Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Talk it Out Tuesday: Disclose Referral Links!

*This post will be controversial. Please remember these opinions are my own. If we do not share a similar viewpoint, that is totally cool, but let's keep it civil.*


-begin rant-

Referral links. This is a topic that makes me incredibly uncomfortable. A lot of times different companies will give out referral links when you make an account with them, so when someone signs up under your name you will benefit from their sign up. These sign ups can get discounts or credit to spend on the companies products etc. I know Julep does this and Zoya just started this yesterday.

I would never post a referral link on my blog or Facebook. I personally, do not feel it is right for me to benefit in some monetary way from my readers signing up under my name for something. If it's family or personal friends I think that is different. Those are people I know, while a majority of my readers (though I love you guys) are strangers. Remember, this is just my personal feelings towards this.  I do not judge others who do not feel the same as long as they disclose their referral links.

That being said, I've seen in the past and a few times recently on Facebook or blogs where bloggers post referral links WITHOUT disclosing they are referral links. If you disclose it I think it's totally fine.  It's the non disclosure ones that I think are just downright wrong. What's worse is sometimes I see these (non-disclosed links) from bloggers who have a lot of PR involvement and review samples.

Why do bloggers who already receive a lot of freebies feel a need to post referral links without disclosure, so their readers can help them get more freebies or stuff at a lower cost? Why do bloggers freebies or not not disclose referral links?  Does this bother anyone else?

This makes my blood boil. Is there some rule against them doing this? Absolutely not. In fact, a lot of people would think that is rather savvy of them. I guess people find it a perk to being a blogger, you can use your status to get some nifty things with the help of your readers! All you have to do is say click "here", without any disclosure and you're raking in the dough! ......Gah, that makes me want to barf. They can do it though. I'm not stopping them, but I sure as heck think it's wrong and insanely dishonest.

I might be overly sensitive, and perhaps reading into this too much. I just really dislike it when people are not upfront and honest. I feel that it is a shady, and it is taking advantage of people for your personal gain. If you disclose it and people want to help you out, then more power to you. If you don't disclose..just ugh. Do the right thing people.



What are your thoughts on non-disclosed referral links? Have you ever signed up under a referral link not knowing at the time it was a referral link?

-rant over-

Happy Tuesday! :P

58 comments:

  1. I am with you on this. I posted a referral link to Ebates but I put my disclosure, in normal sized text, where I always put my PR samples disclosure so people knew I'd get a bonus if they signed up through the link.  I don't work with Ebates it's just their standard share link with a bonus. But I made sure to tell because then it allows people to decide if they want to use my link to sign up or just sign up on their own. You know? 

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  2. P.S. I do put links that just say click here or are just links to sites but they are not affiliate, I promise :-)

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  3. I am not a blogger - just a blog lover:)  I have no problem with someone posting a referral link because if I am signing up, someone may as well get something out of it - especially if I learned about it through them.  I don't really care if I know them or not.  It doesn't affect me and my order in any way, so I am totally fine with someone receiving something because of my signing up or buying something.  BUT....I don't like when they don't specify that it is a referral link.  That is a little shady.  By telling us it is a referral link, it gives us the option to either use that link, or get to the site as an individual.  I urge you to post the link and specify that it is a referral.  I believe that if you told me about it, I will give you credit and use your link.  Someone else may not think that way, and can get to the site in another way.  That's my 2 cents:)

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  4. Back before I really knew what I was doing in the blog world, I am more than likely guilty of posting an affiliate link like that and not saying what it was for. Mostly, I will admit, because I assumed people would know! haha Like early on, in the Julep Maven program, I just assumed people would know if they clicked my link that I would get credit. Now I know that not everyone knows about that stuff, and I always try to make sure it's clearly stated with any affiliate link I post.

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  5. I totally agree with you. 

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  6. I am totally with you on this. Only thing I ever had a referral link was with Julep. I diclosed it in the italicized font to highlight it and only one reader that I know of signed up for it, but I never got credit for that and that's a whole 'nother thing. That's been talked about many times already. But anyway, after that I never do any of these referrals unless it's family members or friends I know personally. No more through the blog. I am done with it and I don't need to do it. I don't have such a big readership to benefit from it anyway.

    But yes, if bloggers do that.....disclosure is important. I can't stress that. Julep lost me because of a disclosure issue. It's losing the trust of the customer.

