No Affiliate Links
vsMars does not run an affiliate program. We do not earn a commission when you click through to a retailer, and this never influenced a product's ranking. This page explains our stance and what changed.
No retailer partnerships
vsMars is not a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, the BestBuy Affiliate Program, or any other affiliate network. We do not link to Amazon, Best Buy, or any other merchant's checkout page from our comparisons.
Any historical mention of an affiliate tracking tag or commission arrangement on this site is out of date. vsMars currently earns nothing from outbound product links, because it does not use them.
Sponsored placements
Every page on vsMars carries one sponsored unit, below the content and above the footer. It is labeled “Sponsored” and lists a small set of apps we promote.
Those apps are built by the same person who runs vsMars. We say so plainly rather than presenting them as third-party advertisers. None of them is a phone, laptop or any other product this site compares, so none could ever appear in a ranking.
A place in that unit buys nothing else. It does not affect Mars Scores, category rankings, buyer’s guides, or which products we cover. The links are marked rel="sponsored" so they pass no search-ranking credit, and they are excluded from our sitemap.
Why we made this change
We decided a comparison site should compare — not sell. Specifically:
- No commission can influence which product we recommend
- No retailer relationship needs to be disclosed, because none exists
Coverage decisions and Mars Score calculations have always been made independently of retailer commission — now there simply is no commission to be independent of.
What we do not do
- No paid editorial placement. Brands cannot pay to appear higher in our category rankings, buyer’s guides, or top-10 lists. The sponsored unit described above is the only paid promotion on this site, and it sits outside editorial entirely.
- No paid Mars Score changes. The Mars Score formula is fixed per category and published on our methodology page. We will not adjust a product’s score in exchange for compensation.
- No sponsored reviews. If a piece of content is sponsored or paid for by a brand, it will be clearly labeled “Sponsored” at the top and excluded from category rankings.
- No undisclosed gifts. Review units we receive are noted in the relevant article. Anything of material value beyond a review unit is either declined or disclosed.
Cookies and tracking
vsMars does not set affiliate tracking cookies, because it does not run an affiliate program. We use privacy-respecting, cookieless analytics on our own site.
Reach us
Questions about this disclosure? editorial@versusmars.com. See also our editorial guidelines and methodology.
This page was updated to reflect vsMars' move to a pure comparison model, with no affiliate links or merchant commission.