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I think part of why I used to trust Wirecutter was all the links (that I saw, at the time) were just Amazon Affiliates - it mitigated the conflict of interest i

by patmcc 3y ago

I think part of why I used to trust Wirecutter was all the links (that I saw, at the time) were just Amazon Affiliates - it mitigated the conflict of interest if I knew whichever of the 8 headphones I buy they're getting the same cut from Amazon. Why would they lie about which is best? But then with per-brand affiliate deals, yeah, I'm much more suspicious.

KingMob 3y ago
> Why would they lie about which is best? If the affiliate cut was a percentage they have an incentive to recommend pricier options (assuming they can't predict the price-volume tradeoff of their readers). If the affiliate is a flat fee per item, they have an incentive to recommend cheaper options, so more people buy. And in either case, they have a disincentive not to recommend a category at all. None of these are complete trust-killers, I'm just pointing out that getting paid out by Amazon instead of the brands doesn't eliminate incentives. All it does is ensure any incentive is consistent.
- daft_pink 3y ago
  I agree. I often wondered if they recommended pricier products before, because some things I bought were expensive. However, when they just were through amazon, they didn't have to have conversations with the company to get a commission. What happens if they test something and it's great, and the company making the great product refuses to give them a commission? If something is a good deal for them, will they not update the review, because the affiliate setup is making a lot of money and they don't want to adjust it? What happens if they don't like the affiliate system the company's website uses, because it doesn't track cookies well enough? Do they have to call the company after the test and have them setup a specific affiliate system? It just seems like a terrible idea and there all these conflicts when they are negotiating a side deal with the company they review vs just collecting a consistent cut from a large marketplace like amazon.

by patmcc 3y ago

KingMob 3y ago

> Why would they lie about which is best? If the affiliate cut was a percentage they have an incentive to recommend pricier options (assuming they can't predict the price-volume tradeoff of their readers). If the affiliate is a flat fee per item, they have an incentive to recommend cheaper options, so more people buy. And in either case, they have a disincentive not to recommend a category at all. None of these are complete trust-killers, I'm just pointing out that getting paid out by Amazon instead of the brands doesn't eliminate incentives. All it does is ensure any incentive is consistent.

daft_pink 3y ago
I agree. I often wondered if they recommended pricier products before, because some things I bought were expensive. However, when they just were through amazon, they didn't have to have conversations with the company to get a commission. What happens if they test something and it's great, and the company making the great product refuses to give them a commission? If something is a good deal for them, will they not update the review, because the affiliate setup is making a lot of money and they don't want to adjust it? What happens if they don't like the affiliate system the company's website uses, because it doesn't track cookies well enough? Do they have to call the company after the test and have them setup a specific affiliate system? It just seems like a terrible idea and there all these conflicts when they are negotiating a side deal with the company they review vs just collecting a consistent cut from a large marketplace like amazon.