You may have seen the following disclosure on our product and services reviews and recommendations. It reads:
Cansumer is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. We independently evaluate everything we recommend.
Here we’ll outline how we support our work and keep the site free for readers.
How we make money
Ads
Like many other websites and services, some articles on Cansumer may include display ads to make money which is how we’re able to provide Cansumer.ca to readers for free.
Referral links
In addition, some of the links on our site are referral links. This means if you decide to click on a referral link (such as a “Check Price” or “Buy Now” button) through to a retailer’s website and purchase the item, we might receive a small commission. Whether or not we might receive a commission does not change the placement of the button or whether there’s a link for you to go to their website.
If you choose to buy a product through a referral link as a result of our research, analysis, interviews, and testing, the link tells those companies that you came from Cansumer and our work is often (but not always) supported through an affiliate commission from the company.
We really appreciate when you do—the price is the same to you, but this allows us to continue testing and reviewing as much gear as possible.
If readers return their purchases because they’re dissatisfied or the recommendation is bad, we make nothing. There’s no incentive for us to pick inferior products or respond to pressure from manufacturers – in fact, it’s quite the opposite.
We think that’s a pretty fair system that keeps us committed to serving our readers first.
From web servers and office space to salaries and software, there are many expenses to running this site. Affiliate relationships allow us to continue to grow and expand as a website, conduct in-depth research, and publish editorial content. Unlike Consumer Reports, readers never pay a cent to access any of the reviews, rankings, or guides on Cansumer.ca. Not now, not ever.
That being said, we want to make readers aware of the incentives at play so that they have all information possible when evaluating products.
Ultimately, Cansumer is supported by our readers from simply telling your friends and family, sharing on Facebook or other social media sites and sending in your favorite products and services, complaints and feedback.
If you want to see a review for a product or service we haven’t looked at yet, just let us know, and we will consider it. We want our site to be as comprehensive and helpful as possible and we’ll review as many products and services as we can – even if we don’t make money from that brand.
Some companies send us their products for free with the hope that we will like it and review it. However, there are no guarantees for these companies that we will write about the products at all, and certainly no guarantees that we will review it favorably.
Cansumer survives because of readers and fans like yourself. For that, we would like to sincerely say thank you. We truly do love being able to run Cansumer and help our readers find great products.
If you have a comment or question about how Cansumer works, please drop us an email using the contact form. We are more than happy to help answer your questions.
Affiliate relationship transparency
In order to ensure full transparency with our readers, we’d like to disclose the following about our affiliate relationships:
Amazon.ca affiliate disclosure
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Cansumer is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.ca. As part of this program, we receive a commission from Amazon.ca whenever one of our readers makes a purchase after visiting an Amazon.ca link on our site. These links operate the same as all referral links on Cansumer. If you use one and buy something, then Amazon will pay Cansumer a percentage of the sale amount.
Affiliate advertising programs that Cansumer uses
- Skimlinks
- Awin
- FlexOffers
- ShareASale
Current affiliate partners
- HelloFresh
How we ensure integrity
Cansumer.ca maintains relationships with companies that offer products. These include cost-per-click and affiliate fee arrangements, which help us generate commissions through brand and product page links. These commissions allow us to support the site.
Due to these affiliate relationships, we have taken the following measures to ensure that other companies and brands do not influence our editorial content:
We have a well-defined research process
All product ratings are exclusively generated through a comprehensive evaluation system that incorporates verified owner and customer experiences from different online sources along with extensive internal product analysis. For more information on how we generate our ratings, please review our research methodology.
Writers and editorial staff do not know what companies and brands we do business with
Our writers make selections based on their own research, evaluations and opinions and never made aware of which companies we have affiliate relationships with, whether they pay commissions or how much.
Our professional relationships never influence the reviews, rankings, or product guides that appear on our site.
Commissions are awarded only if the product is kept
If Cansumer.ca readers visit a website for one of our affiliate companies and purchases a product from one of these sellers, then we receive a commission. However, if the same reader later returns the product because they are dissatisfied (per the seller’s return policy), then the commission will be rescinded. We do not have an incentive to promote inferior products based on requests from current or future affiliate companies.
Companies cannot pay us to include their product
We always retain complete editorial independence in our articles and never receive any financial compensation from manufacturers in exchange for featuring their products in reviews, rankings, or guides. However, we may receive free products from companies that are used for research purposes. Receiving these products does not influence our editorial content, nor does it guarantee a favorable review for the product or the seller/manufacturer.
Writers contact companies for fact-checking only
They do not award product ratings based on communications with employees of companies that make products we review. However, they may contact company representatives in order to update factual information about products or company policies (such as measurements, material composition, pricing, or warranty information) that is not subject to our rating system.
How to support Cansumer
- Word of mouth – Tell your friends and family about Cansumer. Word of mouth is the best way we can grow.
- Social sharing – Share Cansumer on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites.
- Add a link – Do you have a blog or website? Consider adding a link to Cansumer.
The links below, like those to the same companies appearing elsewhere on the site, are referral links. This is a list of companies from whom we receive compensation if you click through the link and purchase on their site (with no additional cost to you).