Affiliate disclosure

The Three Parties Involved

• GearSteal.com (Publisher) — we feature deals, reviews, and coupon codes. When a visitor clicks our affiliate link and buys, we earn a commission.
• The Retailer (Merchant/Advertiser) — the online store where the actual purchase takes place (e.g. REI, Backcountry, Cabela’s, Amazon). They set the commission rate and the cookie duration.
• You (the Consumer) — you browse GearSteal.com, find a deal you like, click through, and purchase at the retailer. Your price is the same regardless of the affiliate relationship.

Primary Revenue Sources

• Affiliate commissions — the primary source of income. We earn a percentage of each sale made through our affiliate links. This varies by retailer and product category, typically ranging from 2% to 15%.
• Display advertising — we may display third-party ads (e.g. via Google AdSense or direct partnerships) on some pages. These are clearly distinguishable from editorial content.
• Sponsored content — occasionally, brands or retailers may pay us to feature their products, deals, or promotional campaigns. All sponsored content is clearly labelled (see Section 10).

What We Do Not Do

• We do not sell products directly or process payments on behalf of any retailer.
• We do not sell your personal data to advertisers or third parties.
• We do not accept payment to change or fabricate editorial reviews or ratings.
• We do not earn commissions from coupon codes that are publicly available and not tracked through an affiliate programme.

Why Your Price Is Never Higher

• The affiliate commission is paid by the retailer out of their existing marketing budget — it is not added to your bill.
• Retailers set their retail prices independently of affiliate arrangements. They simply choose to share a portion of the sale value with us as a referral fee rather than spending that money on other advertising channels.
• Affiliate tracking is invisible to the checkout process — the retailer’s payment system does not see or respond to affiliate cookie data when calculating your total.

Our Editorial Independence Policy

• We do not accept payment for positive reviews. No retailer or brand can pay GearSteal.com to receive a favourable product review or a higher rating.
• We do not rank products by commission rate. Our “best of” lists and deal rankings are based on value, quality, user feedback, and editorial judgement — not on which retailer pays us the most.
• We feature deals we believe are genuinely good. If a deal is poor value, we won’t feature it — regardless of whether we have an affiliate relationship with the retailer.
• We disclose when content is sponsored. Any content that has been paid for or influenced by a brand relationship is clearly labelled (see Section 10).
• We include negative information. Our product reviews include drawbacks, limitations, and negative user feedback where relevant. Honesty builds reader trust, which is more valuable to us than any single commission.

Where Affiliate Income May Have a Subtle Influence

We believe in full transparency, so we also want to acknowledge where affiliate relationships could — even unintentionally — affect our content:

• We may be more likely to write about retailers and brands with whom we have affiliate relationships, simply because we can monetise that content.
• We may be more inclined to feature a deal from a retailer whose affiliate programme we participate in, compared to one with no programme — even if the deal quality is similar.
• The existence of an affiliate programme may factor into which retailers we choose to build long-term content relationships with.

We believe these influences are minor and do not compromise our editorial integrity. But we disclose them in the spirit of full transparency.

Deal Selection Criteria

• Discount depth — we prioritise deals that offer meaningful savings (typically 15% or more off the regular retail price).
• Product quality — we favour deals on well-reviewed, reputable products from trusted brands.
• Retailer reputation — we only feature deals from retailers with a track record of reliable fulfilment, fair return policies, and good customer service.
• Relevance to our audience — deals must relate to outdoor gear, camping equipment, hiking accessories, solar power products, or related categories.
• Price history — where possible, we verify that a “sale” price represents a genuine discount compared to the product’s recent pricing history.
• User demand — popular categories (tents, backpacks, sleeping systems) are prioritised because that is what our audience is looking for.

Product Review Process

For editorial reviews and buying guides:

• Reviews are based on research across multiple sources including manufacturer specifications, verified user reviews, expert outdoor publications, and where possible, hands-on testing.
• We do not accept free products in exchange for guaranteed positive reviews. If a product is provided for review purposes, this will be disclosed in the article.
• Ratings and rankings reflect our honest assessment of value, performance, and suitability for the target user.

Visual & Textual Indicators

• Page-level disclosure — most pages that contain affiliate links include a brief disclosure near the top, such as: “This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.”
• Button labels — “Shop Now”, “See Deal”, “Check Price”, “Get Coupon”, and similar call-to-action buttons typically link to affiliate-tracked URLs.
• Hover inspection — if you hover over a link, affiliate links often contain parameters such as awinmid=, tag=gearsteal, clickref=, or similar tracking identifiers in the URL.
• Site-wide footer disclosure — our site footer contains a brief affiliate disclosure statement on all pages.
• “Sponsored” labels — content that is paid for or directly commissioned by a brand is labelled as “Sponsored” or “Advertisement”.

What Is Sponsored Content?

