Trust is the only asset a review publication has. These are the rules that protect ours — written down, published, and non-negotiable.
How products are chosen
Picks start from research, not relationships. We map the category, aggregate manufacturer specs and owner-review consensus, shortlist the contenders worth buying, and purchase them at retail. Rankings are set by test results and evidence — never by commission rates, brand relationships, or who's willing to send free units. Our affiliate partners pay the same regardless of which product you choose, and picks are finalized before any affiliate link is attached. The full testing pipeline is documented in how we test.
We buy everything at retail
Every product we review is purchased at full retail price, with our own money, from the same stores our readers use. We accept no free review units, no loaners, no "evaluation samples," no press discounts. If a manufacturer sends us something unsolicited, that product is disqualified from review — not fast-tracked.
No sponsored placements, ever
Nobody can pay for a pick, a ranking, a score, or a review — not brands, not PR firms, not retailers. We don't publish sponsored reviews, "partner content," or paid roundups. If money changes hands for anything other than standard affiliate commissions on reader purchases, it will be disclosed prominently or it won't happen.
Manufacturers don't see reviews before publication
No pre-publication review, no approval, no "fact-check" that becomes an edit. When a product fails a serious claim (a false material, a broken safety rating), we contact the manufacturer for comment before publishing — and we print their response or their silence alongside the failure.
How affiliate money works
DeskAudit is reader-supported. When you buy through our links (primarily Amazon Associates), we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That money funds product purchases and testing. It does not buy influence: commissions don't affect picks, scores, or rankings, full stop. The mechanics are spelled out in our affiliate disclosure, and a disclosure appears at the top of every article that contains affiliate links.
Corrections policy
We get things wrong. When we do:
- We correct the article promptly — the fix goes in the body text, not a footnote nobody reads.
- We add a dated correction note at the bottom of the page describing what changed.
- If the error affected a pick, a ranking, or a score, we say so explicitly and re-verify the affected conclusion.
Factual errors can be reported to thekimialabs@gmail.com — corrections are typically published within 48 hours of verification.
What we publish — and what we don't
We publish measured results, aggregated evidence, and clearly-labeled estimates. We don't publish invented test data, unverified specs presented as fact, or review scores without a stated basis. Launch articles carry a verification note explaining exactly what evidence backs each pick; when hands-on audits complete, articles are updated with measured results. Gaps are labeled as gaps — "not published by manufacturer" — rather than filled with guesses.
Accountability
These rules are enforced by one mechanism: they're public. If you catch us violating any of them — a pick that smells sponsored, a spec we didn't verify, a correction we buried — tell us. Public rules only work if the public holds us to them.