How this site makes money

As of today, this site is not in a single affiliate programme, and no link on it is paid. That will change — affiliate commission is how the site is meant to pay for itself — and when it does, this page changes first and the programme gets named below. The rest of this page sets out the rules we are binding ourselves to before there is any money involved, which is the only honest time to write them.

How it works

When we link to a product, that link may carry a tracking code. If you buy within a set window — usually 24 hours to 30 days depending on the programme — the retailer or brand pays us a percentage of the sale. You pay the same price you would have paid otherwise.

What it does not affect

• Which products we check. We pick these by what people actually buy and what is prominent in the category, not by what pays.
• The scores. The rubric is published in full on How we score and it is mechanical. There is no adjustment for whether we can earn from a product.
• The order. Products are ranked by score, nothing else. The product currently topping our cookware table is one we have no way to earn from, and it stays at the top.
• What we say about faults. Every product entry lists what we would want you to know, and will keep doing so once we do earn from them. If we ever soften that, the site is worthless.

What we will not do

• Accept payment for a review, a score, a placement or an inclusion.
• Accept free products in exchange for coverage.
• Publish sponsored content dressed as editorial.
• Use a commission relationship as a reason to leave out a fault, a lawsuit or a regulator’s decision.

Programmes

None yet. We will name every programme here as we join it, and until a programme is named on this page, we are not in it — you can hold us to that. When we do, every affiliate link will be marked rel="sponsored" in the page source, and the disclosure will appear on the same screen as the first buying link rather than only in a footer.

Amazon

If and when we join the Amazon Associates programme, the required statement will appear here and on every page carrying an Amazon link.

Questions

If anything about how this site is paid for is unclear, ask us. An arrangement we would not want to explain is an arrangement we should not be in.