What Is ThisIsWhyImBroke?

Updated

ThisIsWhyImBroke (thisiswhyimbroke.com) is a product-discovery and gift-guide website. It is built for browsing rather than buying: you go there to find unusual, funny, or genuinely useful products, then follow a link out to a retailer if something interests you. It is a good fit if you are looking for gift ideas or want to see novelty items you would not find on a standard shopping site. It is not a store — it does not sell products directly, and it does not hold inventory.

What the site actually is

The site describes itself as a miscellaneous web resource for discovery, directories, archives, and web culture. In practice, that means a catalog of curated product picks organized into browsable sections. The visible navigation on the site includes:

  • More Categories — browse products by type
  • All — the full product feed
  • Gift Guides — curated lists, including a "Latest Gift Guides" section
  • Random — jump to a random product
  • Submit a product — a channel for suggesting items
  • What's New — recent additions

There are also account features: Login / Register, My Account, My Settings, My Wishlist, and a Contact Us page. So you can create an account and save items to a wishlist if you want to keep track of things across visits.

How it makes money

The site states plainly that it is reader-supported and that some displayed products may earn it a commission if you purchase through its links. It also states that it participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This is the standard affiliate model: the site does not charge you to browse, and the price you pay at the retailer is not affected by whether you arrived through ThisIsWhyImBroke. The practical takeaway is that product links are monetized, so treat the recommendations as editorial picks with a commercial incentive behind the outbound clicks.

What you can expect when browsing

The content is organized around discovery, not comparison shopping. You will find categories and gift guides rather than spec tables or price-history charts. A few things worth knowing before you rely on it:

  • Product pages are pointers, not listings. The site's own tracking labels (Product Info, Product Page Performance, CTR, Impressions) show it measures how often people click through to products — the actual transaction happens elsewhere.
  • Prices and availability live at the retailer. Because ThisIsWhyImBroke links out, any price you see should be confirmed on the merchant's page before you decide.
  • The catalog is broad and novelty-leaning. The name signals the tone: items chosen because they make you think "this is why I'm broke."

Common snags

If you land on a page and see "404 - The page you are looking for could not be found," the specific product or guide has been removed or the URL has changed — go back to the homepage or use the category and gift-guide navigation instead. The site also notes that it needs JavaScript enabled, so if sections look empty or unresponsive, check your browser settings. And if you are browsing with an ad blocker or strict cookie settings, some interactive elements may not behave as expected; the site uses cookies and shows a consent notice on arrival.

When it is worth using

Use ThisIsWhyImBroke when you want inspiration — a gift for someone hard to shop for, a novelty item, or a browse through categories you would not think to search. Skip it if you need verified current pricing, detailed specifications, or a single place to complete a purchase. In that case, use it to find the product, then buy from the retailer it links to.