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Any reason you used an obfuscated, redirected affiliate link "tag=indiadefence-20"? Kinda diminishes the recommendation. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08

Any reason you used an obfuscated, redirected affiliate link "tag=indiadefence-20"? Kinda diminishes the recommendation. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083F8KG7N https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083F8KG7N bring you to the same product. I'm sure HN can afford the storage and bandwidth for the extra 21 chars. Ironically, i'm now costing them more with my reply to your comment than if you'd just linked Amazon directly without the ref.

trcollinson 6y ago
Does it bother you so much that he would put in a link that had an affiliate? I doubt he was trying to hide anything nefarious. I am linked to a few affiliates and when I share a link, it has the affiliate tag in it. He uses a great laptop, he shared it, you can look or not. I doubt he was trying to save HN bandwidth or storage.
- randompwd 6y ago
  > Does it bother you so much that he would put in a link that had an affiliate? Clearly yes - thus me commenting on it. > I doubt he was trying to hide anything nefarious Do you know this person and are speaking for their integrity? Would you swear to this person's honesty in a court of law in front of your peers? (ABSURDIST PART OF COMMENT) > I doubt he was trying to save HN bandwidth or storage. Right, my apologies for making the absurdist part of my reply not obvious enough. Will not make this mistake again.
libertine 6y ago
Why would it diminish the recommendation? Why shouldn't he get a cut from a product he referred to someone? Why should amazon collect all the referral fee for themselves, a fee that's charged either way on any seller, without cutting a slice for someone who actually referred to?
- encom 6y ago
  >Why would it diminish the recommendation? Because they're getting paid to recommend it, which is inherently dishonest. That should be obvious. And why link to Amazon at all? Link to the manufacturer instead: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x1/X1-Extreme-Gen-2/p/22TP2TXX1E2 https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x1/X1...
  - thomaslord 6y ago
    To be fair, they're getting paid to recommend buying it through Amazon. Sure there might be an incentive to link a higher-priced laptop to get a larger commission, but in terms of Lenovo-vs-some-other-brand I don't see any incentive for bias.
  - libertine 6y ago
    No it's not dishonest, he did a pretty simple comment. It's his recommendation, it doesn't say he is working for Lenovo, or Amazon. If he can be paid to generate money for Amazon and Lenovo, because he recommended someone to a product on a specific platform, why shouldn't he collect it? If it was a Lenovo shill that linked to Lenovo shop then that would be fine, because it didn't have a referral link?
    - encom 6y ago
      Are you looking for a cloud provider? I can think of no better provider than Digital Ocean™. Get your half-assed web app up and running in minutes with Digital Ocean™, using this easy to remember URL. https://m.do.co/c/79e624bd349b https://m.do.co/c/79e624bd349b Of all the providers I've tried, Digital Ocean™ is definitely the okayest.
      - libertine 6y ago
        I'm already a customer of Digital Ocean. Also I didn't ask for any recommendation, so what you did there is pretty much spam.
        6y ago
- randompwd 6y ago
  If he linked to an expensive product without a ref, i have zero doubt it's an honest recommendation. Linking to a product worth nearly 2 grand (where he gets a 5%? cut - ~$100 per purchase), then is it an honest recommendation or an easy money grab?
quickthrower2 6y ago
I’m with you. Posting affiliate links on HN is spammy imo and makes me question the recommendation. Is it a not so good model but the one Amazon has? Why not but from Lenovo direct?

trcollinson 6y ago

Does it bother you so much that he would put in a link that had an affiliate? I doubt he was trying to hide anything nefarious. I am linked to a few affiliates and when I share a link, it has the affiliate tag in it. He uses a great laptop, he shared it, you can look or not. I doubt he was trying to save HN bandwidth or storage.

randompwd 6y ago
> Does it bother you so much that he would put in a link that had an affiliate? Clearly yes - thus me commenting on it. > I doubt he was trying to hide anything nefarious Do you know this person and are speaking for their integrity? Would you swear to this person's honesty in a court of law in front of your peers? (ABSURDIST PART OF COMMENT) > I doubt he was trying to save HN bandwidth or storage. Right, my apologies for making the absurdist part of my reply not obvious enough. Will not make this mistake again.

libertine 6y ago

Why would it diminish the recommendation? Why shouldn't he get a cut from a product he referred to someone? Why should amazon collect all the referral fee for themselves, a fee that's charged either way on any seller, without cutting a slice for someone who actually referred to?

encom 6y ago
>Why would it diminish the recommendation? Because they're getting paid to recommend it, which is inherently dishonest. That should be obvious. And why link to Amazon at all? Link to the manufacturer instead: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x1/X1-Extreme-Gen-2/p/22TP2TXX1E2 https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x1/X1...
- thomaslord 6y ago
  To be fair, they're getting paid to recommend buying it through Amazon. Sure there might be an incentive to link a higher-priced laptop to get a larger commission, but in terms of Lenovo-vs-some-other-brand I don't see any incentive for bias.
- libertine 6y ago
  No it's not dishonest, he did a pretty simple comment. It's his recommendation, it doesn't say he is working for Lenovo, or Amazon. If he can be paid to generate money for Amazon and Lenovo, because he recommended someone to a product on a specific platform, why shouldn't he collect it? If it was a Lenovo shill that linked to Lenovo shop then that would be fine, because it didn't have a referral link?
  - encom 6y ago
    Are you looking for a cloud provider? I can think of no better provider than Digital Ocean™. Get your half-assed web app up and running in minutes with Digital Ocean™, using this easy to remember URL. https://m.do.co/c/79e624bd349b https://m.do.co/c/79e624bd349b Of all the providers I've tried, Digital Ocean™ is definitely the okayest.
    - libertine 6y ago
      I'm already a customer of Digital Ocean. Also I didn't ask for any recommendation, so what you did there is pretty much spam.
      - 6y ago
randompwd 6y ago
If he linked to an expensive product without a ref, i have zero doubt it's an honest recommendation. Linking to a product worth nearly 2 grand (where he gets a 5%? cut - ~$100 per purchase), then is it an honest recommendation or an easy money grab?

quickthrower2 6y ago

I’m with you. Posting affiliate links on HN is spammy imo and makes me question the recommendation. Is it a not so good model but the one Amazon has? Why not but from Lenovo direct?