Affiliate disclosure.

What an affiliate link is, in plain words

When you click a link on this site that takes you to amazon.com, that link contains a tracking identifier (called our "associate tag") which tells Amazon the click originated from gardening.equipment. If you go on to purchase the product (or, in many cases, any qualifying product during the same Amazon session), Amazon pays SKALDOS LTD a small commission — typically between 1% and 8% of the item's price, depending on the category.

The commission comes from Amazon's marketing budget. The price you pay is exactly the same as it would be if you went to Amazon directly. Affiliate links never raise prices for the buyer.

How we mark affiliate links

• Every affiliate link on the site carries rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" as required by Google Search Central guidance and good web practice.
• The link opens in a new tab so you can come back to the article without losing your place.
• Where the "Buy" button is for an affiliate retailer, it sits inside a clearly-marked module (most often a "Where to buy" section) with the disclosure visible on the same page.
• Where the retailer is not an affiliate (direct manufacturer link, independent retailer, public reference), we mark rel="noopener" only and do not earn from clicks.

How affiliate revenue does — and does not — affect our recommendations

It does not affect which products we recommend. Recommendations on gardening.equipment are made on the basis of the four-question durability framework described in our methodology. A tool that meets the framework gets recommended whether Amazon pays us 1% or 8% on it; a tool that does not meet the framework is not recommended regardless of how lucrative the commission would be.

It does affect which retailer link we surface first. When an Amazon link and a direct-manufacturer link both exist for the same product, we surface the Amazon link first if Amazon (a) matches or beats the manufacturer's price and (b) ships within a reasonable window. When the manufacturer's direct store offers a clear advantage — free accessories, faster shipping, better warranty handling — we surface the direct store first even though that earns us nothing.

Other affiliate programmes we participate in

At time of writing, the Amazon Associates program is the only affiliate programme gardening.equipment is enrolled in.

We are evaluating affiliate enrolment with the following retailers and will update this page as relationships are formalised. Until enrolment is confirmed, links to these retailers are non-affiliate direct links that pay us nothing:

• Niwaki (UK direct store)
• Felco USA
• A.M. Leonard
• Gemplers
• Burgon & Ball direct

Independence and editorial integrity

• We have not accepted product samples from any of the brands we cover. Equipment we discuss has either been purchased independently or evaluated on the basis of public specifications and gardener consensus.
• We have not accepted paid placement of any kind. No brand has ever paid for a position on any recommendation list, a higher rating, a more favourable framing, or for the suppression of a competing product.
• No brand or retailer has editorial control over what we publish, when, or how.
• If any of the above changes — for example, if we accept a long-term contributor relationship from a brand for direct multi-season tool use — we will disclose the relationship on the page where it applies, before the article begins, in plain language.

FTC and ASA compliance

Our disclosure practices are designed to comply with:

• The US Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255), which require clear and conspicuous disclosure of material connections between endorsers and brands.
• The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) / Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) guidance on affiliate marketing, which requires that affiliate content be clearly identifiable.
• The Amazon Services LLC Associates Program Operating Agreement, sections governing site identification and required disclosures.

If you believe we have fallen short of any of these standards on a specific page, please email contact@skaldos.com with the URL and the specific concern. We treat disclosure failures as serious and fix them with a dated note.