Why We Publish Negative Reviews of Products We Earn From
We may earn a commission if you buy through our links. It does not change what we recommend or what you pay. How this works.
A review site that earns commission on the products it reviews has an obvious conflict. The only workable response is to be explicit about how the conflict is managed and then to behave consistently, including when it costs money.
The short version
- Every review names at least two things that annoyed us.
- Every review names a buyer who should choose something else.
- Products with no affiliate program appear on equal terms.
- We have published poor scores for products we earn commission on.
The two required sections
What annoyed us. If a product has no downsides after two weeks of use, the product was not used for two weeks. Every device has irritations, and the ones a reviewer notices are exactly what a buyer wants to know before committing money.
Who should not buy this. Every product suits some people and not others. Naming the buyer who should look elsewhere is more useful than another paragraph about who should buy it, and it is the section that most clearly signals whether a review was written for the reader or the advertiser.
Why this is commercially sensible, not just ethical
A reader who buys on our recommendation and is disappointed does not come back. A reader who is told plainly that a product is wrong for them, buys something else, and is happy, does. Over any reasonable period the second reader is worth more.
There is also a simpler version: if we only criticised products that pay us nothing, readers would notice, and they would be right to stop reading.
Products that pay us nothing
Some products we recommend have no affiliate program at all. They appear in our guides on the same terms as everything else, because leaving out the right answer would make the whole site useless.
What we will not do
- Accept payment for a review, a mention, or a position in a roundup.
- Send a review to a brand before publication.
- Accept edits from a brand after publication, beyond factual corrections.
- Publish sponsored content without labelling it at the top of the page.
- Remove a negative review because a brand asked.
Supplied units
Where a review unit is provided by a brand rather than bought at retail, the review says so in the opening section. A supplied unit does not change the score, and we have published critical reviews of supplied products. If a brand stops supplying units because of a review, that is an acceptable cost.
Corrections
We get things wrong. When we do, we correct the page and add a dated note at the bottom saying what was wrong. We do not quietly edit and pretend the original never existed.
If something on this site reads like it was written for the commission rather than for you, tell us. We would rather hear it.
Common questions
Do brands pull advertising over negative reviews?
Occasionally. That is the cost of the policy and it is priced in.
How do I know this is true?
By reading the reviews. A site with no low scores and no negative sections is telling you something.
Can I suggest a product to review?
Yes. Reader suggestions are a good signal of what people are actually trying to decide between.
Sumit
Writes everything on TechMozz.