Links Policy & Future Affiliate Disclosure

Current state (June 2026)

Product links on this site currently go to amazon.com without affiliate tracking. We are in the process of applying to the Amazon Associates US program. Until we are accepted, none of the amazon.com product links you see in our articles earn us a commission.

Once we are approved, we will:

1. Add the standard Amazon Associate disclosure ("As an Amazon Associate, Arekore earns from qualifying purchases") above the fold on every article.
2. Update product links to include our affiliate tracking ID (matrixflow-20).
3. Update this page to reflect the active affiliate relationship.

We are publishing this policy now (before any affiliate relationship exists) because FTC guidance requires "material connection" disclosure as soon as there is a connection — and we want our policy posture to be clear from day one rather than retrofitted later.

How we make recommendations

Each article on this site is published as an editorial analysis, not a personal product review. Unless an article is explicitly labeled contentType: hands-on-test and our editors disclose the date of purchase, we have not personally tested the products covered.

Our editorial analyses synthesize three categories of public data:

1. Customer reviews on amazon.com — we sample verified-purchase reviews and report the sample size (e.g. "N=347 reviews analyzed") in each article's Methodology section.
2. Independent third-party tests — RTINGS, Wirecutter (New York Times), Consumer Reports, Tom's Guide, Reviewed (USA Today).
3. Manufacturer specifications — official spec sheets and user manuals.

We then write our recommendation based on this synthesis. The editor's role is to design the analytical methodology, interpret the aggregated data, and apply editorial judgment to the recommendation logic. Recommendations are not influenced by commission rates or affiliate relationships.

Affiliate programs (current and planned)

• Amazon Associates US (planned tracking ID: matrixflow-20). Application in progress as of June 2026.
• Amazon Associates Japan (tracking ID: matrixflow-22). Active — used only on our Japanese-language editorial archive (arekoreshop.com/lp/blog/), not on the English archive.

We do not currently participate in any other affiliate program. If this changes, this page will be updated.

Editorial independence

• Product selection in our articles is based on relevance to the article's topic, not on commission rates.
• We do not accept payment from manufacturers, retailers, or any third party for inclusion, placement, or favorable language in our articles.
• We do not solicit, encourage, or accept free product samples or sponsored press trips in exchange for coverage.
• When a competing product would be a better fit for a reader's use case, we say so even if that product is not in our affiliate program (we still link to it via a non-affiliate URL so readers can evaluate it).

FTC compliance

This site follows the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) and the FTC's 2024 final rule on fake reviews and testimonials .

Specifically:

• We never fabricate first-person experience. Phrases like "I bought", "I tested", or "I used" appear only when the editor genuinely owns the product and we disclose the purchase date in the article.
• We never publish reviews under fictional editor names, AI-generated personas, or virtual influencers. Articles are bylined "Arekore Editorial Team" — an anonymous group byline that does not imply individual hands-on experience.
• Every article that contains affiliate links displays the affiliate disclosure both above the fold (near the top of the page) and in the site footer.

Contact

If you have questions about a specific article, our methodology, or our affiliate relationships, please reach us via the contact form.