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  7. I totally agree, it should always be disclosed that they are benefiting by the referral.  That way the reader can choose to go through them or not.  In all honesty if they are already getting freebies, I think they should stop being greedy and shady by not disclosing that they are going to benefit.  As long as they are open about it, I suppose you can't fault them.

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  8. I'm a blog follower, not a blogger, and I didn't notice any referral links. I just read the post and move on. : ) Also, my hubs is an IT guy and I've always been told to not click links because you can't always insure they are safe. So, I will usually google the link and not actually click on it.

    I do understand where you are coming from and it makes total sense. It's always good to disclose no matter what.

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  9. To me, it all goes bac to bloggers who are in this for the wrong reason (much like the Talk it Out Tuesday recently about amassing followers).  If you do something like not disclose referral links AND it's quite clear that most of what you have came from PR freebies...well, consider me off of your follwers list.

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  10. I am totally with you. I have actually unfollowed blogs if I think their practices are shady. This is included in shady practices.

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  11.  Good point Kelley! My antivirus software has prevent links from blogs from popping up because they contained viruses, and sometimes entire blogs get hacked.

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  12. I don't agree with this at all. I post referrel links on my blog, but I let people know, each and every time I post them, that's what they are. I usually say something like "here is my referrel link if you want to check them out and would like to give me credit". I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

    What I don't do, is hide links all over my page and trick you into giving me credit. Once more, I only post referrels for services that I currently use and support. I would never post an arbitrary referrel just for the hell of it. 

    As a blogger, I work for my readers, not for these companies. So I owe my readers the duty of care not to mislead them in any way. But to avoid using these links all together is crazy!!!! These companies are giving things away!!!! That's like saying you aren't going to share someone's blog giveaway because you don't want the free stuff. Come on!!! I'm not rich. Maybe you are, LOL! but I totally love FREE STUFF!!! And of course I love FREE STUFF from companies I'm already spending money and doing business with. I mean, essentially, I am providing free PR for whatever company I am choosing to discuss, and I appreciate the fact that someone wants to "compensate" me for that. Plus, all customers should be aware of these referrel programs because THEY GET THE SAME PERKS AS WE DO!!! So if you like a company or product. Please do share. Please do get the word out there so the rest of us can see why they're so awesome. Right?? 

    How many times have you been raving about a service/product/company to a friend and thought to yourself, man...I should be working for this company. For instance, I love HTC Windows phones. Please don't get me started on how inferior an iPhone is to my deluxe super pumped up phone that smashes an iPhone. Now, you know how many times I've told this phone rant to friends? Probably a million times. I WISH that somehow I could get credit from Windows. I would have free phones for life. I can promise you that. LOL! And shit...I deserve it. I've put in some man hours preaching about my phone. 

    But a word of caution for you random link clickers out there...always put a half a second of thought into the links you click. Why is that link there? who put it there? is it trusted?? Don't put yourself or your computer at risk. And either you trust what a blogger is saying to you, or you don't. Simple as that. You aren't going to be clicking links on pages of bloggers you don't trust anyway. So what does it matter? 

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  13. I hope my message was conveyed clearly :-/. I'm not against people using referral links and disclosing they are referral links at all. I just personally do not choose to do that. That's not what this post was geared to.  My beef is with people who are not disclosing the links. :) 

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  14. I think referral links are fine as long as you're clearly identifying them "if you subscribe through my link, I will receive some financial/whatever compensation".

    I have more of a problem, frankly, with gushy blog posts about stuff the blogger got for free and (a) dances around identifying as such ("I got this..." "I received this ___ in the mail" etc) and (b) conveniently does not disclose negatives about (and choosing not to mention negatives that the suckers reading you and paying for this stuff would see as negative counts here too).

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  15. I do use Julep's referral link on my blog.  My thinking has been that it is a way for me to bring more polish to my blog (also, I feel Julep's website pictures leave much to be desired...I love to use my "credits" to order colors that I cannot find swatches of anywhere else online in hopes that it will help others like me out). I know, for me, I have not been *consistent* in FULLY explaining my link.  I think I assumed (probably too much so ) that people had read my previous, in depth explanations of the link and would 'get' what I meant by "sign up by using my link".  I will continue using the links and I hope my readers get their own links too,  because it is nice to receive something for loving (which, I do in Julep's case) a product and believing in it. Your post today has left me with this: explain it all, each and every time-even if it's the millionth time :)  I love your "Talk It Out Tuesdays" Stephanie!

