How plantsbythebook makes money, stated plainly. Last updated 12 October 2026.
Some outbound links on this site are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, plantsbythebook earns from qualifying purchases. If you buy something after following one, we may receive a small commission. It costs you nothing extra: the price you pay is the same either way.
Where the affiliate links are, and where they are not
- They are on the indoor smart-garden pages: some of the smart-garden guides, the System & Pod Finder and the Consumables Cost Calculator.
- They are not on the outdoor plant tools. The Plant Finder, Start Here and the Plant Recommender carry no affiliate links.
- They are not on pet-safety content. A page that tells you what the ASPCA lists as toxic should have no financial interest in what you do next, so it has none.
How to tell which links those are
Every group of buying links has the disclosure sentence printed directly above it. The links themselves are marked sponsored and nofollow in the page’s HTML, which is the machine-readable disclosure search engines expect. In plain terms: anything on this site that sends you to Amazon to buy something is an affiliate link. Links to manufacturers’ documentation, the USDA, extension services and the ASPCA are not.
Our buying links open an Amazon search for the kind of item described, for example a pod format, not one seller’s listing. Check the size and format against your own unit before you buy.
Why this does not bend the advice
- Fit is decided by format, not commission. Which refill fits is determined by the pod format your system takes. That comes from the manufacturer’s documentation, which neither knows nor cares whether we earn anything.
- Where no generic refill fits, there is no link. If only the maker’s own refill fits your system, the finder says so and shows no buying link at all.
- We say when the cheaper thing is the right thing. A generic refill is often the right answer over the branded one, and the cost calculator shows you the difference.
- No “best” lists and no paid placement. We do not accept payment in exchange for a recommendation, a ranking or a review. No sponsored posts and no “send us a unit and we will write about it” arrangements.
If you ever find a recommendation on this site that only makes sense as a way to earn a commission, that is a bug and we want to hear about it through the contact page.
What happens after you click
Once you follow an affiliate link you are on Amazon’s site, under their privacy policy and their tracking, and they may set cookies we neither control nor see. The purchase is between you and them: they take the payment, ship the item and handle returns. We are not a party to it. See our privacy policy for what happens on this side of the link.
Why we run affiliate links at all
Because the alternatives are worse. The usual ways to fund a site like this, display advertising, sponsored reviews and selling reader data, all pull harder against the reader than a commission does. Affiliate income means the site is free, carries no ads, sets no cookies and sells nothing about you. If you would rather not contribute, use the guides and buy wherever you like. The research is free either way.