Affiliate Disclosure
How Mini Excavator HQ makes money, in plain English, and what that does and does not change about what we recommend.
01The Short Version
We earn commissions from Amazon. It costs you nothing and it does not decide what makes our lists.
Mini Excavator HQ 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.
When you click an Amazon link on this site and buy something, Amazon pays us a small percentage of the sale. The price you pay is exactly the same. Amazon pays the commission out of its own margin, not by adding anything to your total. Because that arrangement creates an obvious incentive to say nice things, US law requires sites like this one to disclose it clearly — the reasoning is spelled out in the Federal Trade Commission’s plain-language guidance on endorsements and affiliate disclosures. We’d tell you anyway, but it’s worth knowing the standard we’re being held to.
02What This Does Not Change
The part that actually matters.
- Nobody pays us for a recommendation. We do not accept payment, free machines, or sponsorship in exchange for a positive review, and we never have.
- We recommend against buying, regularly. Several machines and brands on this site get a clear “do not buy” from us. The DigSwift write-up and our assessment of DigMaster are the clearest examples. We earn nothing when we tell you to walk away, and we do it anyway.
- Renting or buying used is sometimes the right answer. We say so when it is, even though there is no commission in it.
- Machines get excluded for being unavailable, not unworthy. A couple of well-regarded brands are left off our lists purely because you cannot cleanly buy them on Amazon.
03How We Choose What to Recommend
We start with the work you are trying to do, not with the products. Recommendations come from published specifications, engine and component sourcing, parts availability, seller track record, and what real owners report. Where evidence is thin, we say the evidence is thin rather than filling the gap with confidence.
If we cannot verify a product well enough to stand behind it, we do not link it.
04Prices and Availability
Prices, availability and specifications on Amazon change constantly and are outside our control. Anything we quote was accurate when written and may not be today. Always confirm current price, specification and availability on the product page before you buy.
05Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you think we have got a recommendation wrong, tell us through the contact page. We would rather hear it than not.