Check out the 'Window Shopping' years in review
Most popular WS reader posts since joining Substack in 2022
Wrapped on Spotify is fascinating to me, mainly because the songs, the albums and the podcasts that I think would make it to the top of the list rarely do. And I always end up trailing off down some peculiar path or losing interest completely in something I was fanatical about at the start of the year. Then, I find something new.
It’s fun to see what was of interest to me then and now. Same goes for my YouTube 2025 Recap.
But what may have stood out the most this year was the kind of items that were the most popular on my Amazon Affiliate list. None of the top six (two are the same brand) were choices I would’ve predicted to be the most popular, but I’m happy to see the ones that my Substack subscribers and casual readers decided to buy. I still co-sign all six, especially those that assist in helping Black authors and Black businesses.
Instead of doing just a Substack year in review for 2025, I’ve decided to do a Substack all-time-posts in review since my content migration from Medium to Substack in mid-2022. I know Substack has a “top” posts category on the homepage, but Google Analytics has a few interesting (and different) results for the past three years. In addition to listing the top 10 posts (according to Google Analytics), I’ll tell you my take (or experience) on this post as of today in 2025. Here’s hoping you enjoy learning what inspired me to write these posts and clicking away to read them too.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy (upcoming) New Year!
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As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage for every purchase with my referral link.
Shamontiel’s most popular Amazon Affiliate recommendations on Substack
Michael Harriot’s “Black AF” (available in hardcover, Kindle and audiobook)
Michael B. Jordan’s sea moss drink (sold out at the date of publication — PURE Moss, Pomegranate Moss, Mango Ginger Moss, Variety Pack Moss)
Top 10 WS posts from 2022-25
1. Michael B. Jordan said sea moss drinks were his ‘obsession,’ so I tried it ~ For people with high blood pressure, Moss beverages may be a good option
2025 take: I tried it for absolutely superficial reasons, but the Pure MOSS really is very good. The Pomegranate MOSS reminds me of sparkling non-alcoholic red wine. It’s sold out all the time on Amazon, but if you can snag a variety pack or at least these two, you’re in for a treat. It’s worth the money.
2. Before you apply to Working Solutions, know what’s missing in the contract ~ One of seven concerns: 54 hours of Turbo Tax training for a $100 stipend is only $0.03 per minute
2025 take: Remote work is far more convenient, less stressful, avoids office politics and (usually) office gossip, and provides more flexibility. On Upwork, I’ve made more than $100,000 over the course of 227 jobs and working 3,473 hours. Now this may not seem like a lot of money over the course of a 10-year period from 2014 to 2024. Someone with a $50,000 job can do this in a couple of years. But majority of these jobs were varying rates and may have been anywhere from a couple of days to a few months while I was still working in Corporate America until 2018. And none of these Upwork clients asked for nine days of training and two hours of free work for $100 stipend after working additional hours for this reimbursement — with a $25 equipment fee deduction. Judging from the complaints and reviews, some have done the math. I can’t wrap my mind around why anybody would agree to this. Even my photo tech job at Walmart paid for training. To each her own though.
3. Which states allow auto loan prepayment penalties? ~ Most states allow auto loan lenders to charge a prepayment penalty to recoup lost revenue from interest. While some states have laws against these penalties on mortgages, auto loans are a gray area.
2025 take: I honestly would’ve never written this on my own. I’ve written financial copy and auto copy (almost always about hybrid cars and environmental influences), but writing about auto loans was brand new ground for me. Similar to the French Bulldogs versus Boston Terriers post, I agreed to write this post more to learn than to just write. It is an added bonus that when the post was removed from the first site, it became an instant hit on “Window Shopping.” I didn’t see that one coming at all.
4. Window Shopping list: Black-owned products that you may want to try from Amazon ~ Window Shopping fully embraces diversity, equity and inclusion, and supporting small businesses!
2025 take: Once I learned the results of the 2024 presidential election, I really didn’t know what to do with my Amazon Affiliate account. The irony is I spent several years boycotting Amazon long before Trump was president the first time. I was upset about my book reviews being rejected for inexplicable reasons and threw in the towel on the site. Before that, I spent my college years and all of my twenties making side money selling used books, music and movies on Amazon and Half.com. During my one-woman boycott, I even gave up my Amazon Vine account, which I dreaded doing because I loved that account even more than the Home Depot SEEDS program. A few years ago, I finally stopped holding a grudge and started enjoying Amazon again — only for Jeff Bezos to donate to Trump’s campaign. Argh!