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  16. When people post referral links but disclose, I think it's 100% acceptable. After all, it's up to the reader whether they want to click that link or tap in the web address themselves, so as not to benefit the blogger. As a reader, I'm happy to use referral links when disclosed, after all - with all the time people put into their blogs, they may as well get a little something out of it.

    What annoys me more is when people don't disclose sponsored posts. ARGH. SO ANNOYING. and a;ways so obvious. At the end of the day, it's all down to the blogger though.

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  17. I think if you disclose the referral link, it's totally fine. I agree with you:)

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  18. I agree in regards to the disclosure of said referral links. If a blogger says that they get credit/product whatever, great and I can choose to avoid to the link if I want (which I usually do). I do admit, as a blogger who gets no freebies at all and buys all of the polish that I blog about, it can be frustrating to see people who get free samples also posting referral links to get more free stuff. But then I have to ask myself why I care so much and let it go. I can't change it.

    I personally feel the same about using referral links on my blog-- ie, I'm not a big fan. Sure, I love free stuff as much as the next person, but it doesn't feel right to benefit from people I don't know, even if they do read my blog on a daily basis.

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  19. Wow, I never even thought about this topic as I have no experience using referral, never posted them and never clicked them!

    I do however understand your point of view, concerning the non-disclosed referral links. That just feels shady to me.

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  20. The funny thing is that if a referral link is clearly disclosed, I'm more likely to click on it and follow it. If I click on a link that turns out to be a referral that they didn't bother to mention (and yes, I do read the URLs I click on, it's pretty easy to figure out), I'll often close that window and return to the site via just typing in the site address.

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  21. I can't say that I've ever noticed referral links besides Julep.  I think  you make a great point though.  It's best to just be up front and let your followers know the purpose of the link.

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  22. No I understand. I think what you're saying is that bloggers are trying to be "deceitful" by cleverly posting links in exchange for profit. I don't think that's the case at all. I choose to disclose that I'm using a referrel link, but I do it so that my friends, family and fans know that they best not be giving my credit to someone else. LOL! But I see nothing wrong with a link in any way shape or form unless you're trying to rip someone off. I don't think that's the case at all. As a blog reader first, and a blogger second, I can say with confidence that I have never felt scammed by a link. You trust the writer or you don't. You're interested or you're not. Everyone knows what a link is and these referral programs aren't a secret. So what's the game here? Who's trying to fool people? Nobody. And really, I can tell you from personal experience, that you surely don't get much for these referrels. Some of them are merely points toward future purchases. If I were smarter I'd start selling Mary Kay or Avon on my blog because I might actually make some money. I mean, man cannot live on polish alone....so I highly doubt a blogger has any alterior motives when they use a referrel link. Perhaps they are assuming they have a more "tech savvy' bunch of readers than they actually do. I don't know. I'm just not seeing the big issue here I guess. 

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  23. My thinking is how Cat Ray explained perfectly! :)

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  24. I agree with you, if it s a referral link then it needs to be disclosed. 
    Even if I was referring a friend or family member I would tell them to use my name so I can get whatever it is... It should be the same in the blogging world, probably even more so with a blog since as you said these are not your friends/family, but strangers that trust your content and are not expecting to be used for personal gain.

    I just got an offer for paid link placement within my blog posts that I turned down because they wanted them placed "naturally" within the text with no disclosure that it is an ad and paid for. That seems completely dishonest and I am not comfortable with that on my blog. If I place links that I'm getting something from, I will make sure my readers know it. So far I have only posted links to companies that have sent me products for review and that is fully disclosed. 

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  25. I think we definitely see things very differently. That's ok though. Thanks for sharing your point of view. :) 

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  26. I totally agree. It's just the right thing to do, and it doesn't take much just to say "hey..this is my link it helps me get ____ if you sign up"! I'd actually want to sign up with their link if they said that. It's the not saying what it is that bothers me. I feel like what is there to hide? I've gotten similar offers like that too. I always turn them down, it just doesn't feel right to me. 

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  27. Thanks! I saw a few recently when Zoya started their program that were not disclosed that fueled my fire to write about this. :)

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  28. Exactly! I may not chose to do that, but if I see a blogger who has a referral link that states what it is and it's purpose, I'll want to help them out! It's about integrity, and when have that with your blog I'll want to support you. It doesn't take a lot to just be upfront about those links. 

