Mean Mike

Yes, I know I can be a jerk, hectoring and nagging you and prodding you to do your bit. But it's that time again...if you haven't done so any time recently, it's time to buy yourself something nice. I know, I'm mean. Mean Mike.

It's a tough obligation, I know. But it's your duty, and I need you to suck it up. Look, we put up all this material for you to read. So every now and then we have to force you to pay us back. By buying something. For yourself.

It's a hard job, but you've got to do it.

Why? It's because whenever you buy something from B&H Photo or Amazon.com—and now The Book Depository too—through our links, we get a little kickback called an "affiliate fee." It's a small percentage of the sale price of the item. It comes out of their profit—you don't have to pay an extra cent.

My view of TOP. This is what I look at all day.

And even small items help a lot. The reason is because the percentage of the affiliate fee is on a sliding scale based on the number of items sold. The more total items, the bigger a percentage we rake in on everything. So even if you only buy some printer inks or an SD card or a microfiber cloth from B&H (and look at all the great Canon stuff they've got on sale), or a set of rechargeable AA's or a book about cameras (or maybe one about food) or some basic software from Amazon, it all helps out—more than you'd think. Honest. The little things are important.

Of course, if you want to buy yourself an attractive compact camera or a practical professional lens for your Canon or something to help with video editing, I wouldn't object to that either.

Everything Amazon sells counts (it doesn't have to be related to photography), but not anything that's already in your cart. You have to go there from here and select it and purchase it on the same visit for it to count.

Everything from B&H counts too.

You can bookmark the Amazon links but not the B&H link—for that to work you have to start your shopping trip from our site or one of our links.

Okay, now I'll stop being a jerk and leave you alone for another month. But not before reminding you that our links page, including links to Amazon in the U.K., Germany, and Canada, is here.

And, thanks very much!

Mike

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Comments

[DC Wells]

No need to apologize for the reminder, Mike. I doubt that I am alone in getting into product research and purchasing modes, then to the point of purchase at Amazon, B&H, etc., and forgetting that how I got there can make a difference to you (and to the rest of us in the long run).

[Hendrik]

Just two notes:
The links page does not have BD as yet. And while we're about web technicalities, the banner at the TOP of every TOP page does not link back to the most current post - as one would expect in a blog - but to some explanatory page in the wild blue yonder.

[Richard Parkin]

I find the easiest way is to copy your Amazon UK link and make it my Amazon UK bookmark. You should get a share of a cordless hedge trimmer and a Scorpion saw this week!
I always thought you deserved every penny you get from this site but after reading your copyfight post I'm even more of that opinion. TOP has always seemed a sea of calm and rational opinions and I am amazed to read that it is seething under the surface! Best wishes and, as we say in the UK 'nil carborundum illegitimi'.

[Jean-Claude]

Hi Mike!
I would love to use your link but I live in Europe and I order through Amazon.de or Amazon.fr. Can't you add those to your site? Or is there a way to enter Amazon.com through your site and then move to Amazon.de?
Sincerely,
Jean-Claude

[Jordan]

Mike, is it possible for you to enter into an affiliate program with Indigo.ca? They are a major book-seller in Canada and many people prefer them to Amazon.

[Dustin]

I always wonder if you actually end up receiving a cut when I use an affiliate link. I know there's some voodoo going on in the back-end of B&H's site, but there is definitely a lack of some sort of Pavlovian reward to make me feel all warm and gooey inside.

[- et -]

To pick a nit, the wording of your post *implies* that purchases have to be somehow related to photography, which is not the case. I recently ordered a couple of filters from Amazon for the ice maker in my refrigerator, and made a point of going to Amazon via the TOP link to get TOP a commission for that sale. I do the same for the purchases of every book that I buy from Amazon, including fiction.

- Tom -

[Walt]

Once we go to a website where you are an affiliate, is there any way to determine if you will be getting the credit?

[Steve Greenwood]

Mike:

How about a Book Depository link under "Portals" for those of us who wish to contribute but are just a mite lazy?

[Chad Thompson]

Click the Rich Text tab and your job will be easier. But the are some* of us for whom code is poetry.

I doubt the blink tag or all the font style changes I put here will actually be seen in the comment but hey I can try right?

[Mike Johnston]

Hi Jean-Claude,
Unfortunately my application for affiliation to Amazon.fr has been turned down several times, I don't know why--but I do have an affiliation to Amazon.de--you can find the link under the banner in the right-hand sidebar that says "Please Help Support This Site—Use Our Amazon Links."

Mike

[Mark Matheny]

Good to know, I thought it was only for photography type items that you got credit. I am planning on going to Amazon this week for some software.

[Mike Johnston]

Tom,
I just amended the post to make that more clear. Icemaker filters do count too.

Mike

[Brad C]

Any idea if I use one of your links above and then browse to other items if you get an affiliate credit? The one thing I do buy a lot of on Amazon are eBooks for my Kindle. Love to send something your way if I can...

[Mike Johnston]

"Once we go to a website where you are an affiliate, is there any way to determine if you will be getting the credit?"

