Lumen & Ledger
Affiliate Disclosure
How this site earns, which links pay us, which do not, and what none of it changes.
By Scooter M. · Published September 2, 2026
The short version
Lumen & Ledger earns a commission when you buy through an Amazon link on this site, at no extra cost to you. That is the only revenue this site has: no sponsored placements, no paid reviews, no free products accepted, and no affiliate relationship with any other retailer. Where we link somewhere we earn nothing from, the page says so.
The Amazon Associates statement
Lumen & Ledger is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Which links pay us, and which do not
Every outbound commercial link on this site is marked with rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" and routed through a redirect at /go, which is excluded from search indexes. That routing exists so that a link's destination is a single configuration entry rather than something buried in prose — which means the site can be honest about where each one goes.
| Retailer | Do we earn? | How the link behaves |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Yes | Affiliate-tagged. We earn a commission on qualifying purchases. |
| Walmart | No | Plain, untracked link. We have joined no program with this retailer and earn nothing. |
| The Home Depot | No | Plain, untracked link. We have joined no program with this retailer and earn nothing. |
| Harbor Freight Tools | No | Plain, untracked link. We have joined no program with this retailer and earn nothing. |
| Costco | No | Plain, untracked link. We have joined no program with this retailer and earn nothing. |
| Menards | No | Plain, untracked link. We have joined no program with this retailer and earn nothing. |
What the commission does not change
It does not change which lights are picked or where they finish. Rankings on this site are computed — published maximum output divided by the live retail price — so position is arithmetic rather than opinion. Where we adjust an order by hand, we state which of the four scored attributes we adjusted for and why, on the page.
It also does not change what we say. Several pages here recommend lights that we earn nothing from, tell you to buy in a physical shop rather than online, or point out that a light we link to is the wrong buy for your situation. A site that could not do those things would not be worth reading.
Where the disclosure appears
Above the first buy link on every commercial page, not only in the footer — a reader who lands halfway down a page never sees a footer. Every individual buy button also carries an #ad marker and a link back to this page. That is more disclosure than the rules require and it costs us nothing worth keeping.
Prices, and why they are stamped
Prices on this site are pulled live from the retailer and displayed with the time they were pulled. Where we have not pulled one, the button reads "Check price" rather than showing a number. Prices change constantly and the price you see at the retailer is the one that applies; nothing here should be read as an offer.
Products we have not tested
We do not test the products we link to and we say so on every page that carries a recommendation. Our recommendations are based on manufacturers' published specifications, cited, and on arithmetic performed on those specifications and a live price. That is the entire basis of every pick on this site.
Questions
If anything about how this site earns is unclear, ask: info@lumenandledger.com. We would rather answer than have you guess.
Common questions
Does it cost me more to buy through your links?
No. The commission is paid by the retailer out of its own margin and the price you pay is identical whether you arrive through a link here or type the address yourself. If that were not true we would not use affiliate links at all.
Do commissions influence your rankings?
No, and the structure is designed so that it would be difficult for them to. Rankings are computed from published output divided by live price, so a product's position is arithmetic rather than judgment. Where we adjust an order by hand we name the attribute we adjusted for. Several pages here recommend lights we earn nothing from.
Which links on this site earn you money?
Amazon links only. We have joined no other retail affiliate program, so every other retailer named on this site is a plain untracked link that earns us nothing at all, and the pages that name them say so.
Do you accept free products or sponsored content?
No to both. We have accepted no manufacturer-supplied review units and we run no sponsored placements or paid positions. Affiliate commission is the only revenue this site has.
Sources
- Lumen & Ledger method — how every figure on this page is derived
Also worth reading
About Lumen & Ledger
Who writes this, what we do not do, and how the site pays for itself.
How we work this out
The full method: what we compile, what we compute, and what we refuse to claim.
Rechargeable flashlights on Amazon
Why the listings look the way they do, and how to read one without being misled.
The Ledger
Every light we cover in one ranked table, sorted by lumens per dollar.
The best rechargeable flashlights for the money
The flagship ranking: every pick scored on output over price, with the arithmetic shown.
Are Amazon flashlights any good?
How to read a listing where the lumen figure is a marketing decision.