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  29. Yeah, it does. I don't get why not just say what it is! 

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  30. I agree with you completely. That's the main issue I have with my personal decision not to post them is that these are not people I know I'm asking. It doesn't sit well with me. :-/

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  31. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  32.  And are you being compensated for promoting Julep here, Maribeth?

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  33. I totally agree. Even though I do not chose to post referral links, if someone disclosed them on their blog I would want to help them out. I don't see the problem with that. I feel like when they're not disclosed it breaks that line of trust you have with your readers. It doesn't take a lot to let them know what the link is. It's only fair to give them option to use your link or not. 

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  34. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this, Maribeth! I've seen your blog, and I notice that you point out your referral links or refer to them as "my link".  I think that's great, and I totally see and respect your point of view on this subject. I always think it's best when in doubt just to go ahead and disclose the info whether it's a referral link or a product you got to review. I think sometimes we can assume our readers understand stuff, but sometimes they don't. 

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  35. Lisa, lets keep the comments constructive. Maribeth was talking about Julep in her comment because that is where her experience with this particular subject matter is :). 

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  36. I dislike that too. I think it's more important as a blogger to be honest about providing your readers with accurate information versus maintaining receiving products to review from a company. I received stuff to review from butter London. I didn't like it, and they have not contacted me back. That's ok! I'd rather have my integrity than a free bottle of polish :P

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  37. Yeah, it doesn't take much to just disclose it's a referral link. I don't get why people do not just say what it is. 

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  38. I think you hit the nail on the head. If you're blogging for the sincere reasons why not be upfront with your readers? It doesn't take a lot of effort. 

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  39. That's a good tip! Yes, when it doubt just disclose!

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  40. No, you can't fault them for being open about it. It's the people not being upfront about it that makes me automatically think they're being deceitful and shady. 

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  41. That was a big mess before! I remember your Julep post. I know a lot of people are cool with posting them on their blog disclosed. It's fine by me if they do that, but personally I'd stick with sharing my referrals with family and personal friends. 

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  42. No worries! I think it's easy to assume people will know those things, but a lot don't. I think it's good to give your readers the know-how and the option to use your link. I'd definitely feel good about using someone's link if they told me about vs. not. :)

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  43. Thanks for your comment. Well said! Even though I do not chose to put referral links on here, I'd be happy to help someone else buy using their referral link if it was disclosed. I like the idea that someone would be upfront and honest, and I'd support that. I think the people who do not disclose even if they do not have bad intentions, it comes off that way as reader. I'd wonder why they didn't tell me? Why were they trying to hide it?

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  44. Exactly! You want to give the readers the scoop and the option so they know what they're clicking on. It's the right way to do things I think. :)

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  45. No, like Steph said, it's the only referral link I've had personal experience with so that's why I mention them specifically.  As far as promoting them, no- I'm sharing my reasoning as to why I would chose to use a link for a company.  

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  46. I totally agree with you although it doesn't make me as angry as you =))  LOL
    But, when I saw Zoya's ads about this, I felt a little distaste...  I really hate posting or emailing any links to my friends.. and I feel embarassed when I do.  Of course I would tell them that it is for my personal gain, and then I would let them decide whether they want to 'help' me or not!  People who don't disclose the personal gain are indirectly using others...   Not cool, not cool..

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  47. I totally agree with you.  Really, I hate referral links in general.  No, I will not be your underpaid salesperson and pitch your products to my friends so I can get a tiny discount.  Don't you have employees who do that?

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  48. I agree with you! I can't tell you how many companies ask me to sign up so I can make money from "what I'm already doing anyway". I always tell them "no thank you" because I don't want to feel like I'm selling my readers something nor do I care about making a few pennies off my readers. I keep my blog ad-free because I could care less about making money from blogging.

    The only thing I post a referral link is to my Birchbox account, when I make a Birchbox post and the full referral link is listed.

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  49. Have you even looked at the terms of these referrel programs? I mean, they are public info to begin with. I got an email for the new Zoya program but trashed it because I only buy from them when they're doing the "free polish" promos.

     Nobody is getting anything worth whoring yourself out for. I think you had to refer 3 people and all you got was 15% off your next order. That's not free anything!!! Julep has the most gracious referrel program I've seen. The other ones are just giving points toward future purchases. So you would have to enjoy and be willing to spend money with the company in the first place to get anything out of it. 

