Your logic is flawed because you are not agreeing with yourself. Here’s how the logic might look in a step-by-step format. There are obviously going to be many more steps, and they may not happen in this exact order.
To start with, we’re assuming that you like flashlights, and you’re happy to find a deal on a flashlight that pleases you. So, you come to BLF and leaf through the pages, not necessarily looking for a deal, but maybe. So, we’ll pick up there. Follow along.
1) The deal is posted.
2) You decide it’s a good deal and you’re willing to buy the item at that price
3) You look for a link to buy the item.
4) Since the link is affiliate, that means the person who posted the deal that you’ve already decided is a good one will be getting a small cut from the seller which you won’t pay for.
5) You demand a non-aff link be provided for the deal that the affiliate made possible for you.
So, you’ve already decided that the deal is good. But, philosophically you disagree with the aff-link and don’t want to use it. The affiliate program is about advertising. The seller asks affiliates to advertise for them and pays them for the service. Because of the advertising, you find a deal that is good. If there were no advertising, you would have no access to the good deal. But, you want to interfere with the affiliate program and yet still get the good deal. It would be like getting coupons in the mail and using them at the store, while at the same time complaining to the store manager that you got coupons in the mail.
Now, here’s how you can fix your broken logic. Agree with yourself. That’s it! Just decide whether you want the deals or not. Then go with that. So, either the affiliate program should exist and bring you deals OR it should not exist and/or not bring any good deals to you. I understand that there are many people on BLF that would just as soon do without the deals that affiliates bring. Maybe you’re one of them. Well, I disagree, but at least that is sound logic. Demanding that affiliates post non-aff links is not sound logic. I also understand that some of them do post non-aff links. Logically, that should be their prerogative. But, ironically, probably the best way to encourage more affiliates to post non-aff links is to click on the aff-links of the ones who do. Money talks, ya know.
Then again, if what M4DM4X said a few posts back is true, then a lot of your “non-aff” links still come with a payout anyway. It’s tied to the item discount code, so it is literally impossible to get the deal without paying the affiliate. And with all the animosity being shown in this forum toward aff-links, it might become the new norm.