The short version. Some links on Pouch Rats are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission, and you don’t pay anything extra. That money keeps the site running. It never decides a review, a score or a pick.
This disclosure covers pouchrats.com, The Rat Report and our social channels, all run by Pouch Rats LLC.
How affiliate links work
Some links to brands and retailers on Pouch Rats are affiliate links. Most of them go through a pouchrats.com/go/ address. If you click one and buy something, the retailer may pay us a small commission. Your price is the same either way. Sometimes it’s lower, when we’ve got a Rat Deal or discount code for you.
Affiliate links can appear in reviews, monthly picks, Rat Deals, the Launch Tracker, news stories, The Rat Report and our social posts. Pages with affiliate links carry a note saying so.
What money doesn’t buy
- Picks can’t be bought. Our monthly picks and Rat Deals are chosen by us, and no brand can pay to be on them.
- Commissions don’t change reviews. We review products whether or not they have an affiliate program, and a brand that pays us a commission can still get a bad review.
- Brands don’t see reviews before they’re published, and they can’t edit them.
Sponsored content and free products
- Sponsored content (a paid placement, a newsletter sponsor or a sponsored post) is always clearly labeled “Sponsored” or “Paid partnership.”
- Free products: brands sometimes send us samples to review. A free sample doesn’t guarantee coverage or a positive review, and we say in the review when a product was provided free.
- Our merch: when we promote Pouch Rats merch, we’re promoting our own products.
The Rats creator network
Creators in the Rats network may earn money through their own links to Pouch Rats or to brands. They’re required to disclose this clearly in their posts (for example, with #ad or the platform’s paid partnership tag), as the FTC’s rules on endorsements require.
Why we do this
Pouch Rats is independent, and reviews are free to read. Affiliate commissions, clearly labeled sponsorships and merch are how we pay for products, testing and time without charging readers. We think being upfront about it is the only way it works.
Questions
If you ever think something we published doesn’t follow this, tell us: [email protected].