About Product Review

What we do

For every product we cover, we build our own research dataset from many independent sources, then analyze it:

• Expert testing: results from established publications that test products hands-on.
• Retailer ratings: star ratings and reviews from Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot, Walmart and dozens of other stores worldwide.
• Owner communities: long-term experiences shared in forums and discussion threads.
• Video reviews: hands-on video reviews and the conversations owners have beneath them.
• Official records: safety recalls from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
• Manufacturer information: official specifications and product details.

We sort every experience by topic and measure how often each problem comes up, track how products hold up after months of use, check one kind of source against another, and score everything with one published method.

The result is original research you won't find anywhere else: our own score, a reliability rating, complaint rates, and where the sources disagree. Right now that covers 98 products across 12 categories, drawing on 82 independent sources, 620 expert tests and 1,492,309 ratings and reports.

Why our verdicts are different

• We measure the long run. Reviewers usually have a product for a few weeks; owners live with it for years. Problems like a fading battery or a clogging dock only show up later, so we track reliability on its own and weigh owners as heavily as experts.
• We find the disagreements. When expert testers love something but retail buyers or long-term owners don't, that's often the most useful thing to know. We show you exactly where and why.
• We count, we don't guess. "12% of owners report navigation problems" is a measured figure from our analysis, not an impression.
• One method for everything. Every product is scored the same way, and the method is published.

How we work

• We don't run a test lab. Instead we analyze testing done by expert reviewers who use products hands-on, at a scale no single lab or reviewer can match, and we say on every page how much evidence a verdict rests on.
• Our verdicts, scores and data are our own work. Every outside source we draw on is credited and linked.
• We never sell rankings, accept payment for coverage, or let brands see a verdict before it's published.
• We tell you who a product suits and who it may not. The decision is always yours.

Meet Loupe

Loupe, our magnifying-glass mascot, is the face of every verdict. Loupe's expression follows the findings: happy when experts and owners agree a product is strong, unsure when they split, worried when owners report more problems than usual. How Loupe's face is chosen.

Who we are

Product Review is an independent publication of Barcelia LLC, a media company based in Virginia. Our standards are set out in our editorial policy and scoring method, and we fix mistakes in the open on our corrections page.

How we make money

When you buy through some of our links, the shop may pay us a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Commissions never change a score or a ranking, and every product is researched and scored the same way whether or not we earn anything from it. Our affiliate disclosure.

Get in touch

Spotted a mistake, have a question, or want us to research something? Email [email protected]. Every message reaches a person. More ways to reach us.