I occasionally get asked to review a product. This could be a new expansion board, book or other gizmo to do with the Raspberry Pi. I thought I’d better write something that I could refer to if a new company or individual asked.

General integrity rules

1. If I’m asked to review a product, I will give my honest opinion of it. That opinion may be given via email to the supplier (especially if I didn’t like it) or published to my blog (especially if I did).
2. I may cover the launch of a product without using it – but it will always be obvious that it’s not a review.
3. I may recommend a product if I think it’s particularly good.
4. I will be honest and frank about products when I review them.

Want to send me something?

1. It must be relevant to the Raspberry Pi, Electronics, Computers, Programming or related areas. I won’t cover something if it doesn’t apply to my readership.
2. I will assume anything sent to me as a review sample is mine to keep, unless otherwise agreed. If I do keep something, it will hopefully get used in a project down the line and you’ll get double the exposure.
3. I won’t incur expenses to review your product. If it needs something else to make it work, please supply that as well. Time is valuable and reviewing your product could take anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days worth of work.
4. If the product is a Kickstarter preview…
   1. It will tend to go straight to the top of the list as I realise that it’s time-sensitive.
   2. Reviewing doesn’t mean I will back the project. However, if I like it, I may do so.
5. Asking me to review something doesn’t guarantee you a positive review. I will generally not publish a review if it’s overtly negative – I am more likely to feed back to you rather than publish. I can guarantee that I will treat products fairly, however, as can be seen on other reviews on the site.
6. Be aware that I have a review ‘pile’. Products may not be dealt with in the order they arrive!
7. I can’t guarantee any timescale for a review. I do try and deal with things within a couple of weeks, but depending on other priorities (some call it ‘real life’) it may be longer.
8. If I get to keep an item, I may feature it in a competition or give-away and pass it on to someone else. If you don’t want me to do this, please say so at the time. It often results in good publicity, however, so I’d recommend the option is left open.
9. All my posts get shared via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Google+. They may even make their way onto LinkedIn (shudder).
10. I occasionally do video reviews, so your review may be in that form.
11. Your product may get taken to Raspberry Jams and other Maker events, but I can’t guarantee it.

 

If you’re happy with all that, and still want to send me something, contact me via the website.

 

Thanks to Alex Eames and Richard Saville as I’ve cribbed a little bit off their sites and given it my own spin.