But there is a silver lining. I really enjoy seeing minority-owned businesses and small businesses show us what they’re made of, and I have a platform to spread the word (even when the Black-owned business logos started disappearing on Amazon). So I created a disclaimer, went back through every single post (at least 1,000) that I’d already published on Substack, and featured a Black-owned product on all of them. It took me almost two months to do it, but I powered through. And it worked! I’m ecstatic every single time I see a sale from one of those items. The most recent sale (December 8) was a His and Hers coloring book. Art wins!
5. Allivet is repeating the reason Walmart PetRx failed ~ Think twice before agreeing to auto-ship agreements, especially pet prescriptions
2025 take: I threw the towel in on both. For a short time, I got prescriptions at Junee’s vet’s office, but I found a much more economical clinic that is willing to submit prescriptions to Chewy. I’ve had zero problems paying for shipments and receiving products from Chewy for over a year.
6. HP DeskJet 2700 All-In-One Printer is making me humor getting an HP All-In printer subscription ~ When your ink costs more than your printer, libraries come in handy
2025 take: Once I realized all the perks of HP Instant Ink (see next post), getting a new printer was unnecessary. I just needed to give the ink subscription a chance.
7. $510 later, I wish I hadn’t ignored signing up for HP Instant Ink ~ Environmentalism is the other perk of signing up for Hewlett Packard’s monthly ink program
2025 take: I know there are a laundry list of complaints about the HP Instant Ink deal, but it has been great for me. One jumbo ink cartridge lasts forever. No more running out of ink, staring out of the window waiting on a mail carrier, running to the library for the 10 free copies per day or cringing when the same page prints twice. There are downsides though. It is absolutely annoying to set up the HP Instant Ink on a laptop but easy on a smartphone, and I have spent at least two hours troubleshooting my printer after changing my Wi-Fi password. Still, it’s worth it. Take the $10 promo deal and try it for yourself.
8. Are outdoor malls better than windowless, indoor malls? ~ The reason Musiq Soulchild always makes me think of shopping
2025 take: I wrote this post right around the time Yasiin Bey said Drake was mall music, and I started to delete it. The only artist who mopes around during interviews more than Musiq Soulchild is Wale, and I didn’t want to take the 1% chance that Musiq might happen to notice this post and see this as an insult. In all fairness, my godsister is a pretty solid beatboxer and did the song justice. Musiq is super talented and has an amazing voice — but sometimes underrated. I played his albums the entire time I wrote this post and relived that trip to the mall.
9. 10 best car seat cushions for long drives ~ Window Shopping listicles: The shopping trip you didn’t know you needed to take
2025 take: I can never tell why some listicles take off while others may as well have tumbleweed blow by. This post, which originally had 15 choices, was so popular even with only six still available that I went digging for four more. The weather may have made road trips slow down, but this is still one of the most popular listicles. From auto loan prepayments to this post, I realize I need to write about cars more often.
10. Fable pulled mushrooms are the plant-based meal you didn’t know you needed ~ Why food pantry bins are so significant for curious shoppers and food waste advocates
2025 take: I spent four decades thinking mushrooms were absolutely repulsive and not understanding why anyone would eat them without their lives being threatened. However, an accidental fried mushrooms order at (a now-closed location of ) Harold’s Chicken (made me reevaluate my entire perspective. Pretty soon I was buying fried mushrooms as much as the large fries with mild sauce. Then Yeung Man Cooking taught me how to make fried oyster mushrooms. Finally, I found out about Fable pulled mushrooms and Meati mushroom steak. Hallelujah! You can’t pay me to say anything negative about mushrooms for the past four years.
Enjoying this post?
Read “Check out the ‘Black Girl In a Doggone World’ years in review ~ Most popular BGIDW reader posts since joining Substack in 2022” too!
Read “Check out the ‘Homegrown Tales’ years in review ~ Most popular HT reader posts since joining Substack in 2022” too!
Read “Check out the ‘I Do See Color’ years in review ~ Most popular IDSC reader posts since joining Substack in 2022” too!
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the monthly post on the third Thursday. Thanks for reading!