This is the ninth in a series of articles about the practice of toy reviewers being given free samples for review, and whether that represents a problem for readers looking for honest assessments to make purchase decisions. You can find the other articles in the series here.

In addition to interviewing toy reviewers, I also asked readers what they thought of the practice of reviewing samples. Here’s a sampling of some of their responses. (I tried to get as many quotes as I could; some readers wrote thoughtful but very long pieces that simply couldn’t be broken down into bite-size chunks. If there’s enough interest I’d consider posting them as editorials.)

In reading over all the responses (and I got over thirty of them), I noticed some common themes. On the whole, readers said they did think that reviewers who received samples softened their reviews. However, for the last question, most said this was not a concern for them, because either they were aware of the bias and altered their assessment of the review accordingly; or  because they only cared about the pictures/videos of the toys anyway.

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This is the eighth in a series of articles about the practice of toy reviewers being given free samples for review, and whether that represents a problem for readers looking for honest assessments to make purchase decisions. You can find the other articles in the series here.

Today’s Q&A is with Josh Bernard of CollectionDX.com.

1.) When you receive free samples, do you find an urge to be kinder to the item than you might be? If so, do you find yourself softening a bit, do you try to simply be fair, or do you think you end up trying to be even more objective than usual?

The first thing to realize is there are different kinds of samples with different objectives. Manufacturers send out samples to create hype and generate interest, often before product hits the shelves. Retailers on the other hand send samples purely to drive sales to their store, and to sell that specific product. The difference is that manufacturers often send random things, without little regard to what our site actually covers. Retailers know what sells for them, what good product is, and therefore rarely send items that are not of good quality. After all, their objective is to sell more of that unit.

I think when we were starting out there were some cases where we held back some negative opinions on some items. We’ve struck a nice balance now where if you are constructive with your criticism people tend to respect your opinion. If we just went out and started raging I think we would lose credibility. I tell each of my writers to always write an honest review – but be constructive. Point out both good and bad of each toy, and let the reader decide if it is for them.

We do encourage our writers to pick sample items that they are interested in, so the toy is reviewed through the eyes of proper perspective. With so many “staff” reviewers now, and so many samples coming in, it can be hard to keep track of them and maintain a consistent editorial voice, but we try our best. (more…)

This is the seventh in a series of articles about the practice of toy reviewers being given free samples for review, and whether that represents a problem for readers looking for honest assessments to make purchase decisions. You can find the other articles in the series here.

Today’s Q&A is with Justin of GeneralsJoes.com.

1.) When you receive free samples, do you find an urge to be kinder to the item than you might be? If so, do you find yourself softening a bit, do you try to simply be fair, or do you think you end up trying to be even more objective than usual?

Well, I don’t receive free samples often…generally what a mainstream event happens as the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra film did in 2009, Hasbro will send out a healthy “care package” to fan sites, and I choose to review those items. They’re not necessarily items specifically for review, but that is generally what I do with them. I also have sponsorship deals and BigBadToyStore pretty much sponsors my review page by offering free product for those reviews. I have also done reviews for smaller companies like Marauder, Inc., Yetibrew Design, and other places that specialize in much smaller, more focused product lines.

I really don’t have an urge to be kinder to the item, no. I strongly believe that posting reviews of product is almost an obligation to be as objective as possible. Granted I’m a pretty big fan of the G.I. Joe product line, and that generally shines through in my reviews, but the source of the items I’m reviewing does not even come into mind. I try extremely hard to simply play it fair. But that is an interesting point…I wouldn’t be surprised if subconsciously I was trying hard to be a little too objective, keeping in mind that I don’t want to come across as soft just because I’m being given product, but I don’t that comes through in the reviews. (more…)

This is the sixth in a series of articles about the practice of toy reviewers being given free samples for review, and whether that represents a problem for readers looking for honest assessments to make purchase decisions. You can find the other articles in the series here.

Today’s Q&A is with Michael Crawford, one of the best-known toy reviewers. His website is www.mwctoys.com.

1.) When you receive free samples, do you find an urge to be kinder to the item than you might be? If so, do you find yourself softening a bit, do you try to simply be fair, or do you think you end up trying to be even more objective than usual?

Michael Crawford: I do my best to be fair. Whether you pay for something or you get it for free, there can be bias. For example, I have found over the years that when someone pays a lot of their own hard-earned cash for a collectible, there is a natural bias toward wanting it to be good – if it isn’t, it implies you just spent a lot of money for crap, and people hate to admit that. I wrote an article on the general subject awhile back, since I find this sort of opinion bias interesting.

Since reviews are opinion, there’s always some bias working in one direction or the other, and I think the best the reviewer can do is to be aware of it. Awareness means you can look for it and understand it, and should make your reviews more fair.

That being said, it’s not just the fairness of the writer that can be effected by the sample, but the perception of that fairness by the readers. Ideally, a reviewer would never take free samples to avoid any perception that the reviews might not be fair, but the reality is that’s simply not feasible. There’s no one bankrolling toy reviews to allow them to afford $200 collectibles on a regular basis, which means that if they go with only the figures they can afford to buy, it will only be figures they like and want to begin with. What you’ve done is simply trade one bias for another. It also means there will be less variety in that reviewers subjects, limiting them to only the items they would buy for themselves.

