I Joined Amazon Vine! - How It Works & My First Orders

[@MorganTheGorgon]

I was just invited the same way (via pop up banner that I nearly dismissed without reading lol) and honestly? Even with the tax stuff, and even with all the junk to sift through, this is such a dope program. There are a bunch of little things I’ve found that I’d never really buy otherwise, just because I couldn’t justify spending ~$20 on like, a mini ambiance lamp or something like that. I love being able to upgrade a bunch of items around the house (nearly) free of charge. It feels vaguely like self care for some reason?? Plus, it’s nice to finally be rewarded for all the reviews I’ve spent time writing out 😭 Bezos is sucky but I have to admit I really like this program.

[@WhitePandaBoy]

I hope you see this as I have been accepted into the program, do you HAVE to review a certain number of products per day/month to stay in the program? I am super interested in trying new products but like you said with taxes in the U.S. it's considered income. I have income but I wouldn't be able to pay 1,000 extras, in taxes, when the time comes. Please let me know, I think others would like too as well!

[@Pobsta-de7hb]

It is not just the US anymore, from october 2023 it is Germany, the Uk and many places that all items are considered tax, there is just a ton of confusion at the moment because no one has reached the end of the year yet, seeing as amazon only submit from october 2023, and so no one in the UK or Germany have had the tax to pay yet, but it is all coming. Look at health items, beauty, baby items and also keep an eye on every item, as many are 0.00 tax, even for you in the US and you can pick up some fantastic stuff and have no tax to worry about. Each item you can view the estimated tax value by clicking the request item button, when you see 0.00, evenin the us there is no tax what so ever on it. I have stocked my health cabinet up, got my wife so much in the way of lipsticks, nail machines, all sorts of things, my dogs have some wonderful things, all totally tax free. When you want something that it shows a taxation amount (the price of the item basically) then view it as you are receiving a massive discount, such as 70% off for example, and put by the little amount of tax, for in case and when the time comes to pay the tax amount. So far I have loved amazon vine but for now as I am in Germany awaiting people to receiving their first tax experiences, I am sticking only to what I really need and considering them as items at a huge discounted rate, and for obviously 0.00 tax items, and it is still great!

[@WhitePandaBoy]

@@Pobsta-de7hb So my main thing is do you have to review a specific number of items to stay in the program?

[@Pobsta-de7hb]

@@WhitePandaBoy I have no idea, I know you can have a break, well I have read you do not have to get anything, you are nor forced by things like get a certain amount of products within a certain amount of time etc. As far as reviews and having to review products or a specific amount, I am not sure. If I had to guess I think if you stayed with the program a very long time and wrote nothing about dozens or even a hundred plus items over a long period, they might not like it. Good question actually but if I had to guess, I would think you would get removed if you just bought items all year and never wrote reviews, the entire point is for reviews really, but it is a guess as I am not sure. It is not the main thing on most peoples minds right now, this tax malarky is and these uploaders, especially Germany and the UK have no idea, they just hate on you when you mention that they are going to be taxed on the items, because they simply have no idea and do not want to be taxed, but it is a fact and it is coming, now.

[@verygrateful4712]

As of 8/17/24 If you are in the USA AND in the "silver tier" you must order 80 products within your 'review period'... 6 months AND you must review 90 PERCENT of the items you receive - so if you end up ordering 200 products you must review 180 of those products. In the silver tier you can order 3 items a day and the max FMV of each item can not exceed 100.00. (Gold tier can order 8 items with no limit on cost) You are wise to consider taxes; you will receive a 1099-NEC and must pay Federal, and possibly state and local taxes on the "FMV" (Fair Market Value) of the items you get.

