>Hold up, that's something people actually would do, click a link in a YouTube description instead of opening a new tab to search for it? Wild.

Yes, most people don't know/care about tracking links or whatever. Moreover even if they do care, most aren't cynical misanthropes who would go out of their way to deny their favorite creator of their affiliate cut.

The affiliate link could be 2x more expensive than other stores. I'd rather see the prices/pick a trusted retailer than just buy from something sketchy like Amazon.

I'm probably out of touch here though, I don't watch YouTubers or streamers in a way that I remember who is who. If I'm watching a video about a product I've likely clicked a few at random to get an overall feeling for it.

>Hold up, that's something people actually would do, click a link in a YouTube description instead of opening a new tab to search for it? Wild.

You trolling or what? Clicking is easier than searching some long ass name or sentence or whatever.

With a phone perhaps. On a desktop you can type quite a bit in the time it takes you to expand the youtube description and find the link you want.

I mean the first step for any purchase for me is to check for the best price, but also I have a preferred shop I will look for.

I expect most people are going to open the door right in front of them, rather than walk the long way to gain entry, even if they are aware the door is monitored by a security camera.

Yeah, if someone I trust makes a recommendation I would much rather follow the link and get the right one than risk getting some scam.

I hate when people say "I recommend Bubble App" and I need to search for it, I'm always worried that I get some other app with the same or similar name.

It's also the case that e.g. Amazon will rarely show the exact product you search for, and will instead promote an equivalent product that pays them for placement - often extremely similar looking. Web searches are getting worse too, with AI-generated content letting scammy alternatives look more professional than ever. We're circling back to links being king.

I used to always remove affiliate codes from links, but after hearing about just how much revenue creators make from Amazon affiliate, I started clicking them if it’s a creator that I support (especially smaller creators).

With Amazon, apparently the creator gets a percentage commission on your entire cart. Without the affiliate link, the price to me is exactly the same - Amazon just keeps the money. I assume AmazonSmile was basically using the charity you selected as the “affiliate”, but they shut that program down.

So yeah, it hurts my individual privacy stance, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to all the data Amazon has about me already. Commission affiliate links at least redirect some of the revenue to the creator themselves.