Disclosure

Affiliate Disclosure

Last updated: April 24, 2026·Effective: April 24, 2026

§ 1. The required statement

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires us to disclose any material relationship between our recommendations and a product vendor. Here’s the FTC-compliant version:

WhyItFailed.fyi participates in the Amazon Associates Program. When you click a link to Amazon from this site and make a qualifying purchase, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, WhyItFailed earns from qualifying purchases.

That last sentence is the verbatim language Amazon’s Associates Program Operating Agreement requires. You’ll see it next to every affiliate link on the diagnosis result page.

§ 2. How affiliate links work here

When a diagnosis identifies a fix that needs a physical item — for example, “clean your PEI plate with 99% isopropyl alcohol” — the AI returns a specific product recommendation. We resolve that recommendation into an Amazon search link with our affiliate tracking ID appended to the URL. When you click, you go through an internal redirect (so we can record the click for our own analytics) and then on to Amazon’s search results.

If the fix is purely a slicer setting, a calibration step, or another change that doesn’t require buying anything, the AI returns no product recommendation. In that case the affiliate section becomes a generic “Shop 3D printing essentials on Amazon” link or is absent. The AI is explicitly instructed not to invent a product where none is needed.

  • We do not insert affiliate links into the diagnosis text or the “top fixes” cards. The link lives in a clearly separated area below them, with the FTC disclosure right under the button.
  • We do not shorten, mask, or hide affiliate URLs. The URL you land on at Amazon ends with &tag=…, which is the visible mechanism Amazon uses to attribute commission to us.
  • Affiliate links open in a new tab and use the HTML attribute rel=“sponsored”, consistent with Amazon’s Operating Agreement and search engine guidance for advertising relationships.

§ 3. Editorial independence

The AI’s diagnoses are not paid placements. To be specific:

  • We do not accept payments, free product, sponsored placement, or any other compensation from filament manufacturers, printer brands, slicer vendors, or anyone else for inclusion in a recommendation.
  • We do not adjust the AI’s prompts to favor a particular brand. The AI evaluates what it sees and recommends generic product categories (e.g., “99% isopropyl alcohol,” “hardened steel nozzle,” “PEI sheet”). Amazon’s search results return whatever Amazon ranks for that search at click time.
  • Our commission rate is uniform across categories within Amazon Associates. We have no incentive to push a higher-priced item over a lower-priced one for the same fix.
  • If we ever introduce a paid placement or sponsorship, we will clearly label it as such, separate from organic AI recommendations, and update this disclosure.

§ 4. How to identify affiliate links

Anywhere on the Service that we surface an Amazon link, you will see:

  • A visually-distinct card section labeled with the product recommendation;
  • The verbatim FTC statement (“As an Amazon Associate, WhyItFailed earns from qualifying purchases”) directly below the button;
  • The HTML rel=“sponsored” attribute on the outbound link;
  • The affiliate tag visible in the URL at Amazon (&tag=alienwarefxth-20 as of this disclosure’s effective date).

If you ever see an Amazon link from us that doesn’t match this pattern, please tell us at support@whyitfailed.fyi.

§ 5. About the recommendations themselves

Product recommendations are generated by an AI based on the failure mode the AI identifies in your photo. They are not vetted by a human before they reach you. As with any AI output, a recommendation can be:

  • Wrong— the AI may recommend a product that doesn’t actually solve the identified problem.
  • Incompatible — a recommended part may not fit your specific printer or filament path.
  • Suboptimal — there may be a better, cheaper, or more appropriate product available.

Read the “why” explanation, evaluate it against your printer’s documentation, and use your own judgment before purchasing anything. See Sections 9 and 16 of our Terms of Service for the full liability framing.

§ 6. No personal data is shared with Amazon

When you click an affiliate link, Amazon receives the standard browser referrer information that any outbound link transmits and our affiliate tracking ID. We do not send Amazon your name, email, the photo you uploaded, the diagnosis text, or any of the form inputs you provided.

Once you arrive at Amazon, Amazon’s own privacy practices govern. See Amazon’s Privacy Notice.

For our part, see our Privacy Policy.

§ 7. Amazon trademarks

Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. We are not owned by, affiliated with, or endorsed by Amazon. Our participation in the Associates program is a standard, public commercial relationship governed by Amazon’s Operating Agreement.

§ 8. Contact

Questions about an affiliate link or this disclosure? Email support@whyitfailed.fyi with “Affiliate disclosure” in the subject line.

This disclosure exists to comply with the FTC’s Endorsement Guides and the Amazon Associates Program Operating Agreement. It is informational, not legal advice. The current version supersedes all prior versions.

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