Community Chat

[Yardlie]

I was recently invited to be a Spark reviewer for Walmart. They let you know when there are free products that need reviewing, you check the ones you want, and they send them to you. They have a certain way they want the review written. The better your reviews, the better products you will receive free of charge. Anyone else ever do this for a company? Is it legitimate? Thanks!

[cancun08]

@Yardlie,

Yes, I am a reviewer for Hanes/Champion/Jockey.  They do not tell me how to write my review, but they notate on my review that I received the product for free.  They've never indicated that the better my review, the better the next products will be.  They just asked for honesty. 

[juperier]

I think the key is what "a certain way" translates to. If they're expecting you to outright lie, that's never appropriate. 

What I would hope is that they want reviewers that have good writing skills and are able to pull back and review products objectively. I would also hope that they want reviewers who can clearly and consisely express what they like, or don't like, regarding important characteristics of the product and why that's the case. There's a big difference between "this whole product is bad, don't buy it because you won't either" and "this product didn't work for me because the color doesn't work with my skintone, it broke me out because my skin is sensitive to <ingredient>, I don't like the fragrance, etc.

[Katcat1]

I participate in one with Crate & Barrel.  Every so often, I receive an email and take a survey.  I do not know the product.  

[Yardlie]

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@juperier wrote:

I think the key is what "a certain way" translates to. If they're expecting you to outright lie, that's never appropriate. 

What I would hope is that they want reviewers that have good writing skills and are able to pull back and review products objectively. I would also hope that they want reviewers who can clearly and consisely express what they like, or don't like, regarding important characteristics of the product and why that's the case. There's a big difference between "this whole product is bad, don't buy it because you won't either" and "this product didn't work for me because the color doesn't work with my skintone, it broke me out because my skin is sensitive to <ingredient>, I don't like the fragrance, etc.

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@juperier ... Oh, no, I'm sorry you misunderstood. I should have explained in more detail. They definitely want both pros and cons about the products as many of the products are brand new. They also want the review to be at least 200 words (extensive) or 75 words for consumables and personal care products...and at least one photo. The reviews are to be in English and well-written. They said that they want high quality reviews and that the quality of your reviews will depend on what products you are offered in the future. Also, they give you a deadline for writing the review. If you skip writing reviews, they will take you off their list as a reviewer. The company collecting the reviews is an independent company (BazaarVoice). They collect reviews for other e-commerce companies also.

[Yardlie]

@cancun08, @Katcat1,  @juperier  ... Thank you all so much for your responses. It sounds like it could be lots of fun. I'm glad to hear that there are other companies that do this sort of thing and that it is all on the up and up. I always try to write my reviews in a positive manner...pointing out the pros and explaining the deficit or limitations of the item if there are some. I don't lie in my reviews, but I don't rip apart the product either just because it isn't the right color for me or doesn't fit the way I want it to.

[juperier]

@Yardlie It's a normal part of PR these days. Larger companies tend to hire outside companies that specialize in this, while smaller companies are more likely to maintain their own PR list that they send product directly to. Pretty much every business needs to get the word out about their product, whether it's a written review like you would be doing, or through other social media such as youtube, blogs, pinterest, instagram, etc.

How wonderful that they are impressed enough by your reviews to offer you the opportunity! Your description of your reviews sounds exactly like what they would be looking for.