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Affiliate Links Are Ruining Gadget Reviews | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 7 comments | Search Discussion
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by DavePolaschek on Wednesday December 04 2019, @01:50PM (4 children)

    by DavePolaschek (6129) on Wednesday December 04 2019, @01:50PM (#928096) Homepage Journal

    "Are ruining" implies that they’re not completely ruined yet. I think the correct tense would be "have ruined."

    • (Score: 2) by Coward, Anonymous on Wednesday December 04 2019, @02:06PM (3 children)

      by Coward, Anonymous (7017) on Wednesday December 04 2019, @02:06PM (#928098) Journal

      But "have ruined" says nothing about the present. Amazon affiliate links are nice because they are so short. This blogger likes them, even though I haven't seen a dime.

      • (Score: 4, Informative) by DavePolaschek on Wednesday December 04 2019, @02:44PM (1 child)

        by DavePolaschek (6129) on Wednesday December 04 2019, @02:44PM (#928106) Homepage Journal

        You can also use ASIN.cc to make short links. No need for affiliate links, last I checked.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 04 2019, @05:58PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 04 2019, @05:58PM (#928177)

          tinyurl too

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 04 2019, @02:45PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 04 2019, @02:45PM (#928108)

        Obligatory lmgtfy link [lmgtfy.com]

        Using duckduckgo instead of google, per accepted best practice. [soylentnews.org]

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday December 04 2019, @11:51PM

    by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Wednesday December 04 2019, @11:51PM (#928284) Journal

    Yes, what ethical entanglements a reviewer engages in ought to be disclosed.

    The author will readily accept demo units from a company at no cost and cannot see what the problem is with doing that, which actually has a much worse problem: one might then be sent a perfect unit and not a production one.

    I've never yet seen a reviewer whose work I've trusted who doesn't come right out and say that they're doing affiliate links and that they'll get a cut of any unit purchased through them. I haven't seen "click here for the best price" style clickbait on a review. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, just that I haven't been exposed. The sites where I see affiliate links only publish reviews of gear they either like or are putting out factual "spec" information without expressing much opinion about whether the product is "good."

    At any rate, if it's honestly disclosed then there is no problem. If it's dishonest then how can you trust the author of the piece's opinion?

    --
    This sig for rent.

  • (Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Thursday December 05 2019, @10:32AM

    by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Thursday December 05 2019, @10:32AM (#928409)

    Half of the times the reviewers are shills, and there's one thing you can be sure about the links: you're almost certain to find a better deal elsewhere.

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