Since this blog began back in the Mesolithic Era, many of you have clicked on my links when purchasing some goodie from Amazon. They have this affiliate program where if you do that, I receive a tiny cut of what you spend on that site, plus I also had similar links with Barnes & Noble and Movies Unlimited. The latter two never generated a lot of revenue. The former brought me several hundred smackers in commissions due to one Don Martin book they've occasionally had on a great remainder deal. That aside, B&N and Movies Unlimited have collectively sent me under a grand in many, many years. Amazon, meanwhile, has been good for $200-$400 a month…which is probably about what I spend at Amazon.
Due to a recent change in the laws of sales tax collection in California, Amazon has terminated its affiliate program for those who live where I live. I am not complaining. The new state law may actually be a fair and wise way to raise more bucks for a government that really, really needs to raise more bucks. I could have just altered my Amazon links to pay the moola to a friend outta-state and then split with him but I decided this was a good time to get rid of them and the others as well. The ones on old pages of this blog (of course) remain and I left a few here and there which weren't getting in the way of anything but they no longer yield payments to me. If you feel motivated to shove some bucks my way, I have my PayPal tipping link. And frankly, I'm just as thanked and complimented if you send money to my favorite charity, Operation USA.
I appreciate all the Amazon commissions over the years. Every so often, someone has written me to ask something like, "I'm about to buy a new Hi-Def TV through Amazon. How do I click to make sure you get your cut?" and that always makes me feel appreciated. This blog is one of many things in my life I don't do for money. I don't think I even do it to feel appreciated, though that's always nice. I think I do it for myself and if you get anything out of it, great. Anyway, I've never linked to Amazon (or Barnes & Noble or Movies Unlimited) for any reason other than that I thought a lot of you would enjoy what I was recommending…and now you'll know that's the case. And it will only be a coincidence if I only plug things I've written…