Affiliate Disclosure
Some links on GoodBuy are affiliate links. Here is what that means, what it does not mean, and how we make money.
Some links on GoodBuy earn us a commission if you buy through them. That costs you nothing extra. It does not change our rankings, our verdicts, or the tier we put a product in. We list the honest cheapest route first, even when that route pays us least or nothing at all.
- Affiliate links are disclosed where they appear on the page, not just here.
- Not every link is affiliate. Many of our best recommendations are not monetized.
- A brand cannot pay for a better review, a higher tier, or inclusion in a teardown.
- We list the cheapest honest route first, regardless of what it pays us.
- GoodBuy shares ownership with a custom-manufacturing operation (Crateworks). We disclose this and hold that option to the same criteria as every brand we cover.
- Our editorial verdicts are written before affiliate relationships are considered. Commission rates are never an input to the scorecard.
Which links are affiliate
Where a link on GoodBuy earns a commission, we say so at the point of the link, typically with a label like "affiliate link" or a disclosure note in the relevant section. You do not have to read this page to know. The disclosure is on the page where the link lives.
Affiliate programs we participate in include retailer programs (such as Amazon Associates and similar networks) and direct brand affiliate agreements. The specific programs active for a given teardown are noted in that teardown.
How this does not affect our verdicts
Our teardown methodology scores every product on transparency, value, defensibility, and replicability. Those scores are applied before we consider monetization. The affiliate relationship, if any, is added to the page after the verdict is written.
The four tiers in every teardown rank options by honest value for the typical buyer. If the best answer for a given product is a used listing on a resale platform that pays us nothing, that is what we recommend first. We do not reorder tiers to favor higher-commission options.
We list the honest cheapest route first, even when it pays us least. If our verdict says buy it used or buy a spec-equivalent from a direct maker, an affiliate link to the original brand is not a reason to change that verdict.
How we make money
GoodBuy currently has two revenue sources:
1. Affiliate commissions. When a reader buys a product through a disclosed affiliate link on this site, we may receive a commission from the retailer or brand. The price you pay is identical to what you would pay going directly to the retailer.
2. Referrals to a custom-manufacturing operation. Where a teardown concludes that factory-direct or custom genuinely wins on value, we may refer readers to Crateworks, a custom-manufacturing operation. Crateworks is an affiliated entity (see common-ownership disclosure below). That referral may generate revenue for us. Crateworks is only mentioned in a teardown when our methodology concludes it is genuinely the best answer for that product and that buyer.
We do not accept payment from brands for coverage, favorable placement, or inclusion in a teardown. We do not run sponsored content or paid reviews.
Common-ownership disclosure
GoodBuy and Crateworks share common ownership. The FTC requires disclosure of material connections between a publisher and any company it recommends. This is that disclosure.
Crateworks is reviewed by the same criteria we apply to every other brand and option we cover. It is assigned to a tier based on its actual spec, price, and lead time relative to the alternatives. It is mentioned in a teardown only when it genuinely belongs in that tier for that product. If Crateworks is not the right answer for a given teardown, it is not mentioned.
The editorial verdict for any teardown is written independently of any referral revenue that Crateworks might generate. If Crateworks does not win on the merits, it does not appear in the recommendation.
We explain the full teardown methodology, our scoring system, and our sourcing standards in two places.