Help out Ed and Jeff by using the affiliate links

[stephen_rockefeller]

Hey all just in case you didn't know how the affiliate program works I just wanted to reiterate what Ed said in a recent topic reply. They get a small commission when someone clicks on one of the links like S @ H.....they aren't making millions but they make enough to keep this site running. I figure since we all here use their great services for free, the least we can can do is click on the link from the store we buy our sets from, its a great way to tell Jeff and Ed thanks for this awesome site they have provided us!

[Huskers1236]

This is a good point and one I didn't know until the recent topic about TRU sucking. I had just assumed they picked up some $$ for having the banners, but didn't know they were linked and could track where the sales came from. I will make sure all of my future Shot at Home purchases are through the site, is there a place for Walmart? I will find deals from the deals link, but not sure if that is part of the affiliate program or not. If so, I will make sure to shop that site through here too. A big thanks from me to Jeff and Ed for this site, it is amazing, but costing me a lot of money too:)

[ViciousBrick]

I don't do too much talking on the forum, but I do visit this site on a daily basis. Between the news feed, education from the blog articles and looking at all the deals that are brought up to save me money, the site is an amazing value and asset to us all. You can spend days on the forum alone. The site and forum that are turning into a guide/bible. I would actually have no problems paying to be part of quality resource, yet they offer it for free, so thanks to them. I know Huw at Brickset makes a post at least once or twice a year to remind people that he keeps that site free too by collecting revenues from links. We are going to buy the sets anyhow, so in order to keep a resource like this growing I support it. I remember reading the site has only been around for about a year or so now, so just think what it might become with some backing and support. Thanks again!!

[Ed Mack]

I would like to thank you for mentioning this. It is a tacky subject and we really don't want to ask people to click on links because they will think we are money hungry. Sites like ours and Brickset.com remain FREE to the LEGO fan because of these affiliate programs. By simply clicking on a LEGO S @ H, EBAY, Target, Walmart, etc..link and buying a set, you enable us to receive a small commission that goes to pay for EBAY Terapeak data and server costs. It will also help us hire other programmers to do some work that Jeff just cannot find the time to do. Because of the site's recent success, we have had to increase our servers, which doubled their monthly cost. Like I said, we don't want to ask people to click on links to help us make money, but being the topic was brought up, I'm just being as honest as I can. The more money we make, the better and more options the site will get.....and it will remain FREE to all users. It's as simple as that. But if we cannot make enough money off of simple clicks by members, we will be limited in what we provide the LEGO fan. One thing Jeff and I observe is that some members do everything they can to avoid clicking on a link from our site. They must be aware of the affiliate program and don't want us to benefit from their link clicking and must log out and sign into a site from somewhere else. We are cool with this practice, but like I said before, the pennies or couple of dollars we get from a LEGO purchase go back into the site. Jeff and I have real jobs and that's how we pay our bills. By not clicking on our links and letting LEGO, Target, EBAY, etc...keep that commission, you are only hurting our ability to provide new and better options, tools, features, giveaways, etc.. We have a ton of cool ideas and are working as hard as we can to get them to you. It takes a lot of time and some money to do this. Thanks for your time and understanding on this subject...

[dschooley]

Thank you Ed and Jeff. I have actually wondered how the site was funded, and I appreciate your laying it out for me. This site is invaluable to me as a collector and investor. It has really helps me optimize my money, and it is quite enjoyable to participate in the discussions. I know I will make a more concerted effort to use the site links to make my purchases. I will buy them anyway, and why not benefit this site and the people who use it.

[dschooley]

Ed or Jeff, I would like to verify an assumption of mine. If I click a link from a post that you make for a set that is on sale, do you receive credit for that set? Also, what if someone else posts a link? I wan't sure if the homepage links were handled differently or not. My assumption is that through cookies or some other mechanism that you do receive that credit, but I just wanted to make sure. Thank you

[Ed Mack]

Thank you Ed and Jeff. I have actually wondered how the site was funded, and I appreciate your laying it out for me. This site is invaluable to me as a collector and investor. It has really helps me optimize my money, and it is quite enjoyable to participate in the discussions.

I know I will make a more concerted effort to use the site links to make my purchases. I will buy them anyway, and why not benefit this site and the people who use it.

