How Affiliate Links Work
A guide to the exact mechanics of how we make money from this website. We are hiding nothing. There is nothing to hide.
Step 1: You Click a Link
When you click one of our product links, it takes you to Amazon. The link contains a small tracking code (our affiliate tag: bestamazonaffiliateever-20) that tells Amazon we sent you. The link looks something like amazon.com/dp/B08...?tag=bestamazonaffiliateever-20. It is not mysterious. It is not malware. It is a URL with a query parameter.
Step 2: The Cookie Window (24 Hours)
After you click, Amazon drops a cookie in your browser. For the next 24 hours, anything you purchase on Amazon earns us a commission. This is the “cookie window.” After 24 hours, the cookie expires and we go back to earning nothing, which is our natural state. If you add an item to your cart, the window extends to 90 days for that specific item. We did not make these rules. Amazon did. We just benefit from them in extremely modest increments.
Step 3: The Commission
Amazon pays affiliates a percentage of each sale. The rate depends on the product category and ranges from about 1% to 10%. Most of the products we recommend fall in the 3-4% range. To put this in perspective:
Enough to buy approximately three-quarters of a vending machine candy bar.
Almost enough for a bad coffee. The coffee would still be warm, which is more than we can say for our revenue.
Now we're talking. If you are in the market for a $10,500 smart toilet, please use our link. We will name a conference room after you.
Why We Tell You This
Radical transparency. Most affiliate sites disclose their status in gray text at the bottom of the page in a font size designed for ants. We put ours front and center because we believe you should know exactly how this works. We also believe the numbers are inherently funny, and we would feel wrong keeping them to ourselves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do affiliate links cost me extra?
No. The price you pay on Amazon is exactly the same whether you click our link or navigate there yourself. Amazon pays us from their margin, not yours. We want to be extremely clear about this because trust matters and also because we cannot afford to lose a single reader.
Why are you telling me all this?
Because most affiliate sites treat their business model like an embarrassing secret. We think that is wrong. You deserve to know how this works, and frankly, the numbers are too funny to keep private. We earn $0.75 on a Squatty Potty. That is a real number. We felt you should know.
What if I click your link but buy something else?
We still earn a commission on whatever you buy within the 24-hour cookie window. If you click our link for a Squatty Potty and then buy a $2,000 espresso machine, we earn a commission on the espresso machine. We would also like to try your espresso.
Do you only recommend products for the commission?
Absolutely not. Our editorial standards are iron-clad: every product must be genuinely interesting, surprisingly useful, or so absurd that its existence demands acknowledgment. The commission is a pleasant side effect, like finding a dollar in your coat pocket, except the dollar is $0.75 and the coat is a website.
Can I support you without buying anything?
You can subscribe to our newsletter, share our content, or simply visit the site and enjoy it. That said, if you were already going to buy something on Amazon, clicking our link first costs you nothing and gives us approximately enough money to split a granola bar. We would appreciate it.
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As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.