Changes to the Amazon API

Amazon is changing their API access requirements on August 31, 2012. It will be limited to associates only which means a personal associate ID will be required by all users accessing Amazon. For most users no action should be necessary since you should already have your own associate ID linked to your AWS account and the Amazon search will keep working as usual. (The current version of the Pedias, 5.1.2, requires a personal associate ID from all users accessing Amazon.)

For those without a personal associate ID, you need to sign up using the same account that you are using for the access key, i.e. both have to be linked to the same email address.
If you are currently using the default Bruji Associate ID (bruji00-20), please visit the Product Advertising API page, select the appropriate locale at the bottom of that page and create an associate account with your own email address. Once logged in, take note of your new associate ID (also called a “Tracking ID”) and copy it over to the associate ID field in the Pedia Preferences -> Sites -> Amazon Settings. 

If you receive an error after entering your new ID, please try logging into the Amazon Associate site once with your new credentials and then return to the Amazon Settings window in your Pedia program.

If you are still having issues after signing up with a new email and associate account, get in touch with Amazon directly please. Make sure you include your access key and corresponding associate ID in the message. You do not need to send them your secret key.

You can read more about the recent changes in the Amazon forums, for example here and
here.

We know that the associate program is essential for some of our users and we hope to continue providing access to Amazon’s searches in the future but our main focus in the programs goes towards collaborative and user-friendly sites such as Freebase, Wikipedia and of course the Pedias’ own Doghouse. You can help us make these sites, and in turn the Pedia searches, better by contributing missing items and information. Especially for Doghouse this is easy and quick and makes the Pedias better programs for everyone. If you haven’t signed up for Doghouse yet, check out the help files for more details on how you can contribute.

One Response to “Changes to the Amazon API”

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