[@VDOVault]

@@WhitePandaBoy Hi American Vine reviewer here & in order for you to stay in the program, you only need to turn in 60% (or more) of your reviews which Amazon then acknowledges receipt of, then accepts (or asks you to rewrite, for example in the USA if you order a medical item you may not be able to write in your review 'this cured my psoriasis' but you can say 'my skin looks better & itches less' & Amazon would then approve & publish your review, this rule has to do with US Food & Drug Administration or FDA laws). When Amazon approves & publishes your review on the Amazon web site's listing for the item your review counts towards both the total number of reviews you have written & your percentage of completed & Amazon accepted reviews So if you merely ordered 10 items during your 1st 6 months in Vine, you would be expected to do 6 reviews at a minimum during those 6 months to remain in the Vine program. If however you can do at least 80 reviews in 6 months time AND at least 90% of everything you select & order from Vine is reviewed & accepted by Amazon then you qualify for the Gold tier at your 1st evaluation which is ~6 months from the day you join Vine. Gold level reviewers can order up to 8 items per day (the tier you come in at Silver can order only 3 items per day) AND Gold reviewers have no limits on the values of the items they choose (Silver reviewers can only see items that are valued between $0 & $99.99 in the USA, so whatever is the Euro equivalent of $US 99.99 & below you will be able to see & choose in Germany as a Silver level vine reviewer). Otherwise with 60% of your items selected reviewed & approved by Amazon means you get to stay in the Vine program for the next 6 month period at the Silver level.

[@Drozka19]

Hi! take care with what you order from Vine, the next year you'll have to pay taxes for all that sh!#$% stuff. From 2023 Amazon is reporting the total value of all or your orders to your tax agency and a lot of people is leaving the program cause of this.

[@HexaAngel]

So I've heard! I'm definitely paying attention to how much stuff I'm ordering and the total monetary value of it. But the good news is, per Amazon's agreement with Vine members, the items only become "yours" after 6 months, by which time the majority of consumer goods will have dropped in value by 30 to 50%. I'm definitely considering getting a tax consultant to help me with this next year!

[@BarmyTwubble]

Wrong. In Germany you are taxed for it all. You pay taxes for every vine item, why are you spreading false information? I am in Germany by the way and with vine.

[@BarmyTwubble]

​@@HexaAngelNope. The tax is from the moment you buy at that price. If the item is 100,00. You are taxed on 100,00. Plain and simple. I thought all of what you do to when I joined. Also this person saying in Germany there is no tax for vine or Europe. This is completely false as well. I only wish it was not

[@VDOVault]

@@HexaAngel I can't advise anyone on German or non-US taxes but getting tax advice is a very good idea & the sooner the better so you can plan ahead. But how I explain Vine to Americans is "I order items from Amazon from a list of items included in the Vine program. I keep track of what I have ordered & then set aside a certain amount of money to pay for my Vine items to the IRS (the US federal / national taxing authority) Since US federal income tax rates are between 11% & 37%, for most people setting aside ~25%-30% of the item's ETV (estimated tax value) in savings for when their taxes become due is a smart thing to do. If an item is marked as $0 (or I guess in your case 0 Euros) ETV then that is a truly 'free from Amazon' item. But otherwise think of getting the Amazon item for the tax rate you pay in income taxes, so for example if that is a 25% tax rate, you get ~75% off of the item's ETV (which usually matches the Amazon retail price). Also unless the Amazon retail price goes down (which means the ETV goes down the same amount, for example this happens sometimes during Amazon's US Prime Days sales promotions), you don't see any sales pricing on the item in Vine, US Vine reviewers do not get to apply coupons or discounts to lower an item's ETV & will probably have to pay some percentage in taxes on that item). In the USA, taxes get complicated fast but that's basically how it works for US Vine reviewers.

[@lancamkedz]

How can you easily join? I heard it may take a while

[@Pobsta-de7hb]

You do not join, you are invited only by amazon. There is no joining process. Leave lots of reviews for your items and detailed and get many people to see them and like them, and you may be lucky enough to be invited, that is the only way though, invited and it is based on your review history, how many see them and how many like your reviews to as whether amazon invite you but it is not that hard, review a lot that you buy is my advise.

[@VDOVault]

You can improve your odds of getting an invitation to join Vine by leaving reviews for the Amazon products you buy or have bought. Be honest & think what would a potential buyer want to know about the item & then write about that. Also if you have suggestions for improvements to the product, suggest them. Same goes for an additional use for the product (like I make baked potatoes in my air fryer because the skin gets crispier).

[@HexaAngel]

Unfortunately it just comes down to luck, but keep organically reviewing the products you order on Amazon and maybe you'll get lucky!