FTC affilliate disclosure

…suppose the person works for the company that sells the product – or has been paid by the company to tout the product. Would you want to know that when you’re evaluating the endorser’s glowing recommendation? You bet. That common-sense premise is at the heart of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Endorsement Guides (pdf). – FTC¹⁾

This wiki strives to illustrate/present options rather than make recommendations (glowing or otherwise). A link to a product or service is intended to help reader research and not to endorse anything.

Exception: individual contributors may endorse/recommend but that should be done in an obviously-personal inclusion in the article. “So-and-so recommends such-and-such”.

Still, this is your affiliate disclosure. If you follow a link to a retailer like Amazon or eBay the wiki or its contributors may get a referral fee from the sale. It doesn't change the price to the customer.

Amazon wants to see these specific words: as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Notes:

1. this sheet tracks actual payments and not when the earnings were made. This can result in blank spots when either $0 was earned, or when the payout minimum was not met ($10, IIRC)
2. the gap and negative number in 2023 is because a $154.94 was awarded then the buyer returned the product a couple months later. The deduction slurped up all other commission earnings for a few months
3. the virtual server is priced in euros. It usually ends up being ~$15/mo so I used that figure here instead of tracking currency exchange rates.
4. in Feb 2023 I changed from taking the commission payouts as Amazon gift certificates to direct deposit. There is little practical difference since I regularly order from Amazon, but one of my accounts waives the fee on months when there is a direct deposit.
5. In 2024 Amazon started inviting me to programs that offer bonuses for meeting sales ~$1000. I've met this 2x and have received 2x $30 bonuses (boni?) as of June 26.