Knowzy's Affiliate Advertising Policy

Knowzy writes for you, not our advertisers. Using journalistic principles as our guide, we strive to tell stories accurately, completely, fairly, transparently and, most importantly, with your interests in mind. You are our reader, not a sales prospect.

Advertising in general can test a magazine’s journalistic integrity. Affiliate advertising in particular can pose a significant conflict of interest if not properly handled.

Knowzy bounds its writers to a tough set of policies designed to ensure that your interests always come before our selfish desire to turn a profit.

What is Affiliate Advertising?

The concept of affiliate advertising is simple. Knowzy earns a commission of anywhere between 2 and 50% when you buy a product or service through certain links on our site. We always clearly identify such links.

The Policies: Our Commitment to You

Knowzy goes far beyond most online magazines in protecting your best interests from the potentially corrupting influence of advertising dollars.

We state our policies in detail below. Anyone can independently verify our adherence to these policies. These are in addition to our general advertising policies.

Our affiliate advertising rules apply anytime we discuss a product or service for which we receive a commission.

Here is our commitment to you, our reader:

Lowest price to you, not the highest commission to us: When we are able to offer the same product or service from multiple retailers, preference is always given to the store that offers the lowest price, not the one that pays us the highest commission.
Must discuss competitors: At Knowzy, we won’t allow you to make a buying decision in a bubble. If a comparable product or service exists, we commit to let you know about it. If we write about Netflix, we will tell you about Blockbuster. If we talk about iPods, we’ll mention Zunes, Sansas, Archos and Zens. This applies even if we don’t receive a commission for the competing product or service.
Direct links to manufacturer or provider: We will never “box you in” to our web site- products or services for which we receive a commission always contain a way to contact the manufacturer or service provider, preferably by one or more links to their web site.
No covering up the negative: Regular readers can attest that it’s rare to hear only praise about anything on Knowzy. If a product or service has flaws or deficiencies, we promise to reveal them. Whether it’s a manufacturing defect, an inflated price, poor business practices or a competitor simply does a better job, Knowzy is committed to telling you about it.
Reputable retailers: We’ll never send you to some guy in an alley selling wares out of his trench coat. We only enter into affiliate relationships with dealers with a solid reputation.
Disclose whenever Knowzy earns a commission: If your purchase results in us making money, we will let you know. Typically a footnote gives offers a brief disclaimer with a link to this page.
Responsive to criticism: At Knowzy, we’re not afraid to admit when we’re wrong. We encourage you to call us on violations of our affiliate advertising policies and advertising policies in general. We typically publish your polite and reasonable criticisms in addition to correcting the problem.

We believe our policies make it difficult, if not impossible, to steer you toward something that isn’t deserving of your business. With so many of our online peers publishing “blurb and buy” pieces, we hope you’ll come to rely on Knowzy for the complete story.

We appreciate your support.

Originally Published: Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 4:00 PM PT

Last Updated: Sunday, July 10, 2011, 3:42 PM PT

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