Walt (and Dustin),
Apparently not--there's no acknowledgement at present for purchasers. What I get--besides a nice check every month--is a manifest of the items sold, the price, the affiliate percentage, and the amount of the payment to TOP. There's no invasion of your privacy in the accounting I see—I see only what sold, item by item, not everything that was grouped together in an order, and nothing about who bought what or where they live. I have sometimes tracked individual items just out of curiosity when someone buys something distinctive, but it's not easy for me to look up any particular purchase either. For instance, if you bought a UV filter, even if I can find a UV filter reported on the sales history page, there's no way for me to know for sure if that was you or someone else.

Mike

[Doug Dolde]

You are far from the only website I read that requests this. Why pick yours?

[Ruby]

I did use this as an excuse to get a new P&S for my purse last week (gave the old one to my son before he went to England), but I have followed your instructions today and bought my father's birthday/Christmas gifts well in advance. ☺

[David Dyer-Bennet]

If you just click that button labeled "Rich Text", your view of TOP will become much less ugly! :-)

And you can always switch back for any precision editing.

(Maybe for Typepad there are technical reasons to strongly prefer HTML mode; I use Wordpad, where there are not. Maybe it's just personal preference for HTML mode, which is fair enough -- until you imply we should feel sorry for how ugly your all-day work environment is, anyway.)

[Adrian]

For Amazon purchases, could you clarify: are items that are in pre-existing wish-lists counted toward TOP-originating sales?

[Adam Lozo]

I have a question. I am a regular visitor to your site and I buy a lot through Amazon. Is it necessary for me to click the Amazon link on your site each time I make a purchase or is there a cookie that allows me to buy on Amazon without interacting with your site?

I'll modify my behavior if needed, I just need to know.

[MJFerron]

You're not a jerk. (well ok once in a while but hey who isn't? :)

I enjoy this blog a lot and would miss it if no longer around. I do admit forgetting to use the links when making online purchases though. For the record I just bought a $25 adapter using your Amamzon link and bought a book two weeks ago using the same.

[John Krumm]

Can we just talk about that previous post? : )
I do need to buy a good strap for my somewhat porky dslr, just nice and comfy around the neck, nothing that makes me look like Rambo, so I'll try your link to B&H.

[Mike Johnston]

"Click the Rich Text tab and your job will be easier."

Chad,
I do toggle back and forth. Sometimes the sight of the dense thickets of code makes me chuckle, though.

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

"Any idea if I use one of your links above and then browse to other items if you get an affiliate credit?"

Brad,
Yes, absolutely, as long as it's done all in the same session. If you put stuff in your cart and return later to buy it, we don't get credit--even if BOTH visits originated from TOP links.

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

"You are far from the only website I read that requests this. Why pick yours?"

You're under no obligation to whatsoever. It's a free site; read if for free if you like. Only something between 2% and 5% of those who visit the site *ever* use our links or give back in any way. It's why I try to encourage people occasionally, because the difference of just a few percentage points makes a lot of difference to me.

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

"For Amazon purchases, could you clarify: are items that are in pre-existing wish-lists counted toward TOP-originating sales?"

No. Only when you go to Amazon from a TOP link, make your selections, and check out all in the same visit is credit registered to TOP.

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

Adam,
I was told some time ago by Amazon that bookmarking the specific link works to give us credit. I assume it still works that way. The links can be found on the Affiliate page, under the label in the right-hand sidebar.

Mike

[hugh crawford]

If you could get B&H or Adorama to take orders on the web for in store pickup you would be collecting a lot more in affiliate fees.

[[email protected]]

I use Apple,B&H,and Amazon for 95%+ of online shopping.
Just ordered some SDHC cards and other stuff from B&H
using your portal and will do so in the future. Of course,
if your TOP site sucked,I would't do so. Keep up the good
work. Just downloaded and started reading on my iPad
'Empire of the Summer Moon'. Great book! The index,notes,
bibliography,and photos at the end are alone worth the
price of admission.

[Ken Rahaim]

You should see a purchase for a console table and some metal wall art come through from Amazon in the near future. Thanks for the reminder and thanks for the work you and all your contributors do to provide us with this nice little corner of the net!

[Anonymous]

Well, we just bought some $7k+ worth of pro SLR gear through your B&H link earlier this year. I figure that ought to get me a couple of years of free reading on your site now! ;)

[Susan Buchanan]

Hi Mike,
It was my birthday last weekend so I celebrated by ordering a number of books - including the Steve McCurry opus - through your link in an effort to spread the joy. Certainly hope that it worked! Unlike your illustration, my book is a soft mauve with a black slipcase - very stylish - and I am now looking at building a room to house it! Either that or ejecting one of the kids from home - whichever works out cheaper!

[Sam Murphy]

I know you said everything at Amazon counts, just want to double check that Kindle books count?

[Mike Johnston]

"Well, we just bought some $7k+ worth of pro SLR gear through your B&H link earlier this year."

Bless you!

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

"I celebrated by ordering a number of books - including the Steve McCurry opus"

Susan,
Wow. How do you like it? I doubt I'll ever get to see one. It's never going to make it to the sticks where I live.

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

"just want to double check that Kindle books count?"

Sean,
They used to not, but now they do.

Mike

[Eric Peterson]

You know those days are over for CA business with the new Amazon tax.

[Cw.]

Happy to my part, Mike. I just Amazon'd (is that a proper verb?) two bluetooth headsets to go with the my new iPhone and my wife's. :-)