I try to never ask for anything from anyone – if someone offers, I generally accept, but I don’t go looking. I also tell them up front that they should only be sending something that they really feel strongly about, because I will do my very best to be fair, and they might not like the results. At times I’ve even had the conversation telling them not to send me something in particular because I already am buying it – but that if there’s something else I would normally not pick up that they’re releasing, they should consider that instead. (more…)

This is the fifth in a series of articles about the practice of toy reviewers being given free samples for review, and whether that represents a problem for readers looking for honest assessments to make purchase decisions. You can find the other articles in the series here.

Today’s Q&A is with Pixel Dan, who’s best know for his popular video reviews. His website is www.pixel-dan.com.

1.) When you receive free samples, do you find an urge to be kinder to the item than you might be? If so, do you find yourself softening a bit, do you try to simply be fair, or do you think you end up trying to be even more objective than usual?

To a certain extent, yes. You do feel the urge to be kinder. I think that’s just human nature. Someone just gave you something. You’d feel a little bad about turning right around and bashing it. You know what I mean? But at the same time, I also understand that I have a responsibility to the viewers to give them a solid, objective review. I feel like this is an area I’ve definitely grown in over time. I started to realize that the whole point of a review is to show faults as well as positives. I just always make sure to do it in as positive of a tone as possible. I won’t rant and rave and throw out curse words. I’ll just simply point out the flaws. And I have found that both the viewers and the company that sends the samples both respect and appreciate that. (more…)

This is the fourth in a series of articles about the practice of toy reviewers being given free samples for review, and whether that represents a problem for readers looking for honest assessments to make purchase decisions. You can find the other articles in the series here.

Today’s Q&A is with Rob Bricken, editor of Topless Robot and former editor for the now-defunct ToyFare magazine.

1.) When you receive free samples, do you find an urge to be kinder to the item than you might be? If so, do you find yourself softening a bit, do you try to simply be fair, or do you think you end up trying to be even more objective than usual?

Topless Robot is not a toy review site, so 1) I don’t get a lot of toys and 2) I don’t feel compelled to have to review them when I do. My overall review policy is to only review things I like and think my readers will like (not counting movies) partially so I don’t have to crap on someone’s life’s work and partially because TR isn’t a review site, it’s trying to do news and promote awesomeness. If someone sends me a crappy toy to review, I just wouldn’t review it, because I don’t see any need for me to be mean. Of course, even when I review something awesome, I still try to be objective about its faults. (more…)

This is the second in a series of articles about the practice of toy reviewers being given free samples for review, and whether that represents a problem for readers looking for honest assessments to make purchase decisions. You can find the other articles in the series here.

Today’s Q&A is with VeeBee of TheFwoosh.

1.) When you receive free samples, do you find an urge to be kinder to the item than you might be? If so, do you find yourself softening a bit, do you try to simply be fair, or do you think you end up trying to be even more objective than usual?

It’s funny, I have never really thought of myself as a toy reviewer. In our First Looks, the only kind of format that I ever try to adhere to comes from the pictures, not the wordage. I suppose the one place I feel responsible for providing something to other collectors is in bright, clear pictures that focus on the toy itself and nothing more. That is why I make a conscious choice to provide neutral lighting and backgrounds (well that, and because I could never in a million years do what Matt K does, he is my action figure hero). More than anything I still believe that those that view our First Look articles make their preliminary judgments on any product from the pictures (if anything). Sometimes seeing a small action figure blown up many times its actual scale can be jarring, but pictures show what is there, warts and all, for everyone to see.

As far as written content goes, I don’t focus much on review receptions because my articles are usually 75% anecdotal/conversational. That is mainly because these are colloquial in nature, like I am just talking to a friends about toys. Often times, they are all over the place. I can talk about toys for hours and sometimes I realize that articles can feel just like me talking to myself about any given toy. Toy collecting is my hobby, and it is a hobby that I love very, very much. I am a glass half full guy by nature but I think just having a pragmatic approach to anything you present for public consumption is the best method. I have not really ever focused on reigning in enthusiasm, that is just not who I am. I have such a love for so many of the properties and characters, and nostalgia for the things I collect that composing First Look articles has just become an extension of that. I get more response from the personal stories or anecdotes in our First Looks than anything else. I feel fortunate because I only really know how to write for myself, but being able to strike a chord here and there with someone else is always a fun experience. There are a lot of places to read reviews out there, many of which are very concisely written with the most fine-toothed comb. That is good because the internet is a big place and it takes all kinds, but I present things as something that I would like to read myself. I think I am like most collectors out there in that I am going to be the one to form my opinion about an actual toy, not have someone else do it for me. So I am realistic about others coming to their own conclusions with toy in hand, not from reading on the internet. What I personally like to read is the history, attachment and stories people will share about their toys. The boom in nostalgia lines really fuels that and it can make for funny, endearing and engaging reading. That is pocket of the community I like play in the most, so I generally go in that direction.

There are a lot of sites out there that provide product previews. Some just take pictures, some go into painstaking review, some pose and play on video and some like to tell stories. I think that is great for everyone, including the companies. It makes for well-rounded reading and just about everyone can find a place to gravitate towards and ultimately, companies have the coverage saturation they want. In the end, I go with what pops into my head about any particular toy and I am always sincere, something that is aided by just not over thinking or over interpreting what may or may not be there. You simply cannot write for everyone but if you can relate to someone out there by doing what you do, then all the better. I just like to have fun it all and hopefully provide some enjoyment to my fellow geeks. (more…)