Affiliate & Advertising Disclosure
Last updated: July 11, 2026
BuildMyMTB earns a commission if you buy through some links on the site, at no extra cost to you.
Here’s the honest, plain-language version of how BuildMyMTB makes money — and, just as importantly, how it doesn’t.
How affiliate links work
Some of the retailer links on BuildMyMTB are “affiliate” links. If you click one and buy something, the retailer may pay us a small commission. You pay the same price either way — the commission comes out of the retailer’s end, not yours. Not every link is an affiliate link, and using them is always optional.
BuildMyMTB is joining affiliate advertising programs — including the Amazon Associates Program and affiliate networks such as AvantLink and Impact. Once we’re approved, these programs let us earn fees by linking to retailers, which helps cover the cost of running the Site and keeping it free. Until a program is active, the retailer links on the Site are ordinary, non-commissioned links.
Our recommendations are unbiased — and that’s built into the code, not just a promise.
Affiliate and retailer links never influence the compatibility results or the order in
which parts are shown. In the code, the retailer-link data (retailerLinks) is
kept entirely separate from the compatibility engine (checkBuild in
src/compat.js) — the engine never reads it. Whether a part has an affiliate link, or
would pay a bigger commission, has no effect on:
- its green / yellow / red compatibility dot,
- whether it’s marked as fitting your build, or
- the “compatible-first” sort order in the catalog.
Those are computed only from technical specs. So the fit advice you get is the same advice we’d give if we earned nothing.
Amazon Associates
Once BuildMyMTB is accepted into the Amazon Associates Program, this section will carry Amazon’s required notice — “As an Amazon Associate, Douglas Wills earns from qualifying purchases” — and Amazon links on the Site will then be affiliate links. We are not yet an Amazon Associate.
No pay-for-placement in the catalog
Parts are in the catalog because they’re useful for building and checking bikes — not because a brand paid to be listed or ranked. We don’t sell placement, ranking, or “verified” badges. The ✓ Verified badge only ever means a spec was checked against a manufacturer source; it has nothing to do with money.
When you click a retailer link
Clicking a retailer link takes you off BuildMyMTB to that retailer’s own site, which has its own prices, terms, and privacy practices. Prices and availability there can differ from what’s shown here — always confirm the details at the retailer before you buy. See our Privacy Policy for how outbound links relate to your data.
Why we disclose this
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission asks sites to clearly tell you about paid or commissioned links. We agree with the spirit of that: you deserve to know when a link can earn us money. That’s why this disclosure exists and why a short note appears right next to the retailer links inside the app.
Questions
Ask us anything about this at Doug@buildmymtb.com (Douglas Wills).