Summary
Affiliate links
Many product links on this Site are affiliate links. If you click one and make a purchase, the retailer pays a small commission to the Site. The price you pay is the same whether or not you use the link.
The Site participates in several affiliate programmes, including the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. The Site also participates in programmes operated by individual brands and by affiliate networks.
Affiliate links are used for products with any score, including products we do not recommend. A link is never added or removed because of the commission rate, and a product is never chosen for review because a programme exists.
Brand partnerships
Some articles are produced under a paid partnership with a brand. These are limited to two formats: brand notes features and pre-launch testing reports. In each case:
- The article carries a "Paid partnership" label at the top of the page and in the newsletter.
- The brand does not see the article before publication and cannot request changes to opinion or conclusions.
- The brand may correct factual errors about specifications or pricing after publication. Corrections are dated.
- Products featured in a paid partnership do not receive a numerical score.
Paid partnerships represent a minority of articles on the Site. Independent reviews are never paid for.
Product samples
Most products are purchased at retail. Where a brand supplies a product free of charge, the review states this in the first paragraph. Samples are not returned unless requested and are not sold. Accepting a sample creates no obligation to publish a review or to publish a favourable one. Several sample-supplied products have received scores below 6.5.
What we do not do
- We do not accept payment for a review or a score.
- We do not allow brands to approve, edit or delay a review.
- We do not publish sponsored content disguised as an independent review.
- We do not sell or share subscriber data with brands or advertisers.
- We do not display third-party advertising networks on the Site.
How to recognise labels
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Purchased at retail | The product was bought by Robert Mitchell at the normal consumer price. |
| Sample supplied by the brand | The product was provided free of charge. No fee was paid and the brand had no editorial input. |
| Paid partnership | The brand paid a fee for a brand notes feature or testing report. Editorial control remains with the author. No score is given. |
| Contains affiliate links | Some links on the page may earn a commission. Shown in the footer of every page and at the top of every review. |
Questions
If anything on this page is unclear, or if you believe a label is missing from an article, please contact [email protected]. The Editorial Policy sets out the full standards that apply to every article.