Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: The Honest, No-BS Truth About How We Keep the Lights On

> As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Last Updated: May 2026 Written by: Marcus Halloway, Founder & Lead Reviewer Reading Time: 6 minutes of complete transparency

Let's Have a Real Conversation

Look — before you dive into any of our board game reviews, you deserve to know exactly how this site puts food on the table.

This is our full Amazon affiliate disclosure statement, written in plain English by an actual human (hi, that's me), so you understand the financial relationship behind every single recommendation I make.

No legalese. No hidden fine print. No 8-point gray text crammed into the bottom of the page.

In my 11 years running tabletop gaming review sites, I've watched too many bloggers treat disclosures like a dirty family secret. That's not how we do things around here. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires clear, conspicuous disclosure when affiliate links are used — and honestly? You should demand it from every site you read.

> "Trust isn't a tagline. It's a transaction. Every link. Every recommendation. Every single word on this page." > — Marcus Halloway, Founder

The Trust Numbers That Matter

The 30-Second Version (For the Scanners Among Us)

In a hurry? Here's the entire arrangement in four bullet points:

• You click a product link on our site
• You buy something on Amazon
• We earn a small commission — and it costs you absolutely nothing extra
• We use the Amazon affiliate tag `sfpost20-20` on every outbound product link

The Trust Snapshot at a Glance

What Exactly Is an Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement?

An Amazon affiliate disclosure statement is a clear, written notice telling readers that a website earns commissions from qualifying purchases made through its product links.

The FTC's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) require this disclosure to be:

• Unavoidable — you shouldn't have to hunt for it like a hidden expansion pack
• Easy to understand — no legal mumbo jumbo, no PhD required
• Placed near affiliate content — not buried six clicks deep in a footer

• Every review page opens with the standard Associates disclosure
• Every product link is tagged and clearly identified as an affiliate link
• This dedicated page exists so you can read the full policy whenever the mood strikes

See It In Action: How Affiliate Disclosures Should Actually Work

Curious about why all this matters — and how the FTC actually enforces these rules behind the scenes? This short, sharp explainer breaks it down better than I ever could in writing:

> Pro Tip from Marcus: If a review site doesn't make their disclosure painfully obvious within the first scroll, that's your cue to be skeptical of every recommendation that follows.

How Our Commission Structure Actually Works (The Real Numbers)

Here's something most readers genuinely don't realize: Amazon's commission rates for the Toys & Games category — which covers virtually every board game we review — currently sit at around 3 percent as of 2026.

Not 30 percent. Not 13 percent. Three. Percent.

What That Actually Looks Like in Dollars

Let's make this painfully concrete:

• You buy a $60 board game through our link
• Amazon pays us roughly $1.80
• That's barely enough for a fancy coffee — and definitely not enough to bias a review

How We Choose What to Review (The Editorial Firewall)

This is where most disclosure pages get suspiciously vague. Let's get specific instead.

Our Five Editorial Commandments

• No publisher gets to approve a review before it goes live. Period.
• Free review copies don't equal positive reviews. If a game stinks, we say so — even if the publisher mailed it to us with a handwritten note.
• We physically play every game. Minimum 3 sessions. Often 10+ before we publish.
• Negative reviews stay negative. No update-for-payment, no quiet edits to please sponsors.
• Commission rates never influence rankings. The best game wins. Full stop.

Why We Chose Amazon (And Not 14 Other Affiliate Programs)

We get this question more than you'd think. Here's the honest answer:

• Trust — Amazon's return policy is the gold standard in tabletop. If a game arrives damaged, you get your money back without a fight.
• Selection — Roughly 95% of the games we review are actually in stock and shippable.
• Speed — Prime delivery means game night isn't postponed three weeks.
• Transparency — Amazon's affiliate dashboard makes it easy for us to maintain clean records and report accurately.

A Deeper Look: The Ethics of Affiliate Marketing Done Right

If you want to go one layer deeper into the world of ethical affiliate marketing — and why transparency is the single most underrated trust signal on the modern web — this video is required watching:

Your Rights as a Reader (Yes, You Have Them)

You are never obligated to use our affiliate links. Ever. Here's exactly what you can do:

• Search Amazon directly — type the game name into the Amazon search bar and buy it without our tag
• Shop your local game store — please do; FLGSes need love too
• Use a competing affiliate site — we won't be offended
• Buy used on BoardGameGeek's marketplace — sometimes the best deal in town

Questions? Concerns? Found a Mistake?

If anything on this page is unclear, or if you spot an affiliate link that isn't properly disclosed somewhere on our site, please tell us immediately. We treat transparency complaints with the same urgency as a missing meeple in a brand-new copy of Catan.

Reach out via our contact page, and you'll hear back from a real human (probably me, Marcus) within 24 hours.

> "The best review site isn't the one that sells the most games. It's the one you trust enough to come back to next year." > — Marcus Halloway

Thanks for reading every word. That, more than anything, tells me you take this hobby — and your money — seriously. So do we.

Now go roll some dice.

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