Reader(s) be warned- I love to write and tend to go off on subjects I enjoy. I
am sorry at the length of this post but I promise everything in this
blog is worth reading. I have spent a lot of time trying out several
sites and here’s what I’ve learned so far on this journey: (if
you don’t want to read all of this just skip down to the
spreadsheet)
While
looking at stuff on Amazon I read a review that said “I received
this free for my honest review” and I thought to myself – NO WAY!
I love to write and I love free stuff even more, I’ve got to figure
out how to do that!
So
I started looking into how to do reviews in exchange for free stuff,
and found there’s tons of websites out there that promise just
that. After trying out many of them I’ve come to find that some of
them are great, and some of them are total crap.
Every
review site gives you a promotional “code” that you use during
your check out process on Amazon.com or the companies website. Be
aware that not all items are free and no site offers free shipping
(if you don’t have amazon prime you will have to pay for shipping).
I strongly recommend if
you are going to get into reviewing that you purchase Amazon Prime.
It cost $99 a year or around $10 a month. With Prime you get free 2 day shipping on all
Prime purchases, and other perks such as Prime Music, Video and Photo
Storage, etc.
Not all items are free. Be
sure when you are checking out am item to review that you pay
attention to the price. While many items are free there are also many
items that are discounted. These items start at $0.01 and can go up
from there. Stay tuned to my blog for a list of websites that allow
you to earn amazon gift cards. At this point I am using code sites to
review products and gift card sites to pay for any costs for items I
review- this is making the items totally free for me. (* most gift
cards sites you do surveys, play online games/ apps, or watch videos
to earn points. You then trade those points for gift cards)
There
are three types of review sites and within those three types each
website is a little different
1-
Apply for campaign – These sites allow you to browse/ search for
items, and you “apply” for the items you want to review. Most of
the sites simple ask that you review it on amazon or the products
websites, while others also require posting to your social media/
blogs. Some of these sites limit the amount of items you can apply
for/ purchase at a time.
*
Some companies that use this style want you to confirm you have
purchased the item by sending them your order number- its a good
practice to send all companies a thank you for approving me/ here's my
order number email after purchasing the item.
2-
Automatic Code- These sites give you a code right away, you can
purchase the item on amazon (or company’s website) immediately. The
down side is most of these sites will only let you receive 1 code.
3-
Sign up and receive email offers
All
codes are offered in exchange for your review and its very important
to be honest and fair. If you have a major issue with the product try
contacting the seller before posting a bad review, Most of them will
work with you to ensure you are happy with the product and will leave
a good review. ALL reviews must state that you received the product
for free/ discounted rate for your honest and unbiased review.
Failing to include that can result in having your amazon account
and/or account on the code site blocked. All reviews are to be made
in a timely fashion- some sites allow you to pick the amount of time
you have to do the review, others set the time for you. Typically I
try to post a review within 5 days of receiving an item. Depending on
how many sites you use and how many items you apply for, the products
will start to pile up and you could get behind on your reviews. While
not all sites ask you to review on your social media all companies/
sellers appreciate you sharing their products.
Lastly,
know that you won’t get approved for everything you apply for. The
more you review the more you’ll get approved for. I would recommend
starting with sites that give automatic codes to build your amazon
review. Almost all sites require you to supply them with your amazon
profile. If you have made purchases in the past and not reviewed
those items, you can go into reviews and write simple ones for each
item. Doing both of these will help build your profile and ensure you
get the most approvals possible. I started doing this on April 4th
2016 and got my first approval on the 6th. I started with
only getting 1 item every few days. However, I was able to build my
profile up rather quickly and am now receiving around 10 items in the
mail every day. Companies started requesting that I review their
products around the 3rd week and now (the 22nd)
I get multiple emails daily for review request.
So
here’s a run down of the good, the bag, and the just plain ugly.
These are my personal and honest opinion of these sites. These
are in no specific order. I will however say that tomoson.com was
the first site I started using and is still at this point my
favorite.
Rate
1 Ugly
5 Bad
10 Good |
Website |
How to get product |
Where you review
|
Notes
|
| 10/10 |
Tomoson.com
|
Apply
|
Amazon.com
Tomoson allows you to
choose what social media sites you want to share your review on.
The more places you say you’ll review/ he more friends on those
sites the better chance on getting approved |
*Some companies on
Tomoson ship directly to you so make sure you have your address
linked to your account
** No limit to amount of
campaigns you apply for OR amount of codes you can use at one
time.
