A few years ago, a Facebook friend of mine started posting a
lot of things with #GotItFree. I was
curious and asked how she kept getting things for free. That’s when she introduced me to the website,
ShopWithReviews.com. This was a website
that allowed you to get things for free in exchange for writing a review. I was AMAZED at all the free stuff I could
get. From there, I found more sited. Then, I was introduced to the Facebook groups
that ran these promos.
Reviewing turned into a passion. I loved the idea of trying products and
giving my honest review so that other people could know the quality of the
product and make an educated buying decision.
This was important to me because I also read reviews before deciding
whether or not to make a purchase. I
really enjoyed taking pictures of the product in use and had just started adding
videos.
I considered myself a product tester and not just a reviewer. I would actually use the products, and
compare them to the description. My
reviews included this information as well.
If there was a major issue, I
would let the seller know so that changes could be made to the product to make
it better for consumers.
There was a toy I reviewed that said it was for ages
1+. The product had pieces the size of a
pea I know this would cause a MAJOR
safety hazard if it were actually given to a toddler because they are still
oral explorers. I included this
information in my review. The seller
reached out to me and I explained that a child could potentially die if we
followed their recommended age guidelines.
The seller changed these guideline to a more suitable age for
safety. I was happy with my role as a
product tester.
This was my life for a couple of years. Then, about a month ago, I got the dreaded
email. Amazon had deleted all of my
reviews and taken away my ability to review any products on their platform. I felt crushed. I talked to a few other reviewer friends and
they had been wiped too. We joked that
Amazon was probably getting rid of all the reviewers because they only wanted
reviewers from their Vine program to receive free products for review. What was a joke then, became a reality just a
month later!
On October 3 Amazon announced that they would no longer
allow reviews in exchange for discounts or products UNLESS you are a part of
their Vine program. Mind you, sellers
have to pay to be a part of Amazon’s Vine program. I hear it is a nice chunk of change too! I find this sad because many sellers relied
upon the help of reviewers to promote their new products. Let’s not forget that many sellers had already
given away products for free or heavily discounted, hoping to receive reviews
that would boost their sales. They lost
a ton of money as Amazon made the changes effective immediately.
All is not lost. Some
reviewers are still chugging along by using their blogs and their social media
platforms to spread the word about products.
This can actually be better for the seller, as the word gets out to many
more people, along with a link to their product. I am among those product testers that chooses
to use my blog as a platform to showcase products that I love. Hope you enjoy this content and find it
useful.
