Affiliate Retailers - They earn LFGSS money when you use them

Updated the first post, added a number of new retailers to the list.

So a reminder of what this thread is about.

The entire basis of recommendation is whether LFGSS gets some pennies back from the sale of goods. That's it, this is nothing to do with quality of the retailer itself or the prices offered, just whether we get affiliate money from sales.

How to use this thread

If you're about to buy anything from any of these retailers, just reply to the thread sharing the link to the item and perhaps a few words about why it's good. Then reload the page, click the link and purchase the product. Simples.

Exception: eBay stuff should go in the eBay thread.

The Retailers

Organisations:

British Cycling
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/

Retailers:

Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/
(For Kindle, cycle books, etc)

AW Cycles
http://www.awcycles.co.uk/

Bike Fusion
http://www.bikefusion.co.uk/

Bike Shop Hub
http://www.bikeshophub.com/

Bike Somewhere
http://www.bikesomewhere.com/

Chain Reaction Cycles
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/
(Actually recommended for service and quality)

Cyclestore
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/

Cycle Surgery
http://www.cyclesurgery.com/

eBay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/

Evans Cycles
http://www.evanscycles.com/

Fitbit
http://www.fitbit.com/uk

Hargroves Cycles
http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/

Leisure Lakes Bikes
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/

Merlin Cycles
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/

ProBikeKit
http://www.probikekit.com/uk/

Rutland Cycling
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/

Wiggle
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/

Why do this?

LFGSS has fought to find a way to be viable for a long time. Sponsorship didn't work, adverts haven't yet launched (and are being targeted at community businesses so will barely cover their costs unless every advert slot sells), donations only make up a part of the costs, and merchandise is a pain in the ass.

However in mid-2010 affiliate schemes were turned on and have, since that time, been producing revenue for LFGSS which covers all of the forum costs and have enabled us to heavily subsidise the LFGSS Dunwich Dynamo coach and even to majority-fund the Cycle Show stand. This is basically why I've been saying since mid-2010 that the forum cash flow is weird but that we aren't in any dire need for money.

Initially I believed that affiliate schemes would only produce a blip of income that would subside (prior experience with Google ads had this pattern), but it turns out that affiliate schemes produce a consistent and almost predictable income each month. This thread is about offering transparency of this and to use that transparency to encourage sales via these retailers (it helps them, and it helps us).

I can't find anything in the small print of the affiliate schemes to say don't do this. I'm basically saying: If you're going to make a purchase consider one of these retailers first because in doing so you're helping us. Which is win-win and why they participate in affiliate schemes.

Affiliate schemes vary, but the worst case scenario is that the forum earns just under 1% of a transaction. The most common is that LFGSS earns about 2.7% of a transaction, and for very specific items (Amazon Kindle is one that we've seen) the earnings are as high as 20% of the item.

By and large, clicks from LFGSS that result in a sale average around £30 per day in revenue. Just shy of £1k per month. The vast majority of transactions only add a few pence to the coffers, it's just the sheer number of transactions that make it add up to consistent revenue for the forum.