I Know What You Bought Last Summer....

There are Amazon.com affiliate links on pretty much all of my websites. The "big three" are Atlas Quest, Walking 4 Fun, and The Soda Can Stove--those are the websites that get the most traffic and therefore the most clicks. What happens when you click on a link is that Amazon.com puts a cookie on your computer to track where you clicked from, then if you buy anything from the website for the next day or so, they send me a tiny fraction of the sale price. It doesn't really add up to much, although I'm not actually sure if their terms of service allows me to post precise numbers so I'm not going to. (Sometimes companies are a bit protective in this manner. I know Google AdSense doesn't allow me to post that sort of information.)

Anyhow.... my Amazon affiliate account will also tell me what people bought. So I can see what sells well, or doesn't sell well, or whatever. I don't know who is buying this stuff, but I do know what you're buying!

And I thought it would be fun to share some of the more interesting items that people are buying.... So here's information about what people have bought in the past 30 days.

A lot of the items are stuff that you'd expect from a letterboxing website:

• The Letterboxers Companion (3 copies)
• The Letterboxers Companion 2nd edition (5 copies!)
• Letterboxing Journal
• 4"x6" Speedy-Carve Carving Block
• Speedball Stamp Making Kit (2)
• Linoleum Carving Set 
• Clearsnap ColorBox Pigment Inkpad (Chestnut Brown)

There are other inkpads, linoleum cutters, and obvious letterboxing paraphernalia, but a complete list isn't very interesting.

Some items that appear letterboxing related (or at least craft-oriented, which might be used for creating LTCs, logbooks, etc.) but you might not have guessed:

• Tachikawa Comic Pen Nib Holder for Various Pen Nib, Model 25
• Speedball 2-ounce India Ink, Super Black
• Derwent Watercolor Pencils

Most items, you can probably guess what website the link came from.... There's a certain amount of overlap for some, though, such as books about trails. They could have come from The Soda Can Stove website if they were looking to make their own soda can stoves, but they might have come from Walking 4 Fun if they were virtually walking the trail and wanted to learn more about it. Actual guidebooks about a trail, however, I suspect more likely come from The Soda Can Stove. You don't need a guidebook to virtually walk a trail--you need it to actually walk it! But stories about a trail... many people might be interested about those whether they do the trail for real or virtually.

So some people bought books about the Camino de Santiago--both the French and Spanish sections. The same person, I assume, also bought a Michelin map of France. Another person bought a Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Rim Trails book. Another person bought a map and guidebook of Vermont's Long Trail. Another person picked up the fascinating story of the Florida Keys Overseas Railway. (I'm getting tired of adding links to each of the products, so I'm skipping them here!)

A lot of backpacking gear tends to show up in the list as well, which I assume most of those links come from The Soda Can Stove:

• 3M High Temperature Flue Tape (used to make soda can stoves)
• Coghlan's Backpackers Trowel -- A whopping eight of those were sold! Must be a boy-scout troop heading out into the woods!
• Klean-Strip GSL26 Denatured Alcohol (1-gallon) -- Denatured alcohol is used for fuel in soda can stoves, but even I was surprised that someone would buy a gallon of it. That's a lot of fuel. I could probably hike the entire Appalachian Trail with that much fuel! Two other people were more moderate in their purchases buying the quart-sized option.
• Sawyer Squeezable Pouches -- Used with the Sawyer water treatment filter. I love my Sawyer Squeeze. Although I don't treat water on most of my hikes, I used this on the Arizona Trail extensively and never got sick. And trust me, that water was nasty! The squeezable part eventually failed and started leaking, though. I suspect whoever bought this had the same problem! The filter might last all-but-forever, but the container for water doesn't!
• Solo Stove with Backup Alcohol Burner -- Obviously purchased by someone who decided that buying one for NINETY DOLLARS (!?!?!?!?) was better making one themselves for almost nothing. Heck, I'd have been willing to make him one myself for half that price!

 Then there's a random assortment of stuff which could have come from anywhere, really.....

• God Gave Us So Much (a limited edition three-book treasury)
• And the riveting sequel: Why God Hates Me (I'm totally kidding about this one. Just trying to be funny--although it is a real book!)
• Tripp Lite FireWire IEEE 1394 Cable (6pin/6pin) 6-ft
• Nature's Cure Two Part Acne Treatment System for Males -- It's a 1 month supply--it seems like I could make a good joke about this one, but I'm coming up empty. Oh, well.... I wish Amazon had this stuff when I was in high school!
• Natures Bounty Odor Free Garlic -- I have my doubts about an "odor-free" garlic. I kind of wonder if this was purchased by a backpacker, though. Allegedly, eating lots of garlic can ward off mosquitoes. I don't think it really works--an urban legend kind of thing--but if you're desperate, you might try anything!
• Doctor's Best High Absorption Coq10 w/ BioPerine -- I have absolutely no idea what this stuff is or why one would use it. My doctor has certainly said nothing about it to me!
• Voke Tab - Natural Energy from Leaf and Berry -- Or, you know, you could just eat leaves and berries. =)
• The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion -- It's a Kindle book for a mere $1.99! I really need to find my own passion someday. Letterboxing and hiking and stuff is so passé.
• Military Outdoor Clothing (Never Issued!) 2 Qt Canteen with 2 Qt Desert Canteen Cover -- Okay, this one almost certainly came from The Soda Can Stove, but that's not something a backpacker would carry. Way too heavy! We generally prefer old water bottles (cheap and light!) or ridiculously expensive "hydration systems" (not cheap, but still light!)
• Eyeskey Metal Multifunction Military Optical Lensatic Sighting Compass for Camping Hiking -- A perfect match for your 2 quart canteen and canteen cover!
• La Leela 100% Cotton Black Tie Dye Beach Casual Hawaiian Shirt For Men -- I'm pretty sure our military guy above didn't buy this, but it would be so great if he did. If you see someone walking around with this new shirt, though, you know where they bought it! =)
• OXO Tot Straw Cup, Green, 11 Ounces, and includes a bonus baby haven reusable steam sterilizer bag

Anyhow.... so that's some (most) of the stuff y'all bought in the past 30 days. About 60% of the purchases come through Atlas Quest. The Soda Can Stove brings in about 25% of the total, while Walking 4 Fun brings in the remaining 15%.

In all seriousness, thanks for supporting Atlas Quest!