Laurel Picks earns commissions from affiliate programs when you buy through our links. This page explains exactly how that works, which programs we participate in, and why it doesn’t influence our recommendations.
How we make money
Laurel Picks is a free resource. We don’t charge readers, we don’t sell subscriptions, and we don’t run display advertising. Instead, we’re a participant in affiliate programs run by the retailers we link to. When you click one of our links and buy something, the retailer pays us a small commission — at no extra cost to you. That commission is what keeps the lights on so we can keep publishing honest reviews.
Amazon Associates Program
Laurel Picks is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Most of the product links you’ll see on Laurel Picks point to Amazon. We chose Amazon as our primary affiliate partner because it’s where the majority of our readers already shop, its selection is broad, its return policies are reader-friendly, and its fulfillment is reliable. Every outbound Amazon link on this site is tagged with our Associates tracking ID so Amazon can credit the referral to us.
Other affiliate programs
In addition to Amazon, Laurel Picks may from time to time participate in other affiliate programs with individual retailers, brands, or networks (for example, direct-to-consumer brand partnerships or networks such as Impact, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, Rakuten Advertising, or Skimlinks). When we link to a non-Amazon retailer, that link may also be an affiliate link. The same rules apply: the retailer pays us a commission, you pay the same price you would pay anywhere else, and we never let a commission rate decide who wins a review.
This list of partners may change as we expand our catalog and find retailers whose products and customer experience meet the same standards we apply to our editorial picks. We’ll keep this page current as new programs are added.
How this affects what you pay
It doesn’t. The price you see on Amazon (or any other partner retailer) is the same price you’d see if you arrived there without clicking one of our links. Affiliate commissions come out of the retailer’s marketing budget, not your pocket. There are no hidden markups, surcharges, or “affiliate pricing” tiers on any of the products we recommend.
How this affects our editorial picks
It doesn’t — and this is a line we hold strictly. No brand, retailer, or affiliate network buys a top spot on Laurel Picks. We don’t accept payment for editorial placement, “sponsored” rankings, or product-of-the-month deals. If a product we’d love to recommend isn’t available through any affiliate program we participate in, we still recommend it; we just earn nothing on the referral. Conversely, if a product is offered with an unusually generous affiliate commission but falls short in testing, we leave it off.
Our rankings are based on hands-on testing, expert and editorial research, documented product specifications, and reader feedback — not on which program pays the highest commission.
How to identify affiliate links
You can assume that any outbound link from Laurel Picks to a retailer’s product page — whether in a review, comparison table, “buy button,” or sidebar — is an affiliate link. For search-engine and accessibility best practices, every outbound affiliate link on this site is tagged with rel="nofollow sponsored noopener" and opens in a new tab.
Required disclosures
This disclosure is provided in accordance with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” and with the Amazon Associates Operating Agreement.
Questions
If anything here isn’t clear, or you have questions about a specific link or product on the site, please get in touch.