Meghan now flogging clothes for commission.

[AtIusvue]

Commissionable links- means when a potential customer clicks on the link, it's attributed to the affiliate, allowing the brand to record the source of the traffic. If someone buys a product using an affiliate link, the brand will pay the affiliate marketer commission on the sale

But she’s not an influencer?

This is really sad actually.

@GoingStraightToHell I know what you mean - as when Gail in Coronation Street had dm’s apron 😁

The thing is, one has to aspire to be Meghan to make the sales. Frankly the whole quiet luxury thing is getting a bit old and (as discussed!) you can get Stacey Solomon quiet luxury and probably very similar in Target in the US. I have a feeling that M’s fans (and indeed 90% of people, really) do not have the budget for $1000 dresses. Maybe splurging $100 on the odd special piece, but waking up every morning and following all those links to pricey beige things… how many are going to do that?

They are out in force today.

Oh my goodness, or the mistreatment of St Diana the Martyr 🙄

Yes, who's going to aspire to being Meghan? Gwyneth, yes, Nigella, yes, Pamela Anderson, yes, Stacey Solomon has a certain appeal, but Meghan?! 🤔

Desperate? How? If she sat on her bottom and did nothing living off her husband’s money you’d bitch about her. I appreciate the title business irks but is it worth the level of disdain dished out from the obsessive haters? She lives not out of the public purse. She’s earning her own money, what on earth is wrong with that?

Compared with the army of Meghan haters out in force?!!

Apologies I haven't read the full thread, but isn't this a rather odd price point to be affiliate linking. $1000 is quite a lot for a dress and people spending that much are not likely to be buying it because of the "Meghan Markle Effect". Surely they want something more exclusive.

I know when Catherine wears cheaper items and jewellery they sell out. Also her kids clothes from Trotters, but not stuff that costs £1000.

I know there has been a bunch of drama around Le Creuset, but that seems a more sensible thing to affiliate link or that juicer she used.

I agree. The people who can afford to drop a grand on a bland beige dress aren't going to do so because of Meghan. And she hasn't even been seen wearing most of the pieces. It's just merching. At least she was seen with the kitchen stuff on the NF show.

For this to be a serious income stream, she's going to need lots of people buying the stuff not just once but regularly. I don't see that happening.

This has zero risk or investment of time or $$$ etc by MM - so looks very easy for her.

The risk is only to the individual brands and who/what they want to be associated with. Seems that plenty so far are comfortable with her potential level of market access. Collabs are not hard to come by.

"I know there has been a bunch of drama around Le Creuset, but that seems a more sensible thing to affiliate link or that juicer she used."

@JADS It looks like People have pipped her to it. I wondered if they are splitting the commission 😁

https://people.com/meghan-markle-kitchen-essentials-march-2025-11691864

Here is their full statement about the press when they left the RF.

I guess they had to quickly pivot their approach about diverse access, grassroots media organisations and credible media outlets when push came to shove and they needed to pay People magazine and USWeekly to share 'their key moments and events'.

"How will The Duke and Duchess of Sussex handle media relations in the future?

"In the spring of 2020, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be adopting a revised media approach to ensure diverse and open access to their work. This adjustment will be a phased approach as they settle into the new normality of their updated roles.
This updated approach aims to:
"-Engage with grassroots media organisations and young, up-and-coming journalists;
"-Invite specialist media to specific events/engagements to give greater access to their cause-driven activities, widening the spectrum of news coverage;
"-Provide access to credible media outlets focused on objective news reporting to cover key moments and events;
"-Continue to share information directly to the wider public via their official communications channels;
"-No longer participate in the Royal Rota system.

Have they ever stuck to anything they spend their life pontificating about.

Maybe she doesnt need it specifically as a serious income stream? Maybe like Victoria Beckham (just recently turned a profit after decades of 'trading') - its to a have a sense of purpose and continue to build her profile? Also because its got to be really easy to make cash - she can test market each product take it on / off her page etc. I think this will be sucessful - she isnt building a business brand / product from scratch where all the cash, brains, drive is required - shes just a middleman/retailer with zero overheads. She cant lose on the clothing thing.

Yes, I agree there is zero risk to her.

It just seems a bit of an odd idea, but maybe I'm missing a trick here. I only watches the Mindy Kaling episode and she did mention her clothes which I personally thought felt quite awkward, but it makes more sense now.

