The Review Bench accepts no affiliate compensation
We do not run affiliate links. None of the links on this site, in our newsletter, or in our RSS feed pay us a commission when you click them or when you buy something. We don't use Amazon Associates, Skimlinks, Awin, Impact, ShareASale, or any other affiliate-marketing platform. We don't run cloaked outbound links. We don't run "go.thereviewbench.com" redirects.
Affiliate compensation is the most distorting force in product reviewing. The biggest sites in this industry depend on it, and the result is editorial shaped, often subtly, by which products convert best. We don't want that pressure in our work, so we removed the source.
The Review Bench accepts no sponsorship from manufacturers
We do not run sponsored content of any kind. Manufacturers do not pay to be reviewed, do not pay to influence reviews, do not buy advertising on this site, and do not sponsor our newsletter. The Review Bench is funded by direct reader subscriptions and by Eleanor Rhys, our editor-in-chief, out of pocket where necessary.
Reviewers do not retain review units
For the products we review, one of two things is true:
- A member of our team purchased the product at retail with The Review Bench's funds. This is the default, and we say so on the review with the disclosure "Product purchased at retail by our team."
- A vendor sent the product as a sample. In that case, the product is returned to the vendor at the end of the testing window, or, where return is not practical (most software, some accessories under fifty dollars), it is donated, sold, or destroyed. The review will carry a disclosure: "Review unit provided by [vendor], returned after testing."
We do not keep review units. We do not run "for our records" arrangements. We do not run long-loan setups that function as gifts.
Reviewers disclose prior relationships with vendors
Where a reviewer has previously worked for, consulted with, or held equity in a vendor whose product they are reviewing, the review carries a disclosure at the top. Where a reviewer is personally acquainted with someone at the vendor — a former colleague, for example — the review carries a disclosure of the relationship. Where the relationship is recent or financially material, the review is reassigned.
Reviewers maintain a private declaration of interests filed with the editor. The editor reviews these declarations annually.
Editorial decisions are independent of any commercial relationship
The Review Bench has no commercial relationships with the products we review, but as a matter of policy we extend the principle: editorial decisions about which products to review, which conclusions to draw, and which scores to award are the responsibility of the assigned reviewer and the editor, and no one else. There is no executive layer above the editor. There is no advertising department.
We issue corrections with visible notes
When we make a factual mistake, we correct it inline and add a dated correction note at the bottom of the review. When the correction materially changes our recommendation or score, we say so at the top with the heading "Correction notice." We do not silently revise reviews. We do not hide previous versions.
The Review Bench keeps an internal change-log of every review we publish. We are happy to share the change-log for a specific review on request via editorial@thereviewbench.com.
What we won't claim
We won't claim to be the only independent product-review publication on the web. We won't claim that our methodology is more rigorous than every other site's. We won't claim that we are immune to error. What we will claim is that the structural incentives that distort most reviewing are not present here, and that we work hard to keep it that way.
If you spot something on this site that looks like a violation of any of the above, write to editorial@thereviewbench.com. We take it seriously.