Product Reviews: What You Can Expect

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Every review here is in depth and honest. This is what those two words mean to me:

What "in depth" means

I only review things I have actually used, on myself, or on/with a play partner. Ideally, I try to use them more than once. And then, I tell you about my experience using them, what I think about them, what I think it'd be useful for, and occasionally, a rating or two.

In-depth also means that I include my first impression, the downsides, the stuff I'm nitpicky about, and the stuff I genuinely think is great.

What "honest" means

Honest means that no company can pay for a better rating. Companies do not get a say in what I write or how I rate an item. If I do not like something, I say so. If I cannot recommend it, I say that too.

How I got the item

Every review is labelled at the top:

• Bought by me: I paid for it myself, am not (at the point of writing the review) affiliated in any way with the sellers, and no one asked for a review. I just wanted to blabber.
• Sent free: a company sent it to me to try. They had no say in what I wrote or how I rated it.
• Paid ad: I was paid to feature it. It is labelled as an ad, I still tested it properly, and the review is still honest.

Ratings

I'm going to be painfully inconsistent here, it is what it is. I rate some things with stars out of five. Some get a verdict word: Love it, Worth it, Mixed or Skip it. Some I do not rate at all because things are relatively nuanced, or the item itself is great but it's not quite for me, and I can recognize quality stuff over my own personal preference (and let us face it, I'm relatively picky with everything).

Affiliate links and discount codes

Some reviews include affiliate links or a discount code. When they do, the review says so near the top. They never change my rating, and I mention a product's problems whether or not I earn from it.

Reviewing more than one item

When a company sends several items, I may review them together on one page, with each item judged on its own and an overall summary at the top.

Corrections

If I get something wrong, or a product breaks on me early, or if I genuinely change my mind, I update the review and say what changed.

Everything I have reviewed

• Svakom Review: Five Toys Tried by the DD Team

  Sent free · SVAKOM · Discount code available

  Five toys from the fantastic folks at SVAKOM. Read up on my in-depth review here!

• Liebesseele Review: A Whip, Cuffs, and a Cane

  Sent free · Liebeseele · Discount code available

  I was sent a few fun items from Liebeseele and gave them a go. Now reporting back live (aka a month later than planned) to all of you folks. Let's do this.