How I Became a Product Reviewer

Photo on the left: The view from inside of my home, after the postman made two
trips to deliver my packages.  The photo on the right: a three-foot stack of 22
products waiting to be reviewed.

I have shared my review commentary with my facebook community several times over the past month.  Few of my posts elicited as much response as the image of a stack of boxes outside of my front door.  Suddenly my Private Messaging feature was dinging every 10 minutes, all wanting to know how I got into this hobby.

I am not going to reinvent the wheel here.  There are far too many good resources, with more experience than me, who have written quality content on how to review.  I found the Guide to the Hitchhiker's Guide to Reviewing to be the most comprehensive.

I will give you my 10,000-foot point of view on the matter.  And, hopefully, enough to get you started.

How Does It Work?
Quite simply, you register with a site that offers discounted products in exchange for a review.  Once you are a member you can shop through the products that companies have offered up.


What is Required of Me?
If you are selected to review a product then you are typically expected to purchase within a short time frame, as dictated by the review site.  Most sites give you a coupon code and up to 48-hours to make your purchase.  Some will generate a coupon code, directly at the point of request, and expect you to purchase immediately.

Once you have received the purchased item, you are expected to actually use it.  Based on your experience with the product, you are expected to write a thorough and honest review. At the end of your review you will have to disclose that you received a discount in exchange for the review.


How Do I Get Selected?
The very basics of being selected to review a product: Your Previous Reviews.  When creating an account with most of the review sites, you will be requested to provide your Amazon.com Public Profile Link.  This is located at Amazon.com - Your Account - (Scroll to last box) Personalization - Your Public Profile.

Prior to requesting discounted products you will want to ensure that you have some reviews in your public profile.  Ultimately, you will want to have 100% of your purchases reviewed but you should have a minimum of 50% reviewed before you begin requesting discounted products.

Be sure to write quality reviews.  Here are some great tips on how to do just that.

I have read several articles that speculate on how sellers select reviewers.  In the end, they are all speculating on a subject that only the sellers have the answers to.  When I began reviewing, just 8 short weeks ago, I was rejected for a majority of the items I applied for.  As I began reviewing, I realized that word count is a factor.  When my average word count increased I was approved for more products.  Recently I purchased a bunch of snack foods and left reviews that brought my average word count down.  I have noticed that, recently, I have been selected less frequently.

It is also helpful to have plenty of reviews in your profile.  If you are light on reviews then consider requesting a series of items simply to review.  The review website I use offers dozens of phone cases, device screen guards, and kitchen gadgets at little-to-no cost.  I found these to be the easiest to be selected for, and have a stash of them built up as a result of requesting them purely for reviewing purposes. (Can you guess what my friends and family will be getting for Easter?)


Where Do I Sign Up?
This is an excellent blog post on the different types of review sites and what each expects of it's reviewers.

I have tried a few different types and have decided to focus my energy on AMZReviewTrader.com primarily.  This site has a wide selection of products, across a long list of categories.  Additionally it offers a fairly simple process:

• Shop for a product
• Submit a request to review it
• If approved, you get an email notification with a coupon code
• Purchase within 48 hours
• Test the product and write your review
• Once Amazon sends you an email confirming your review is live, post the review link to your profile on the AMZReviewTrader website 
• Lather, Rinse, Repeat.... 

When you first join the site you can request as much as you like.  You are limited to 20 products out at one time, until you have written 100 reviews.  Then your limit moves to 40 products out at once.  

I do browse through EliteDealClub.com daily.  This site is structured quite differently as they post items up for review twice daily (10am & 2pm EST).  You select an item, and the moment you request it, you get a coupon code.  No waiting to see if you are approved, no emails, and very straight forward.

The downside to EliteDealClub.com is that the product selection is limited and the quantities are even more limited.  I have logged in daily, just moments before each set of items go live.  Many of the interesting items "sell out" faster than you can click on them.  It becomes frustrating, quickly.


What Are the Benefits of Reviewing?
Aside from the obvious, free or discounted products, it is a great opportunity to try products that you may not have paid full-price to try previously.  I came across a product called Bondic just before the 2015 holiday season.  It piqued my interest, but not enough to spend the full price to buy it.  Recently it was offered for review at just $1, and I was comfortable taking that risk.  I am so glad that I did, and I wrote a glowing review for the product.

A secondary benefit is the "No Rush" shipping promotion that Amazon offers.  It varies between a $1 digital credit and a $5,99 Prime Pantry credit.  I choose the "No Rush" option whenever possible as it helps me spread out the products coming in, and adds more value to an already valuable hobby.

I keep a spreadsheet to track the Retail Value of the items, my Purchase Price, and any Promotional Credit I receive.  As you can see, my out of pocket is $271.50 but I gained a promotional credit of $202.81.  I now have several seasons of a TV show I have always wanted to watch, as well as some movies and music.  

One additional benefit to reviewing is the benefit of being able to gift better.  I do not focus my review requests only on items that I will use - I request anything that I think I can use, gift, and donate.

I gave some amazing cutting boards, a knife sharpener, kitchen scale, and a high-end kitchen thermometer as a wedding gift recently.  Had I purchased these items without my review, I would have spent $135.  My total out-of-pocket was $5.

A local high school runs a club to fund raise for homeless feedings.  One of their means of fundraising is a silent auction.  I was thrilled to be able to donate a bunch of "gently used" items to their cause.  Total out-of-pocket cost for me was $10, they raised $200.


Other Thoughts
I have picked up a few tips and tricks over the past few weeks.  You can see more in my post here.  Be sure to check back frequently as I will share more lessons that I learn along the way.

You can read more about how I discovered reviewing in my Review Junkie post.