Ed or Jeff, I would like to verify an assumption of mine. If I click a link from a post that you make for a set that is on sale, do you receive credit for that set? Also, what if someone else posts a link? I wan't sure if the homepage links were handled differently or not. My assumption is that through cookies or some other mechanism that you do receive that credit, but I just wanted to make sure. Thank you

Thanks again. To us, this is a delicate situation. We don't want to charge the LEGO fan any money for our site. We would rather make money to pay for the site from companies like LEGO, EBAY, Target, Walmart and their affiliate programs. By clicking on the links on our site, it costs the Brickpicker member ZERO money, yet helps us maintain and improve the site.

As for your question, clicking on any of our links on the homepage, Price/Set guide page, TOP 50 pages, etc...all help the our cause and gives us a small commission. Clicking on Jeff's or my posts in the forums will do as well. It gets tricky with other member's links. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. We try to fix what we can. Sometimes just going from our site to another will help, sometimes it won't. The easiest way to assure us getting an affiliate fee is by clicking on the "BrickPicker links."

We are not asking people to bend over backwards to click on our links, but maybe if more people were aware of how we pay for it, they will help us out. Sites like ours and Brickset.com are lucky that the creators are web engineers, or the sites never would have been developed. Huw and Jeff have spent years putting together these sites and the actual programming cost of the site can be measured in six digits. We would love to be able to hire a programmer to help Jeff implement some of my crazy ideas and really give members even more outstanding features. Right now, people just have to be patient and see what Jeff's schedule allows him to do. Once again, thanks for letting us explain the affiliate program and how it affects our site to members...

[paulstenson]

I would like to thank you for mentioning this. It is a tacky subject and we really don't want to ask people to click on links because they will think we are money hungry. Sites like ours and Brickset.com remain FREE to the LEGO fan because of these affiliate programs. By simply clicking on a LEGO S @ ****, EBAY, Target, Walmart, etc..link and buying a set, you enable us to receive a small commission that goes to pay for EBAY Terapeak data and server costs. It will also help us hire other programmers to do some work that Jeff just cannot find the time to do.

Because of the site's recent success, we have had to increase our servers, which doubled their monthly cost. Like I said, we don't want to ask people to click on links to help us make money, but being the topic was brought up, I'm just being as honest as I can. The more money we make, the better and more options the site will get.....and it will remain FREE to all users. It's as simple as that. But if we cannot make enough money off of simple clicks by members, we will be limited in what we provide the LEGO fan.

One thing Jeff and I observe is that some members do everything they can to avoid clicking on a link from our site. They must be aware of the affiliate program and don't want us to benefit from their link clicking and must log out and sign into a site from somewhere else. We are cool with this practice, but like I said before, the pennies or couple of dollars we get from a LEGO purchase go back into the site. Jeff and I have real jobs and that's how we pay our bills. By not clicking on our links and letting LEGO, Target, EBAY, etc...keep that commission, you are only hurting our ability to provide new and better options, tools, features, giveaways, etc..

We have a ton of cool ideas and are working as hard as we can to get them to you. It takes a lot of time and some money to do this. Thanks for your time and understanding on this subject...

Why? This is idiotic!

[force392]

Why? This is idiotic!People must think it costs them in some way. I would rather give a site like this the commission then let the retailer keep the extra percentage. It costs me nothing and keeps this site free to use.

[Talon]

Hmm, I'm glad this was posted. I've clicked on the links in postings, hopefully that has given Ed and Jeff some money. But, I haven't gone out of my way to click on the links on the main page. I'm sorry about that and I will use them when I purchase something from now on, because Brickpicker is valuable to me. It is the main Lego site I use, so thanks to Ed and Jeff for doing such a great job!

[Ed Mack]

Hmm, I'm glad this was posted.

I've clicked on the links in postings, hopefully that has given Ed and Jeff some money. But, I haven't gone out of my way to click on the links on the main page. I'm sorry about that and I will use them when I purchase something from now on, because Brickpicker is valuable to me.

It is the main Lego site I use, so thanks to Ed and Jeff for doing such a great job!

Every little bit helps. Even clicking on a link and buying it several days later still registers for most affiliate accounts. Like I have stated earlier, we don't like to harp on the subject, but the Affiliate Programs are how we pay for the site. Without that money, I doubt there would be a site. I mean, I love LEGO bricks and all of you members, but Jeff and I are not independently wealthy and shelling out tens of thousands of dollars yearly to pay for the BrickPicker site is not something we would be able to do without you clicking on our links and buying the LEGO sets.

[Formula]

Speaking solely for myself, I tend to click through the links from my credit card company to get the higher cash back rewards (4% at TRU and 5% at Lego.com). I've wondered though: if I click an affiliate link, add an item to my cart, and then go to my credit card company and click through that link and check out, will I get my cashback and help the site?