** Once you start
reviewing items and verify your reviews companies will contact you
asking you to apply for their products |
| 9/10 |
Reviewkick.com |
Apply
Email Deals |
Amazon.com |
* Only 10 request at a
time- you can go back and delete previous campaigns. (if I applied
for an item more then 5 days ago- I will delete my application and
apply for something else)
* Only 3 codes at a
time- you must review before using another code |
| 9/10 |
Loothoot.com |
Automatic
|
Amazon.com
|
* 1 product at a time,
you must verify your review before getting another code |
| 10/10 |
Homeproducttesting.org |
Apply
|
Amazon.com
|
* MOST of the items here
are discounted- very few free
* Has many adult only
products to review – view with care |
| 10/10 |
Elitedealclub.com |
Automatic
|
Amazon.com |
* 1 code per day
* New codes/ able to use
another code every day at 2pm EST |
| 10/10 |
Amzreviewtrader.com |
Apply and Automatic
|
Amazon.com
|
* Most items are apply
but some have automatic codes- there is no way to tell unless you
click “review now” on each product
* Site has the MOST
products to review
*Has many adult only
products to review – view with care
* TONS of products
|
| 9/10 |
Productelf.com |
Apply |
Amazon.com |
*Fewest items to review
* Has many aduly only
products to review- view with care
* Easy to browse free or
$1.00 campaigns |
1/10
No codes I have gotten
from this site have worked
|
Trueopinion.org |
Apply and Automatic
|
Amazon.com |
* Most items are apply
but some have automatic codes- there is no way to tell unless you
click “review now” on each product
|
1/10
No codes I have gotten
from this site have worked |
Nokiddingcoupons.com |
Automatic |
Amazon.com |
* On this site you earn
points to trade for codes
* Every code is 100
points
* You start with enough
points to get 1 code |
| 5/10 |
Honestfew.com |
Email Deals |
Amazon.com
|
*Emails you 1-2x daily
with deals- you click on the deal it you want it – it gives you
an automatic code
* Most items cost $1.00
* If you don’t get to
the email right away all the codes are used
*You must submit your
order numbers for each item on their site
|
| 5/10 |
Giveawayservice.com |
Apply |
Amazon.com
Social Media |
* Must click into each
product to find out price
*I have not been
approved for anything since signing up |
| 1/10 |
Buview.com |
Apply |
Amazon.com |
* Confusing website
* Earn points to apply
- can only earn points
by reviewing products
* Mostly household items
*I have not been
approved for anything since signing up |
| 5/10 |
Amzrc.com |
Auto |
Amazon.com |
*
Mostly discounted -very few free items
(mostly
50%off)
*Very
few codes work
*Must
click into product to find price- only displays % off
*
Browse only- no search |
Unreviewable:
I
have not been emailed any offers |
allstarreviewers.com |
Email
|
Amazon.com |
*
Have not received any email offers |
| 7/10 |
amazingdealsgroup.com |
Automatic
w/ “Deal Coins” |
Amazon.com
Social
Media
|
*
Earn coins to purchase codes- each product cost 1 coin (you start
with 2 coins)
*Very
few offers |
| 1/10 |
dealsforreviews.com |
Email
|
Amazon.com
Twitter.com |
|
| 0/10 |
dollardealreviews.com |
Email |
Amazon.com |
*Pay
Site- You have to pay to sign up
*have
to send them an eamil for each product you would consider testing
(i.e. iphone cord. Iphone case. Iphone screen protector. etc) |
Unreviewable:
I
have not been accepted |
gold-leaf-group.com |
Facebook
Group |
Amazon.com
Facebook.com |
*
Apply on their website and request to be a member of their private
group on facebook.
|
Unreviewable:
I
have not been emailed any offers |
ilovetoreview.com |
Email |
Amazon.com |
*Must
have text verification to sign up
*
Have not received any email offers |
| 10/10 |
ireviewhome.com |
Apply
and
Automatic
Optional
Emails |
Amazon.com |
*
Most items are apply but some have automatic codes- there is no
way to tell unless you click “review now” on each product
*
Site has the MOST products to review
*
TONS of products
*All
items cost money- starting at $0.50 |
| 5/10 |
premiumuser.kabeldirekt-store.de |
Automatic |
Amazon.com |
*German
Company- you can sign up but you will get few few codes
*Must
log in at least daily to check for codes- they expire fast |
| 10/10 |
oznaturals.com |
Email |
Oznaturals.com
Amazon.com |
*Sign
up on the companies website to test their products
*They
email you amazon codes |
| 5/10 |
secretdealsclub.com |
Automatic |
Amazon.com |
*Check
Daily for codes- codes go very fast
*
Very few products (most of the time 2)
*All
products cost money- no free
|
| unreviewable |
shopwithreviews.com |
apply |
Amazon.com |
*I
signed up on 4/22/16 and have not check out the site yet |
| 1/10 |
platinum.skivatech.com |
Apply |
Amazon.com |
*
Signup to be a reviewer
*Apply
for reivews
*Only
devise accessories |
| 8/10 |
snagshout.com |
Apply |
Amazon.com |
*No
free items- huge list of products |
| 10/10 |
socialnature.com |
Apply |
Amazon.com |
*Organic/
Natural products
*Mostly
Food
|
| unreivewable |
http://www.trustreviewnetwork.com/join |
Email |
Amazon.com |
*Apply
to be a reviewer. It can take several weeks to get approved. I
have not yet been approved
|
| 10/10 |
http://www.uberzonclub.com/ |
Email
|
Amazon.com |
*Most
items cost $1.00
*Multiple
emails daily |
| unreviewable |
http://vippowerclub.com/ |
Email |
Amazon.com |
*Apply
to be a reviewer. It can take several weeks to get approved. I
have not yet been approved
|
| 9/10 |
http://platinum.skivatech.com/home |
Apply |
Amazon.com |
*You
must be invited to join this site. You can request an invite by
“signing up”. It took me 2 weeks to get an approval and I just
signed up with them on 4/22/16.
