Review Site Requirements

If I were you, I would definitely disclose (at the bottom in small fonts) that you have not actually used the product and that you are taking the opinions of your friends that have used the product. That would be the most ethical thing to do and that is what I do as well when writing reviews on products that I haven't tried out personally myself.

You're going to review products you haven't actually used?

Yes, It'll go like this. ''I have reviewed none of these products of which I'm talking about.''

'' I have not bought , tested or used these products. Everything Is absolute hearsay and conveyed to me by people who have used these products.''


Bill


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I would recommend putting up all of the required legal pages on your blog/website such as terms of service, privacy policy, FTC statement, earnings disclaimer, affiliate disclosure, DCMA notice, contact info & refund policy. Those are pages that I put on every review/niche blog that I own.

There are a few sites on the web where you can go and just fill in the blanks and generate these forms for free. Then you could just copy & paste them onto your blog.

Also, if you are using WordPress there are a few good plugins out there that will do it all automatically for you. As far as review blogs go, I think one of the most important pages to have is the FTC/affiliate disclosure. It discloses that you have a business relationship with the companies whose products you promote and that you will receive compensation from them should a consumer purchase through your affiliate link. I'm not a lawyer but I do believe that disclosure is required by the FTC.

Another important one to have is a privacy policy. Lots of merchant services require those as well as a refund policy if you are creating and selling your own products through your blog.

John McCabe is correct. You should never hide disclosures.

And they should not be incorporated into your privacy policy or terms and conditions policy. Hidden disclosures or disclaimers will provide little or no protection for you and will only serve to make you look bad in the eyes of your visitors, or worse, the court, in the unlikely event you ever have to defend yourself.

Here is what our attorney had to say about posting disclosures and disclaimers:

State and Federal law is very clear on disclosures and disclaimers: Disclosures and
disclaimers are to be posted in a "clear and conspicuous," spot, without defining
exactly where that spot is.

The common definition provided by most state and federal agencies is the language in the body of a document is "conspicuous" if it is in a larger or other contrasting type or color font." At a minimum, it must be at least the same size font as the surrounding text. And there should be the likelihood the average person would see the disclaimer, disclosure or privacy policy by itself or as part of a document.

That said, the best disclaimer or disclosure will probably not protect you against gross exaggerations or writing bad reviews about a product you never used, especially if it causes harm in any way to the manufacture.

The FTC does have specific guidelines about advertising, endorsing products and making claims.

Alot of great points here but I have a question for those that provided answers. Would people actually decide to purchase something from a person who hasn't used the product themselves?

And if it is the case that people naturally would do it, then for the person doing the review, is it something that could be monetized and used to sell affiliate products?