Brad, sorry I didn't mean to imply that you were buying links. But to answer your question then, yes your links aren't going to be as strong once they drop off the home page of a blog. But that, technically, is not the same link as the one from the blog post page. Yes, you'll lose the power of the link when it's no longer on the page. It's the same as losing the link. But the link on the post page will retain its value, although that may not be much if nobody links to that blog entry.
I hope that helps. Sorry about the confusion.
Regards,
Everett