*
Only items for devices (cords, cases, screen protectors)
*Each
item costs up to $1 |
| 3/10 |
etekcitizen.com |
Apply |
Amazon.com |
*
Very few products
*Monthly
limit on applied review |
| Unreviewable
I have not received any offers |
https://www.junglelaunch.com/ |
Email |
Amazon.com |
*Requires
text to sign up
*
After sign up they contact you with deals |
| Unreviewable |
Reviewloop.com |
- |
- |
*
By invite only |
| Unreviewable |
http://reviews4success.com/ |
- |
- |
*
Apply to be a reviewer
|
| Unreviewable |
Reviewlanchpad.com |
- |
- |
*
Apply to be a reviewer |
| 0/10 |
reviewsforfree.com |
Automatic |
Amazon.com |
*No
codes work |
| 0/10 |
https://reviewsio.com/ |
- |
- |
*Website
doesn’t work |
I’d
like to add some tips that I’ve learned over the last few weeks…
1-
Get and stay organized- for me its a spread sheet **INSERT SAMPLE –
if that doesn’t work for you find your own way. You don’t want to
miss a review deadline, it’ll will make it so you get less products
2-
Prepare to spend some time on searching, testing, and reviewing
products. Each product takes me roughly 45 minutes. Applying, Getting
Approved, Ordering, Testing, Picture/ Picture Editing, Writing
Review, Posting Reviews to Needed Websites. It all takes time.
3-
Order items you’ll use- I have a nice big box in my closet now of
stuff that I don’t even want- I plan to sell the items but that
adds even more time to the process. That being said if your trying to
build your profile (like I am right now) order everything and get
yourself a “to sell box”. Trust me, you’ll have PLENTY of boxes
to pick from. Don’t spend money on items you don’t want. Some
items do cost money- if I pay I keep.
4-
Consider all the packaging and trash that piles up. When you apply a
coupon code on Amazon, you can only use 1 code per purchase. That
means that most of the time each item comes in its OWN PACKAGE.
Boxes, Envelopes, and Bubble Wrap EVERYWHERE!!!!
5-
Don’t be afraid to contact the seller or post a bad review. They
are looking for your HONEST review – if you had a bad experience
with the product and/or seller POST IT. When this happens I try to
say something like “this is MY experience with this product/seller
and I have read reviews of others who had a great experience”
6-
Check your email often if your looking for email deals- they are mass
emails and the deals go FAST. All companies only let a certain number
of codes be used and therefore if your not fast- you probably won’t
get to use a code.
7-
Stay in contact with the seller/ company. They want to know what you
think- that’s why they are looking for product testers/ reviewers.
8-
This is so much better then window shopping! Window shopping is so
fun, getting to see whats out there- the better part- you actually
get the product most of the time- for free or very cheap.
9-
Get to know your mail/ delivery person. They’ll be coming by a lot,
you might as well have a good relationship with them. On top of that
you have to test the products to review them- if they deliver it to
the wrong place you can’t test it. You still are responsible for
writing a review.
10-
Enjoy. I do this for FUN. I love to write and I love free stuff so
this is a really enjoyable hobby for me. If you don’t like to write
this isn’t the hobby for you. You’re going to be spending a lot
of time writing! A LOT OF TIME WRITING!
There’s
a quote from the show Weeds that is my new mantra - “If
it's free, it's me. I don't turn down nothing but my collar”
Read some of my reviews on amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2251JPVTWZ54Q
Follow me on Twitter:
@kaynyncarpenter
Follow me on Instagram:
Kaynyn83