Do People get a cut from these links then? I never really thought about it, but that would make sense.

I agree that it's low or even no risk in financial terms.

However, in terms of her 'profile' I think it's high risk. Remember that this was a person who was seen in custom couture not so long ago, and was all about 'modernising the royal family' and 'creating meaningful content'. For her to be doing affiliate merching is embarrassing and doesn't work well if she wants to position herself as an upmarket influencer who is not an influencer. To go from the royal family to 'shopmy', where anyone can merch, is a major come down.

As for a 'sense of purpose' it's not like she designed the clothes or has any input into the business. As you say, she's just a middlewoman. Where's the 'purpose' in that? And I think they do need money if they're to keep up with the Montecito set. It's not clear where it's going to come from, and I don't think 'Shopmy' is it.

Her clothes have always been here thing and have been widely discussed and debated on many global media platforms for nearly a decade. Even here we have the "Meghan out and about part 6" and 'the search for dupes for Christmas lists' by posters.

I think this is the most authentic thing she has done to date. Dont know why it has taken her so long really.

@JADS - if you click on that People link it has this in tiny lettering at the top of the page. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.

I presume they mean if you buy something through those links not just clicking on them .

I dont think she holds any embarassment. I suspect as long as there is $$$ rolling in she's delighted and its not as if any other stars/celebs 'merch' - its odd if you dont. I think her sense of purpose is to be high profile - and she is achieving that.

Also she has had multiple income streams to date - NF, Spotify ... and now she has Lemonada and affiliate links to brands and potentially her own products through As Ever.

I got quite excited once when some cushions I bought were spotted in a chic apartment on The Good Wife. Less excited when some curtains we had were spotted on Mr Tumble. My best friend nearly cried when a suit for which she'd paid (what was then to her) a small fortune, was spotted on Deidre Barlow in Corrie.

But if this is what she wanted, why wait 5 years? A billion people watched her wedding, so she was already high profile. I'm not sure how a page on a shopping site that anyone can get helps her 'profile'.

As for the other income streams, Spotify dumped them and Lemonada is a major come down. It remains to be seen what happens with NF but I can't see them being offered another 'production' deal. She's not going to make big money hawking flower sprinkles and getting a cut from the sale of beige jumpers. These things are sidelines at best for major stars so my question remains as to how they are going to fund a Montecito lifestyle.

And? She's a business person

IMHO, Pre-"F...g Grifters" M would have gotten more. Post-"F...g Grifters" not so much. Affiliate marketing is a business like any other...the counterparty wants to pay out as little commission as possible, while the affiliate marketer wants more commission.

The Spotify boss' verdict of "F*g grifters" crossed into the mainstream consciousness materially damaged any future business negotiations by H&M.

A high-profile sports commentator who knows Bill Simmons had this to say about H&M in 2023:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I pride myself on having a relatively extensive vocabulary,” he said. “I never knew what the hell grifters meant. So, I had to look it up.

“… A grifter is a con artist: someone who swindles people out of their money through fraud. That is what Bill Simmons called Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.

Stephen A. Smith Responded To Bill Simmons Calling Prince Harry And Meghan Markle ‘F*cking Grifters’

@IcedPurple I agree for most normal people they would think of it as a come down and I agree with @JessicaBlabbit I don't think she has an embarrassment bone in her body.

However , if Netflix isn't renewed at least at silly money , Lemonada will be paying a lot less than Spotify , As ever remains to be seen what she might earn from that. I suspect she is building up a portfolio of smaller things to generate income streams which added to gather might be half decent ( but I agree not Montecito money)

How is she a business person? What success has she had at running a business? Where are the products for “As Ever”? What happened to ARO? Has anything she has done been followed up 🤷‍♀️

I agree as I said in my earlier post:

"I think this is the most authentic thing she has done to date. Dont know why it has taken her so long really."

And I agree that her marketability was greater when the first left .... but lookslike the followed the classic brand lifecycle trajectory - went for the big bucks first NF, Spotify, PRH and once those highs have been exhausted the low grade stuff comes on stream. To be fair they also had a year out due to covid, giving birth, moving continents and countries, raising toddlers - on the face of it she has been very productive (which may not always be successful) and she keeps on going.

I am not a fan of her hypocracy, values and how she treats people but cant knock her resilience and productivity.