That being said, personally, I’ll remove the affiliate ID from an Amazon URI. I’m a peculiar sort of guy… Whenever I get any Amazon link, I remove everything after the ASIN. Most of it is cookie crumb nonsense, and some of it is affiliate ID.

Personally, I don’t think it’s Amazon’s business who led me to their product, either through a cookie crumb or affiliate link. I’m not trying to cheat people like you out of money, I’m trying to protect my anonymity.

we don’t have to press a link to any of the ads etc on your or any other blogger’s websites. now if the companies you are affiliated with have tracking cookies that we don’t know about and that you don’t announce, that would be bad. but, again, we have a choice not to come to the blog.

So let me understand a few of the previous comments. Bloggers getting paid to write a specific post is NOT OK, but getting paid indirectly from a link included in a post IS OK? Why not just clearly label those affiliate links (inside a post) as paid or sponsored? For the same reason a retirement plan “advisor” fails to tell the employer that they receive a hidden payment from the mutual fund or (insurance company) in the recommended 401(k). Both are concerned that doing so might reduce their credibility, and they’re right! You can pretend it doesn’t create bias, but that’s just naïve.

Would the following disclaimer influence a reader’s opinion of the post (and writer)? “NOTE: I receive a payment when you click on the link for the company that markets the product (or service) discussed in this post. I also receive a sales commission of up to 7% of the value of any purchase you make.” The reader would at minimum be wary of any positive claims, because they know the writer has become by all counts a RETAILER of the product. Deny this if you will, but RETAILER you’ve become.

Oh yeah I forgot, “everyone” knows the writer can get paid from those links, just like they know about the hidden payments that come out of their retirement accounts. In the rush to “monetize” a blog, an honorable thing by the way, think hard before you establish a financial relationship with a company you write about.

It would be unethical if you falsely gave the book rave reviews just to get people to hit Amazon for it and artificially line your pockets.

I have no issues with the text links at the bottom of the page either. They are far far away from your main content – and barely readable

As for the question of being ethical – the world is polarized one way or the other, one man’s idiot is another man’s hero, so all “ethical” advice should be taken with a grain of salt. [ what follows next is very well said by Cap in the above comment..so I won't repeat it]

For post with affiliate links, I throw them in there when I remember to, depending on their relevance. Same treatment for the reviews or mentions, regardless if the review was good, neutral, or bad. (And to be honest, I believe I only have a handful of affiliate links).

As for text link ads, I avoid adult and gambling sites. Pay day loan is a bit iffy, I did have one link up before for a month or two, and rejected a few. Generally I just review the site and make a judgment call on how shady it is.

At the end, I don’t really care what other people do on their blog. If they’re obviously dishonest in their posting and advertising policy, then I flag them as such and move on.

Most people have their own view on what’s acceptable and what’s not, as long as they’re consistent and make clear their intentions, then it’s probably not that big of a deal…