Advertising Disclosure
Golden Steep is committed to transparency in all our business relationships. This disclosure explains how we handle advertising, affiliate partnerships, and sponsored content. We believe you deserve to know how we generate revenue and when our recommendations may involve financial relationships.
Last updated: December 14, 2025
Our Commitment to Transparency
We value the trust you place in us when seeking guidance on rare tea collection and curation. This trust is paramount, and we take our responsibility to disclose financial relationships seriously. Any compensation we receive does not compromise our commitment to providing honest, accurate, and valuable information.
This disclosure complies with guidelines set forth by regulatory authorities, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requirements for disclosure of material connections between advertisers and endorsers.
Affiliate Relationships and Partnerships
What Are Affiliate Relationships?
Golden Steep participates in affiliate programs with select tea producers, equipment suppliers, and related service providers. When you make a purchase through certain links on our website, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
These affiliate relationships allow us to sustain our operations and continue providing valuable content and curation services while maintaining editorial independence.
How Affiliate Partnerships Work
Here's how our affiliate relationships function:
- • When you click certain links and make a purchase, the seller pays us a percentage of the transaction
- • The price you pay remains the same—you are not charged more due to our affiliate relationship
- • Commission rates vary by merchant and product category
- • We only recommend products and services we believe offer genuine value
Our Selection Criteria
We establish affiliate relationships based on quality and alignment with our values, not solely on commission potential. Our criteria include:
- ✓ Product quality and authenticity verification
- ✓ Producer reputation and ethical practices
- ✓ Relevance to rare tea collection and appreciation
- ✓ Customer service standards and reliability
- ✓ Alignment with our educational mission
Editorial Independence
Our editorial content, recommendations, and assessments remain independent of financial considerations. We do not allow affiliate relationships to influence our honest evaluation of products, services, or tea quality. When we recommend something, it's because we genuinely believe it merits your attention.
Sponsored Content and Paid Promotions
Identification of Sponsored Content
Occasionally, we may feature sponsored content or paid promotions. Such content will always be clearly identified with one or more of the following disclosures:
Sponsored
Content paid for by an advertiser
Paid Partnership
Collaborative content with compensation
Advertisement
Promotional material
Promoted by [Brand]
Brand-specific sponsorship
Sponsored Content Policy
When we accept sponsored content:
- • We maintain full editorial control over the content we publish
- • Sponsors do not dictate our opinions or assessments
- • We clearly distinguish sponsored content from editorial content
- • We only accept sponsorships from brands aligned with our values
- • Content quality and relevance remain our primary considerations
Brand Partnerships
We occasionally engage in longer-term partnerships with tea producers, equipment manufacturers, or luxury brands whose offerings align with our mission. These partnerships may involve various forms of compensation, including monetary payment, products for review, or access to exclusive experiences. All such partnerships are disclosed transparently.
Third-Party Advertising Networks
Display Advertising
We may use third-party advertising networks to display advertisements on our website. These networks use technologies such as cookies and web beacons to collect information about your browsing activity to provide relevant advertising.
We do not have direct control over the content of third-party advertisements, but we strive to work with reputable advertising networks that maintain quality standards.
Behavioral Targeting
Advertising networks may use behavioral targeting to show you ads based on your interests and browsing history. This practice involves:
- • Collecting data about the pages you visit and content you view
- • Creating interest profiles to deliver relevant advertisements
- • Tracking your interactions with advertisements
- • Measuring advertisement effectiveness
You can opt out of behavioral advertising through your browser settings or through industry opt-out mechanisms. Please see our Cookie Policy for more information.
Remarketing and Retargeting
We may use remarketing services to show advertisements to visitors who have previously visited our website. These services use cookies to identify returning visitors and display relevant ads across other websites they visit.
Data Collection for Advertising
Information Collected
For advertising purposes, the following information may be collected:
- • Browser type and version
- • Operating system and device information
- • IP address and approximate location
- • Pages visited and time spent on site
- • Referring website and search terms
- • Interactions with advertisements and content
How Data Is Used
This data helps us and our advertising partners:
- • Deliver relevant advertisements to your interests
- • Measure advertisement performance and effectiveness
- • Improve user experience and website functionality
- • Analyze traffic patterns and popular content
Data Sharing
Data collected for advertising purposes may be shared with:
- • Third-party advertising networks and platforms
- • Analytics service providers
- • Marketing technology partners
- • Affiliate program operators
Your Rights and Controls
Ad Preference Management
You have several options to manage advertising preferences:
- • Adjust browser cookie settings
- • Use browser privacy or ad-blocking extensions
- • Opt out through industry opt-out tools
- • Manage cookie preferences on our Cookie Policy page
Opt-Out Procedures
To opt out of personalized advertising:
- • Visit industry opt-out platforms such as NAI or DAA
- • Enable "Do Not Track" in your browser
- • Use device-level advertising preferences
- • Clear cookies regularly through browser settings
Data Requests
You have the right to:
- • Request information about data collected
- • Ask for deletion of your advertising data
- • Object to specific types of advertising
- • Withdraw consent for data processing
Privacy Compliance
Your rights under privacy regulations:
- • GDPR rights for EU residents
- • CCPA rights for California residents
- • Other applicable regional privacy laws
- • Right to file complaints with authorities
Product Reviews and Recommendations
Review Policy
When we review or recommend tea-related products:
- Our assessments are based on genuine evaluation and experience
- We disclose any financial relationship or compensation received
- Products received for review are clearly identified
- We provide honest opinions regardless of compensation
Complimentary Products
Tea producers occasionally send products for evaluation at no cost. Receiving complimentary products does not guarantee positive coverage. We maintain the right to provide honest, critical feedback based on our professional assessment.
Authenticity Guarantee
All opinions expressed in our content represent our genuine professional assessment. We do not publish reviews or recommendations based solely on financial incentives. Our reputation depends on providing trustworthy guidance to collectors and enthusiasts.
FTC Compliance Statement
Golden Steep complies with the Federal Trade Commission's guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. We make reasonable efforts to ensure that all material connections between Golden Steep and providers of products or services are clearly and conspicuously disclosed.
If you believe we have failed to adequately disclose a material connection or have concerns about our advertising practices, please contact us immediately so we can address the issue.
Changes to This Disclosure
We may update this Advertising Disclosure periodically to reflect changes in our advertising relationships, practices, or applicable regulations. We will indicate the date of the most recent update at the top of this page.
Material changes to this disclosure will be communicated through reasonable means, which may include a notice on our website. We encourage you to review this disclosure regularly to stay informed about our advertising practices.
Questions About Advertising?
If you have questions about our advertising relationships, would like to report a disclosure concern, or need clarification about any advertising practices, please contact us through our contact form. We're committed to transparency and will address your concerns promptly.
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