Almost every review you read or watch has been shaped by money in some way. The reviewer may have been sent the product free, paid to feature it, or set up to earn a commission if you buy through their link. None of that automatically makes a review dishonest, but it does change how you should read it.
This guide explains the main ways reviewers get paid, what a clear disclosure looks like, and the signs that separate a review written to help you from one written to sell to you. It also explains how sites like ours make money, because you should be able to read us between the lines too.
The main ways reviewers get paid
Most paid relationships fall into a few types. Many reviewers combine several of them, and each one creates a slightly different pull on the verdict.
- Affiliate commissions. The reviewer links to a store, and if you buy through that link, the store pays them a small share of the sale. The price you pay usually stays the same.
- Sponsored content. A brand pays for a post, a video or a segment of one. Depending on the deal, the brand may approve the script, require certain talking points or review the piece before it goes live.
- Free products and loans. The reviewer keeps a product, or borrows it for a few weeks, without paying. Early access to new launches is a quieter perk, and the fear of losing that access can soften criticism.
- Advertising and long-term deals. Display ads, brand ambassador contracts and creator discount codes all give a reviewer reasons to stay on good terms with certain companies.
Affiliate links deserve a closer look because they are everywhere. They run on the same tracking system that funds cashback portals, and our comparison of how cashback apps pay explains tracking links and commissions in plain terms. The key point for reading reviews is simple: an affiliate reviewer earns when you buy and usually earns nothing when you decide not to.
Yes, sites like ours earn commissions too
The Perk Post earns money from affiliate links and from survey-panel referrals. If you buy something through a link on our site, we may receive a commission, and that is part of how the site pays its bills. It is also why you will see a disclosure on pages that contain those links, including this one.
We think the honest response to that conflict is not to pretend it does not exist, but to give you the tools to judge any review, ours included. The questions in this guide apply to every site and every creator. A review that earns a commission can still be genuinely useful; it just needs to show its work and tell you the bad news as well as the good.
What a good disclosure looks like
A disclosure is a statement that tells you about a paid relationship. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission expects these disclosures to be clear and conspicuous, and in the UK, advertising rules require paid content to be obviously identifiable as advertising. The details differ by country, but a good disclosure has the same features wherever you are:
- It comes before the pitch. It appears near the top of an article or at the start of a video, not only in a footer or the closing seconds.
- It uses plain words. “We earn a commission if you buy through links on this page” or “The brand sent us this product free” is clear. A vague “in partnership with” or “thanks to our friends at” is not.
- It names the type of relationship. A paid sponsorship, an affiliate commission and a free sample are different things, and you deserve to know which applies.
- It is hard to miss. In a video, it is said out loud and shown on screen. On social media, it sits at the start of the caption rather than among a dozen hashtags, and many platforms also offer a built-in paid-partnership label.
Be wary of disclosures that technically exist but do their best to hide. A single line at the bottom of a long page, pale gray text, or a label that only appears after you tap “more” meets the letter of a rule more than its spirit. If you have to hunt for the disclosure, read the rest of the review with extra care.
Signs a review is doing the brand’s job
Paid or not, some reviews read like a long product description. These signs suggest the reviewer is serving the brand more than the reader:
- No real downsides, or only token ones such as “I wish it came in more colors.”
- Phrases lifted from the product page or press release, often with the same specifications in the same order.
- Comparisons only with pricier products, never with cheaper alternatives or with keeping what you already own.
- A discount code and a countdown placed more prominently than the verdict.
- Every product the reviewer covers scores highly, so a good score tells you very little.
- No explanation of how long they used the product or what they compared it with.
Signs a review is trying to help you
Helpful reviews, sponsored or not, tend to share a few habits. They say who the product is not for, which is often the most useful line in the whole review. They name specific drawbacks and explain how much those drawbacks matter in daily use, rather than listing them and moving on.
Good reviewers also explain their process: how long they used the item, what they compared it with, and what they could not check, such as how it holds up after a year. They mention cheaper alternatives and sometimes recommend not buying at all. When a product changes or problems surface later, they update the review, ideally with a date so you can see what changed.
How to use reviews without being steered
You do not need to avoid sponsored or affiliate reviews. You just need more than one viewpoint, and a simple routine works for most purchases:
- Read or watch two or three reviews from different sources, and notice where they agree and where they differ.
- Balance creator reviews with customer reviews and owner forums, where people describe problems after months of use. Our guide to spotting fake reviews explains how to read customer ratings critically too.
- Wait a few weeks after a big launch if you can. Early coverage tends to arrive all at once, while longer-term reports come later.
- Decide what matters to you before you start reading, so a reviewer’s priorities do not quietly become yours.
- Check the return policy, which protects you if the product turns out to be wrong for your needs.
The bottom line
Money behind a review is normal, and it is not a reason to ignore the review. What matters is whether the relationship is disclosed clearly and whether the review still gives you honest, specific information, bad news included. Read the disclosure first, look for real downsides and compare a few sources before you buy. For more practical buying advice, browse our shopping section.
