Affiliate Disclosure

1What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a standard practice in online publishing where a website earns a small referral commission when a reader clicks a product link and makes a qualifying purchase on the retailer’s website. The retailer pays the commission — not the reader.

Think of it like a referral fee. If a friend recommended a contractor and the contractor paid your friend a small “thank you” when you hired them, that would be structurally similar to affiliate marketing. The key questions any reader should ask are:

• Does the referral fee change the price I pay? No — affiliate commissions are paid by the retailer from their existing margin. You pay exactly the same price you would if you went directly to the retailer’s website.
• Does the commission influence the recommendation? At Gladewick, no — see Section 6 for our full editorial independence pledge.
• Is it disclosed transparently? Yes — this entire page exists for that purpose, and every article with affiliate links carries a disclosure notice.

Affiliate marketing is the primary mechanism that allows Gladewick to offer all of our expert content completely free to readers. Without this and display advertising, publishing the level of content we produce — written by 18 credentialed specialists — would not be sustainable.

2How It Works on Gladewick

Here is the exact sequence of events when an affiliate link on Gladewick is involved:

3Our Affiliate Programs

Gladewick participates in affiliate programs from a range of retailers and platforms relevant to home improvement, garden, interior design, tools, and home products. The programs we participate in include but are not limited to:

4What Commissions We Earn

Affiliate commission rates vary by program, product category, and retailer. As a general reference:

• Amazon Associates: Commissions range from approximately 1% to 10% depending on product category. Most tools, home improvement, and garden categories fall between 3% and 8%.
• Home Depot / Lowe’s: Commissions are generally in the 1%–5% range depending on product category and sale size.
• Furniture and decor (Wayfair, etc.): Commissions in home decor and furniture categories often range from 5%–10%.
• Brand-direct programs: Commission rates vary widely — typically between 4% and 15% for specialty home and garden brands.

5What This Means For You as a Reader

What affiliate links DO

• Allow Gladewick to fund expert content at no cost to you — keeping the Site free and paywall-free
• Take you directly to the product page on the retailer’s website, making it easy to check availability and current pricing
• Result in a small commission for Gladewick if you make a qualifying purchase — at no additional cost to you

What affiliate links do NOT do

• Add any cost or markup to the price you pay — you pay exactly the same price you would visiting the retailer directly
• Influence the rating, recommendation, or ranking of any product in our editorial content
• Obligate you to buy anything — you are always free to use our content and purchase elsewhere, or not at all
• Give Gladewick any access to your personal information, payment details, or purchase history on the retailer’s site
• Result in a commission if you click but don’t purchase, or if the purchase happens after the cookie has expired

6Our Editorial Independence Pledge

This is the section that matters most. Affiliate marketing only works as a trust system if the publication’s editorial judgments are genuinely independent of its commercial relationships. We take this seriously, and here is exactly how we protect it:

• Recommendations are made first, links added second. Our expert authors evaluate and recommend products based entirely on performance, quality, and value. Affiliate links are added editorially after — not during — the evaluation process.
• Commission rates never affect rankings. When we rank products in a “Best Of” roundup, the order reflects performance — not commission percentage. We rank lower-commission products above higher-commission ones whenever they perform better.
• We recommend products with no affiliate links when they are genuinely best. If the best product in a category has no affiliate program, we recommend it anyway and link to it without compensation. Our credibility depends on accuracy, not commissions.
• Negative reviews stand. If a product performs poorly in testing, it receives a negative review regardless of whether an affiliate relationship exists. We have and will continue to publish unfavorable reviews of products in affiliate programs.
• Brands cannot pay for editorial coverage. No brand, retailer, or manufacturer can pay Gladewick to be included in, ranked higher in, or featured in an article. All editorial placements are earned through merit.
• Authors don’t know commission rates when writing. Our authors evaluate and write about products without knowledge of — or influence from — whatever commission rate may or may not apply to that product.

7How to Spot Affiliate Links on Gladewick

We believe you should always know when a link on our Site may generate a commission. Here is how we make affiliate links visible:

• Top-of-article disclosure: Every article with affiliate links carries the notice shown above before any product recommendation appears
• Consistent placement: The disclosure appears in the same location across all articles — you’ll learn to recognize it immediately
• No disguised links: We never use misleading anchor text or disguise affiliate links to appear like non-commercial links
• This disclosure page: Linked from the footer on every page of the Site so it is always one click away

8Sponsored Content

In addition to affiliate marketing, Gladewick may occasionally publish sponsored content — articles, guides, or roundups that are produced in partnership with a brand and for which Gladewick receives compensation.

Every piece of sponsored content on Gladewick is clearly and prominently labeled at the top of the page using language such as “Sponsored,” “Paid Partnership,” or “Partner Content.” This label will always appear before any editorial content begins.

• Sponsored content must meet the same factual accuracy standards as our editorial content
• Sponsored content will never make false or misleading claims about a brand’s products
• Gladewick retains the right to decline any sponsored content that conflicts with our editorial values or misleads readers
• The existence of a sponsored content relationship with a brand does not guarantee positive coverage of that brand in our independent editorial content

If you have questions about whether a specific piece of Gladewick content is sponsored, email support@gladewick.com.

9Display Advertising

Gladewick also earns revenue through display advertising served by Google AdSense and potentially other third-party ad networks. Display advertisements appear in designated advertising areas on the Site — typically in sidebars, between article sections, or at the end of content.

• Display advertisements are served automatically by Google’s advertising technology based on page content and visitor interests — Gladewick does not hand-select individual advertisements
• The appearance of an advertisement on Gladewick does not constitute our endorsement of the advertised product, service, or company
• Advertisers have no influence over Gladewick’s editorial content, product recommendations, or article rankings
• Gladewick receives payment based on ad impressions or clicks — not based on whether you purchase from an advertiser

For information about how Google uses data to serve advertisements on our Site, visit Google’s Privacy Policy and our Privacy Policy section on Google AdSense.

10FTC Compliance

This Affiliate Disclosure is published in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) guidelines on endorsements and testimonials in advertising, specifically 16 CFR Part 255, which requires that material connections between a reviewer and a brand or retailer be disclosed clearly and conspicuously.

Under these guidelines, Gladewick’s affiliate relationships constitute a “material connection” because they represent a financial benefit that could potentially influence our recommendations. We disclose this connection because:

• It is legally required by the FTC
• It is the right thing to do for our readers
• Our long-term credibility depends on complete transparency

The FTC guidelines also apply to any free products received by Gladewick authors for review purposes. Whenever a product was provided to a Gladewick author at no charge for the purpose of review, this will be disclosed within the review itself. Products received for free are evaluated with the same rigor as purchased products, and receiving a product does not guarantee a positive review.

11Contact Us

If you have any questions about our affiliate relationships, want to report an undisclosed affiliate link, or want to understand how a specific piece of content was produced, please contact our editorial team.

Review our complete set of trust and policy documents:

• Editorial Policy — Our full standards for research, authorship, and review
• How We Test Products — Melissa Torres’s exact product evaluation methodology
• Privacy Policy — How we handle your personal data and browser cookies
• Terms of Use — The full legal terms governing use of this Site
• Disclaimer — Liability limitations for our home and garden content
• Corrections Policy — How we handle factual errors