Affiliate compensation does not affect the inclusion of vendors in our reviews. We pride ourselves on our unbiased reviews, which are conducted independently of affiliate negotiations.
We adhere to an internal policy that requires our writers and researchers to research a product or service deeply when writing an article, review or giving an opinion. Only after our work is written are we able to contract into affiliate relationships and monetize our relationships with merchants.
How does this work exactly?
First, our writers will write on a variety of topics. This might be in the form of a tutorial, tips, a review, or merely a reporting piece on an event. Many of our topics are also created based on visitor requests. Want to see something reviewed that isn’t already published on the site (search to see if it is in the search box)? Let us know and we’ll see if it is a good fit and then get our writers on it.
Second, we publish the article and then continually monitor it to see if you guys like it or not. We have an open comment policy that allows anyone to comment on any article. While the comments are moderated, we only edit them for grammar, spelling, and kid friendliness. Irrelevant, abusive, offensive, spammy, or duplicate comments (i.e. that have already been posted elsewhere) will not be published.
Finally, we compensate our writers, researchers, developers, editors and staff by establishing affiliate relationships.
What is an affiliate relationship? Let’s say we write an article about dog leashes. We may review a number of different leashes, outlining the pros and cons of each as derived from our research and visitor feedback (yes, you talk and we listen – many of your comments are incorporated into our articles). Once the article is written, we will link to participating dog leash products on the page. By following these links you can visit the merchants’ websites to learn more about them, their product or service. This referral (if linked to a participating partner) is tracked by the receiving website, and if it converts through to a lead or sale, we receive a commission. We then use these funds to compensate everyone that’s put in the long hours to get you the content you’re looking for.
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) issued new guidelines (“Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising“) on December 1, 2009 that change the federal guidelines for the use of testimonials and endorsements for the first time since 1980. In March 2013, the FTC issued a more specific set of guidelines (“Dot Com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising”) to set legal parameters for digital advertisers to abide by.
What’s the main goal of these guidelines? To ensure that endorsements reflect the endorser’s honest opinion. An endorsement is defined as an advertising message of any type that consumers are likely to perceive as representing the opinion of someone other than the sponsoring advertiser. The guidelines are designed to protect you, as the consumer, and enable you to make an informed and unbiased purchasing decision. Below you’ll find details on our compensation disclosure, written to conform with the new FTC guidelines.
Compensation Disclosure
This Compensation Disclosure has been provided for your protection and to fully disclose any relationship between this sites product or service recommendations and the owners of those product or services. It is always recommended that before you purchase products or services on the Internet, including those on this website, that you conduct your own research and exercise due diligence.
The owner of this website is required by law to inform you that a relationship exists between this website and the products or services it reviews, recommends or promotes.
1. Material Affiliation
It is advisable to assume that any mention of a product or service on this website is made because there exist, unless otherwise stated, a material connection between the product or service owners and this website. It should be understood that any recommendation made by the owner of this site for any product or service has been made in good faith. These recommendations reflect the fact that the owner has either tried the product or service or has extensively researched them and can give an honest opinion to the merit of the product or service. When any website makes any recommendation of a product or service it is advisable to assume the possibility of a material connection or relationship with the owners of those products or services.
2. Product/Service Partiality
Due to the material connection between the owner of this website and the owners of the products or services recommended here, it must be understood that a bias for these products or services might exist. These biases, although based on facts, could have developed because of compensation for such recommendations from the product or service owners although every effort has been made to provide accurate and true reviews of each product or service.
Regardless of whether the owner of this website has, or will receive compensation from product or service owners, it should be understood that a relationship exists between the two so there does exist, established or not, the potential for a material connection between product and service owner and the owner of this website.
Before entering into any agreement or purchasing any product from this website, it is advisable to understand the potential partiality of the website owner due to possible compensation from the owner’s of products or services recommended on this website. You should perform your own research and exercise due diligence prior to purchasing products or services from any website.
3. Compensation
The owner of this website may receive compensation for recommendations made in reference to the products or services on this website. This compensation may be in the form of money, services or complimentary products and could exist without any action from a website visitor. Should you purchase a product or service that was recommended by this website, it is understood that some form of compensation might be made to the website owner. For example, if you click on an affiliate link at this website and then make a purchase of the recommended product or service, the website owner may receive compensation.
4. This Compensation Disclosure Statement
The compensation disclosure statement has been made to inform you of the possibility that a material connection between a product or service mentioned, reviewed or recommended by this website and the product or service owner exist and that compensation to the website owner may be made should you purchase such product or service. Every effort has been made to provide true and accurate statements in regards to any and all products or services mentioned, reviewed or recommended by this website.
Should you have any questions, comments or concerns and would like to receive an answer or ask a question prior to purchasing any product or service mentioned on this website please contact us.
