There are actually lots of people who sell stuff successfully on here, usually drop ship stuff.
Theyāre just not disclosing it as ads, which they are supposed to do, and instead it's marketed in a very Tumblr-esque way which can be summed up as āomg guys look how CUTE this isā followed by a different account underneath going āomg found it!!ā and it links to a drop ship site with the item(s).
And the link usually has an affiliate tracker in it, which you may or may not be able to spot unless youāre familiar with them, which is also something you are legally supposed to disclose.
I used to get a lot of offers from around 2016-2020 to sell āmoon lampsā on here, yāknow those orb lights that look like a moon? Yeah. I was offered a higher kickback to make it look like I wasnt posting an add because these sellers know Tumblrites donāt like ads.
They wanted it to look as organic and hyped up as possible and then Iād just so happen to be like āomg you guys it's on saleā and post a link. Which is skeevy as shit and also illegal af in the US.
Itās like the insta/tiktok girlies saying ālink in bioā to get around saying āhereās a product I make money on if you buy itā because they want to sound like your friend because people are more likely to impulse buy stuff if a āfriendā is recommending something.
Theyāre also trusting that everyone knows ālink in bioā means āaffiliate linkā which is technically not enough of a disclosure but whatever.
This is why I tag all my own book promos with āaffiliate linksā because depending on which storefront you buy Hunger Pangs from, I may get a kickback from the vender which I do to help mediate the fees I lose from distribution. Itās not muchāliteral pennies in some casesābut Iām still legally required to state it.
Itās also why when I do post products I use or like, I make a point of letting people know Iām not an affiliate and not sponsored because despite the legal ramifications these people are flirting with by not disclosing their affiliate status, I want to be fully transparent with my followers when it comes to me trying to sell them things.
Yāall keep my lights on by reading my work and through my ko-fi and patreon. I am not about to risk that trust for the sake of some shitty vibrator sales from a sketch-ass drop shipper who wants me to pretend Iām not selling you things.
So, yeah. People do successfully sell stuff on here. A lot of us small indie creators sell our own work all the time.
But there are also drop-ship sellers on here who get enough of a kick-back from affiliate links to make selling cutesy kitsch stuff worth their time on here. Theyāre just making sure you donāt know youāre being marketed to.
