Current packaged state
O029 has no verified ICU publisher approvals or tracked affiliate destinations. The three pilot product destinations are ordinary external links. ICU does not claim commission from them.
Commerce policy · O029 · checked Sep 9, 2026
Useful first. Monetized only when verified.
ICU can research products and publish ordinary merchant links without being in an affiliate program. An earning link may replace an ordinary destination only after program approval, tracking configuration, offer eligibility and disclosure are verified. Commission never changes editorial rank.
Ordinary links survive
If an affiliate destination is unavailable, unapproved, stale or ineligible, the resolver falls back to a current verified merchant/manufacturer link. If none is verified, it publishes no purchase link.
Payout is not a ranking signal
Commission rate, approval status, merchant payout and link availability are forbidden inputs to editorial ranking. A product can rank first with no commercial link at all.
What “affiliate” will mean here
If ICU later uses an affiliate link, it will be labeled close to the link and this page will remain available site-wide. ICU may then receive compensation if a qualifying purchase occurs. Program terms, attribution windows, categories, exclusions and rates can change, so earning links require dated verification.
Publication is independent from approval. ICU does not remove useful research because a merchant declines an application, and it does not elevate a product because a program pays more.
Verified public program terms, not ICU approvals
Rakuten Kobo
Kobo’s public affiliate page currently advertises up to 5% commission on devices and 14-day tracking. Kobo also states that affiliates can start after approval.
ICU approval unverified
Read Kobo’s program page ↗Amazon Associates · U.S.
Amazon’s public standard commission table currently lists Amazon Kindle Devices at 4.00%. Its current policy defines a qualifying session with a 24-hour maximum plus earlier terminating events and exclusions.
ICU approval unverified
Read the commission table ↗reMarkable
O029 verified the manufacturer purchase destination but did not establish an affiliate program from its bounded source set. That is recorded as not verified, not as a claim that no program exists.
Ordinary link only
Open reMarkable ↗How link resolution works
| State | Public action | Disclosure | Ranking effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approved + configured + offer eligible + fresh | Affiliate destination may be emitted | Label near link + site disclosure | None |
| Program exists, ICU approval/configuration unverified | Verified ordinary merchant/manufacturer link | Ordinary/non-affiliate state shown where useful | None |
| No verified destination | No purchase link | Explain the missing commercial path | None |
No synthesized tracking. ICU does not invent publisher IDs, affiliate query parameters, prices, inventory, approval status, expected conversion or earnings.
Commission arithmetic tool
This tool separates purchase value, excluded value, eligible commission value, a rate and an optional cap. It is arithmetic only. It does not model conversion or actual earnings.
Current pilot destinations
Kobo Elipsa 2E
Ordinary · non-affiliateManufacturer/store destination verified Sep 9, 2026. Price is not cached.
Open Rakuten Kobo ↗reMarkable Paper Pro
Ordinary · non-affiliateManufacturer destination verified Sep 9, 2026. Price is not cached.
Open reMarkable ↗Kindle Scribe (3rd Generation)
Ordinary · non-affiliateBest Buy’s exact 2025 monochrome 32 GB variant page was verified Sep 9, 2026. The link is variant-specific and price is not cached.
Open Best Buy ↗See ICU’s direct-commerce readiness for digital, POD and supplier fulfillment →
Freshness & observed-earnings boundary
- Commercial destinations and program terms carry check dates and review dates.
- A material program/offer change marks dependent affiliate resolution for review; it does not silently keep an earning link alive.
- O029 has no background monitor. Freshness is checked during future maintenance tasks.
- Observed earnings are unknown / not connected. Modeled commission arithmetic is never presented as earnings.
- Clicks, orders, returns and commission payments remain separate event classes for later analytics work.
Sources checked for O029
- Rakuten Kobo Affiliate Program — program existence, public device ceiling, tracking window and approval prerequisite.
- Amazon Associates Standard Commission Income Statement — U.S. Kindle-device standard rate.
- Amazon Associates Program Policies — qualifying-session and exclusion framework.
- Best Buy Kindle Scribe 32 GB 2025 listing — exact ordinary merchant destination for the pilot variant.
Affiliate disclosure architecture is ready, but there are still zero active earning links and no activation authorization. See readiness gates →