    From these comments I've been reading, you all are some smart people. Nobody is pulling the wool over anyone's eyes in this group. That's for sure. And none of the companies are giving anything away that's worth whoring yourself out for.In my blogging experience, which isn't long mind you, the best I've been offered is a $50 giftcard to Apothica to post their link on my main frame. They sell some awesome polish related products like Essie and Deborah Lipmann so I accepted. But rather than keep the card for myself, I hosted a giveaway. I have been paying for giveaways out of pocket to date. I'm a working mother and I'm not rich. It was nice to actually be given the chance to give something away for free and something nice at that. I haven't met an ill willed blogger yet. Most bloggers are very sweet and outgoing. They are looking to make new friends and share their interests with others. When I meet someone who is trying to rip me off, I'll let you know. Until then, I refuse to believe that any blogger is doing PR to rip someone off. I get almost all of my "decision making information" from photos and website information anyway. Not the word of mouth of a stranger. 

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  50. I started blogging for fun and to share. But I enjoy new followers and comments so much that I'm pretty sure I can safely say I'm whoring myself out for followers and comments. I want to be entertaining and witty and fun. I haven't gotten anything from any company that would motivate me to do anything other than please my readers. I can safely say the same for my blogger friends. You should see how excited people get to watch their follower counts climb, or to get sweet letters from readers. Nobody is being compensated to fool people. And if they are, they probably aren't entertaining enough to be worth reading anyway. 

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  51. I expected difference of opinion on this post. I was just expressing my views on this subject. I appreciate you sharing your point of view, even if it's different from my own. 

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  52. I don't mind referral links one way or another, especially since I'm the paranoid type who will open up a new tab and type the link myself rather than click a link (you can never be too careful!). However, if someone puts a referral link in a blog post or a sidebar or wherever, it needs to be labeled as such. It seems to me to be a matter of common courtesy. There are a couple blogs I follow because they have awesome swatches, but, as bad as this sounds, I don't necessarily care for the person behind the blog and wouldn't want to unknowingly follow one of their referral links.

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  53. I appreciate that. Thank you! 

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  54. I use my Julep link on my blog and my Facebook, and though I have mentioned the referral program, I don't always disclose it as my link, but after reading this, I will probably start to do so.  I feel like using the referral program allows me to bring more polish to my blog, as I do not receive samples from big companies.  When I initially signed up to be a Maven I did my research and when I clicked a referral link, I knew that I was clicking one.  I figured if I was going to sign up anyway, I might as well help someone out.  I guess maybe I assumed that people knew that when they see tons of Julep links out there, they are referrals...now I know better than to assume!

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  55. I also use my Julep link on my blog and my Facebook, and thought I have mentioned the referral program, I don't always disclose it as my link, but after reading this, I will probably start to do so.  When I initially signed up to be a Maven I did my research and when I clicked a referral link, I knew that I was clicking one.  I guess maybe I assumed that people knew that when they see tons of Julep links out there, they are referrals...now I know better than to assume!

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  56. Ah, sorry!  Don't know why this posted twice!! =/

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  57. Interesting! I had no idea what referral links were. This is the first I've heard of them. I always appreciate when bloggers mention that they received a product for review, because I'll likely view that post with a different "lens", if that makes sense. I just like being aware that this wasn't a bloggers' own purchase. I would be upset if I found out they weren't disclosing that fact, and obviously this referral issue is along the same line. Thanks for illuminating this issue for us! I read all the comments as well- good stuff!

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  58. I read all the comments too!!! I am more likely to get my buying information from buyer reviews than anywhere. Certainly never the actual source of the product. I don't trust anything online anymore. There's a lot of cons out there. So I do a lot of research before I make a purchase online or of anything that costs me more than 50 bucks. I'm cheap. LOL! I am so happy that we can do research on purchases as small as nail polish. I don't have to swatch on my nail in the store anymore!! I felt bad doing it anyway. Now I can just Google it (p.s. I don't work for Google)!!! I like blog pictures for the most part. There are some blogs I enjoy reading for their humor or wit, but when it comes to product reviews, I'm usually reading a blog to see good photos and matter of factual information. I ignore the "oh this is wonderful" fluff anyway. But we all blog differently and I'm sure we read them differently too. Hard to say that anyone meant harm. 

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