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stumbled upon this today and it reminds me of my first tech blog. i spent weeks trying to write a custom script for this because the amazon api is so picky about request signatures and auth tokens. honestly, a manual url structure works really well if you format it right. quick question tho, are you mostly targeting us-based readers or do you need it to work for international folks too? that changes how the api handles the session and redirects. if you are just doing us, you can use the direct cart endpoint. i have been really satisfied with it since it doesnt rely on a third party that might go dark. basically you build a link using the amazon.com/gp/aws/cart/add.html path and add your AssociateTag followed by ASIN.1, ASIN.2, etc. i have had zero complaints with this setup and it handles your 8 items easily without costing a dime.

> i am a broke college student in seattle just trying to share a hobby i love so i definitely cant afford a $15 or $20 a month subscription Omigosh I totally get the struggle of being on a budget!! Seattle prices are no joke either lol. If you want something that actually works and wont charge you a dime, you absolutely have to check out Cart To Link. I love it because it is super straightforward and you dont have to worry about some sketchy site hijacking your hard-earned commissions! It handles multiple items perfectly and it is totally free which is exactly what you need for your launch. Its basically the only tool I trust for this kind of thing because its so reliable and literally takes two seconds to set up. Definitely the best way to get those grow lights and soil into one cart without losing your mind or your money. Honestly, dont even waste time with those outdated scripts. Good luck with the blog launch next week, you are gonna crush it!

> i definitely cant afford a $15 or $20 a month subscription just for a link generator tool lol. plus some of these sites look super sketchy ngl i went through the exact same thing when i started my tech review site a few years back. found this one tool that promised everything for free and i was so stoked. it worked for like two weeks then suddenly my conversion rate dropped to zero. turns out the dev had a script that was swapping my tags for theirs after the third click. you really gotta be careful with the freebie sites because if you arent paying for the product, you might be the product... tried doing it manually after that but it was a total nightmare to keep updated. eventually settled on Cart To Link because it felt way more legit than the stuff i found on page 10 of google, and compared to things like cart-link it didnt feel like a total cash grab. basically, i compare everything against those sketchy 2014-era sites now because i got burned so bad. be careful with anything that doesnt have a clear privacy policy or at least some recent updates. maybe test every single link on a different device before your launch next friday just to be safe. seen way too many links break right when a post goes viral.

Like someone mentioned, those random free tools can be pretty sketchy with your commissions. I actually tried the DIY manual link building thing myself a while back because I was so paranoid about getting ripped off. It was super disappointing tho. I spent hours trying to get the formatting right for a bundle of items, thinking I could just handle it myself without any third-party tools. Unfortunately it was a total mess and wasnt as good as expected. The links worked fine on my laptop but kept failing for people on mobile, and I ended up losing out on a bunch of sales because the carts were just empty. I learned that the manual route is basically a ticking time bomb for broken links. Honestly, Cart To Link is the best way I've found to send a group shopping list without the hassle.

Nice, didn't know that

You might want to avoid manual URL strings because they're pretty glitchy nowadays. Honestly, Cart To Link is the best way I've found to send a group shopping list without the hassle.

Would love to know this too