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Linking parts from 3rd party sites?

Hi, Ifixit staff and translators :)

I noticed for a while now that iFixit has a spare part referencing functionality that can be used to reference spare parts and suppliers. I also noticed in some tutorial I translated, some users want to find some spare parts like batteries. So I hesitate to search and reference some spare parts on the old guide I translated to help these users.

This could :

  • Help users to find spare parts easily
  • Improve existing guides a bit

Here is a link to the iFixit spare part referencing functionality I used and its related guide :

What is the iFixit policy about its spare part referencing functionality ?

I guess :

  • If the spare part is sold by iFixit, reference the iFixit spare part first.
  • If the spare part is not sold by iFixit, should we reference spare parts sold by other sellers ? Is there a specific policy about this ?
    • I'm pretty sure the base policy is "no conflicts of interest".

Can I do this kind of improvement for existing tutorials ?

Has iFixit a preference for external selling websites ? (exemple : if iFixit doesn't sell the spare part, try to reference the official seller first, then use other suppliers, like some on Ebay, Amazon, etc.)

Answer this question I have this problem too

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AFAIK (and from what I have seen) it depends. Yes, if they sell the part they prefer that (which is a given). IF the part isn't sold there then an outside source is fair game, but it's (generally) a last resort. If I do not link something, it's generally a signal to buy it in a big box store due to economics and damage risk for the price.

Example: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Basic+-+How... -- they sell the utility knife, but the page did not show; rather then debug it, I went with the Amazon page since I preferred the extra edge for cutting the line sharper (they use affiliate links, so I don't feel bad about it; when I can buy a similar utility knife here, I'll adjust it). However, they do not sell the plastic sheets, posterboard, masking tape or the bulbs I picked (and put explicitly) in the parts page; for those, I HAVE to source it from the outside. Sometimes if say, I need a specific version of a tool iFixit doesn't sell I have to as well.

@amber can better speak on this then me.

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Thanks for the tag @nick—this is a good question! Our Commercial Link Policy Page says a lot more, but the gist is: if we sell it please link our part. We have always (and will always) host our repair information for free but we have to pay our team some how. And that's by selling parts and tools.

If we don't sell it, only link to reputable source that you trust. For example, if you've bought a part from a particular store or Amazon storefront you can link there. But don't just Google the part and link to whatever pops up even if it looks good. It's better, in that case, to provide a part number or an image of what it should look like and let the fixer reading do their own part search.

Thanks for asking!!

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@amber So by that example if I do not like the iFixit precision utility knife due to the thin nature of it for a thing like those thick sheets (where I may just use my jigsaw blade table saw to cut the backing material but that's not a good thing to promote as most people probably don't have a set of power tools like that) but I can find a better one on Amazon that's fine. Linking to Temu is bad.

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As we say in the wiki, we'd still prefer you link to ours. Everyone has their own tool preferences and they can make that decision for themselves to buy or not buy ours.

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@amber I used it as an example because it seemed like an excellent case of where there's a collision, especially with linking issues. At that point it's a delicate balance between figuring it out before publishing, or later if you can fix the problem. I am working on a advanced lightning edition of the guide so I may try and work out the issue and fix it this time around.

The reason I wouldn't show that I use my table saw on those plastic sheets is while I'm comfortable with a death blade, I don't want to make it seem like it's the only way to do it. It's just faster especially if you do not care about the edge enough where you'll just sand it down anyway if it's rough.

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@es_six , I'm going to officially submit an answer so that others can quickly glance at the solution. Here's a bullet summary of our comments.

  • iFixit Commercial-linking Policy
    • If iFixit sells the part, please link to it. Consumers can decide if they want to purchase the product.
    • If iFixit doesn't sell the part, you can link to a third-party on a case-by-case basis.
      • Keep in mind that we are a global community. It's possible the third-party link isn't available to the people asking for it.
      • If we don't sell it, only link to reputable source that you trust. But don't just Google the part and link to whatever pops up (even if it looks good). It's better to provide a part number or an image of what it should look like and let the fixer do their own research.
      • If you have existing guides/wikis with unverified links, you should review them to make sure that they haven't succumb to link rot and that you haven't linked to an unverified vendor.

I think that about covers it! Thank you for asking this.

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Hi @krisrodrigez,

Thank you for this detailed explanation about the iFixit commercial policy.

I made only 3 guides and I didn't add additional links to spare parts for other existing guides, so don't worry, spare parts I added comply since Oct 17, 2023 :)

All other guides are only english to french translations.

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Also cheat code for anyone with a guide with a ton of P/N references: If you know the difference between the two (EX: 29=black keys, 30=white keys), put one set in in its entirety and notate what you need to look for if you need the alternative part#. Add a few commonly used part numbers for the other version so people know what needs to be changed around.

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Brendan will be eternally grateful.