just the item in question.

Cheers.

[cteselle]

Thanks for putting this together!

It's great that it deletes other associate id's from the direct links, however if someone links to the main page using:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/someid-20

the link turns into:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/someid-20/ref=nosim/myid-20

Who gets the credit then?