Sponsored content is any article, deal feature, newsletter section, social media post, or other content for which GearSteal.com has received direct payment or other compensation from a brand or retailer. This may include:

• Featured deal placements or “spotlight” positions on the homepage or category pages.
• Branded buying guides or product roundups developed in collaboration with a specific brand.
• Newsletter sponsorships or dedicated email features.
• Social media posts or stories created at the request of and paid for by a brand.

How We Label Sponsored Content

All sponsored content on GearSteal.com is clearly and conspicuously labelled with one or more of the following disclosures, placed at the top of the content:

• “Sponsored”
• “Advertisement”
• “Paid Partnership with [Brand Name]”
• “This content was created in partnership with [Brand Name]”

Even when content is sponsored, we maintain our editorial standards. We will not publish false claims, misleading price information, or endorsements of products we do not genuinely believe offer value.

Sources of Coupon Codes

• Affiliate network feeds — many codes are distributed by retailers through affiliate networks (such as AWIN or ShareASale) specifically to affiliate publishers. Using these codes through our links may generate a commission.
• Retailer newsletters and public announcements — some codes are publicly available from the retailer’s own marketing. We share these as a service to our readers. These may or may not generate affiliate commissions depending on whether tracking is in place.
• User-submitted codes — our community may submit codes they have found. These are moderated and tested before publication. User-submitted codes do not generate affiliate commissions for GearSteal.com.
• Seasonal and promotional codes — codes associated with events such as Black Friday, Memorial Day, or Amazon Prime Day are often publicly available and shared as a reader service.

Accuracy of Coupon Codes

We make every effort to verify that coupon codes are active and working at the time of publication. However, codes can expire, reach usage limits, or be deactivated by the retailer at any time without notice. GearSteal.com cannot guarantee the ongoing validity of any coupon code. If you find a code that is no longer working, please report it using the “Report this deal” function or email us at deals@gearsteal.com.

What the FTC Requires

The FTC requires that any “material connection” between an endorser and a brand or retailer be clearly and conspicuously disclosed to consumers. A material connection includes:

• Any financial relationship — such as earning affiliate commissions from purchases made through links on a website.
• Receiving free products, services, or other benefits in exchange for coverage or promotion.
• Any employment, family, or personal relationship that could affect the credibility of a recommendation.

Because GearSteal.com earns commissions through affiliate links, this constitutes a material connection that must be disclosed. This page fulfils that requirement, as do the page-level and site-wide disclosures placed throughout the Site.

FTC Disclosure Placement Standards

The FTC requires that disclosures be:

• Clear — written in plain language that consumers can understand.
• Conspicuous — placed prominently so that consumers are likely to see them before interacting with the content.
• Close to the claim — ideally near the affiliate link or relevant recommendation rather than buried in a footer or separate page only.

GearSteal.com places disclosures at the page level (near the top of relevant articles and deal pages), in the site footer, and on this dedicated Affiliate Disclosure page to meet and exceed FTC requirements.

• Transparent disclosure — we must clearly disclose our affiliate relationship to users on all pages containing affiliate links. This page and our page-level disclosures fulfil this requirement.
• No misleading content — we must not publish false, misleading, or deceptive content about products, prices, or deals.
• No incentivised clicks — we must not offer users rewards, cashback, or incentives for clicking affiliate links, unless authorised by the specific advertiser’s programme terms.
• No cookie stuffing or fraudulent activity — we must not use any technical means to artificially inflate clicks, impressions, or commissions.
• Compliance with data protection law — we must handle any personal data accessed through AWIN’s systems in accordance with applicable data protection law (GDPR and equivalents).
• No brand bidding without permission — we must not use AWIN advertiser brand terms in paid search advertising without explicit advertiser consent.

Cookies Set by Affiliate Networks

When you click an affiliate link, the destination retailer or affiliate network may set a tracking cookie on your device. The most common example is the AWIN cookie (AWC), which records:

• The time and date of your click.
• The AWIN publisher ID associated with GearSteal.com.
• The advertiser (retailer) you were directed to.
• A unique click reference to track the session.

AWIN does not store your name, email address, or payment details in this cookie. The cookie is used solely to attribute any resulting sale to GearSteal.com as the referring publisher.

What Data GearSteal.com Receives

From our affiliate network dashboards, we receive the following aggregated data about commission activity:

• Number of clicks generated from our site.
• Number of sales attributed to our referrals (with sale values for commission calculation).
• Commission earned per transaction.
• Which of our pages or links generated the most sales.

We do not receive: your name, email address, physical address, payment method, or any other personally identifying information from retailers or affiliate networks.

Managing Affiliate Tracking Cookies

You can prevent affiliate tracking cookies from being set by:

• Declining non-essential cookies via our cookie consent banner.
• Using your browser settings to block or delete third-party cookies.
• Using a browser extension that blocks tracking cookies (e.g. uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger).
• Using a private/incognito browsing window (though this does not block all tracking mechanisms).

Note: disabling affiliate tracking cookies does not affect your ability to browse GearSteal.com or use deals and coupon codes. It simply means we will not receive a commission if you make a purchase, even if you arrived via one of our links.