Product review methodology

Why this policy exists

Affiliate availability, commission size, and advertiser pressure do not decide which products appear here or where they rank. We publish these rules so that claim is checkable rather than something you have to take on faith.

Well Basecamp covers health-adjacent products for people using GLP-1 medications, and that raises the standard. A kitchen tool can be judged mostly on function and value. A smart scale, supplement, meal service, or telehealth provider also requires careful treatment of health claims, contraindications, data privacy, recurring costs, and the limits of what the product can actually do.

The label at the top of every commercial article

Every product or service comparison carries one of these labels near the beginning:

• Researched comparison. We reviewed primary research where relevant, official product specifications, current policies, regulatory information, and other documented evidence. We did not personally use every product or service.
• Hands-on tested. We obtained and used the exact product named, under a written test protocol. The article states who tested it, when, for how long, whether it was purchased or supplied, and what was measured. Receiving a sample never guarantees coverage or a favorable conclusion.
• Long-term tested. The exact product or service was used over a period defined before testing began. The article states duration, conditions, material updates, failures, and limitations.

We do not write “review,” “we tested,” “our experience,” or “we found” when the work only qualifies as a researched comparison. If we haven’t touched the product, we say so.

Testing and connected-product privacy

Before hands-on testing we define the use cases, repeatable checks, comparison products, and the known limits of the protocol — and we never invent a protocol retroactively, after the results are in. Where relevant we assess setup, accessibility, support, returns or cancellation, and failure behavior.

For connected products we examine documented data collection and sharing and, where possible, test permissions, syncing, export, multi-user handling, offline behavior, and deletion controls. We do not claim to have verified a control we could not test.

How products get onto a shortlist

The reader problem and the selection criteria are defined before affiliate availability is checked. Candidates come from market availability, reader questions, safety relevance, documented features, independent evidence, and meaningful differences in use case.

A product does not qualify merely because it has an affiliate program. A non-paying option stays in the comparison when it is a strong fit, and a free or low-cost alternative is included when it can solve the problem adequately. The shortlist and initial ranking are saved before affiliate links are added; any later change needs an editorial reason in the update log.

Evidence hierarchy

We use sources in this order when they are available:

1. FDA, FTC, NIH, CDC, state regulators, and official prescribing or safety information
2. Peer-reviewed primary research, systematic reviews, and clinical guidelines
3. Independent standards and certification databases
4. Official product manuals, specification sheets, nutrition labels, terms, and warranty documents
5. Manufacturer product pages
6. Credible independent testing with a disclosed protocol
7. Retailer listings and customer reviews, for questions primary sources cannot answer

A manufacturer page establishes what a company claims, not whether the claim is independently true. That is why our comparisons say “RENPHO lists…” or “BistroMD says…” rather than presenting those statements as our own findings.

Customer reviews can tell us which questions to investigate. They never establish medical efficacy, safety, prevalence, or a product’s typical result.

Health claims we will not make

We do not say or imply that a consumer product:

• treats, prevents, or cures a condition without the required competent evidence and lawful authorization;
• guarantees weight loss, muscle preservation, hydration, symptom relief, or medication success;
• replaces a prescriber, pharmacist, registered dietitian, diagnostic test, or clinical assessment;
• is safe for everyone;
• is FDA approved when only a component, facility, listing, or unrelated use has FDA status;
• is “clinically proven” without evidence for the exact product, outcome, population, and use described.

For measurement devices we separate direct measurements from estimates. A smart scale directly measures weight; its body-fat, muscle, bone, visceral-fat, and metabolic-age values are model-derived estimates unless reliable evidence establishes otherwise.

For meal services, a branded “GLP-1,” “high protein,” or “dietitian designed” label is not proof that every meal suits every reader. We report the service’s criteria when published and tell you to check the nutrition facts for the individual meal.

Ranking rules

“Best” means best fit under the criteria stated in that article. It does not mean universally superior. Every award identifies its use case — best for Wi-Fi weight logging, best for flexible frozen meal scheduling, best for a larger household.

We do not award “most accurate” without independent testing of the exact current models, and we do not convert a longer feature list into a quality claim. More body metrics or menu labels do not make a product more useful.

Every ranked product must include at least one meaningful limitation. If the evidence does not support a ranked order, we publish an unranked shortlist instead.

Pricing and subscription checks

We compare normal recurring costs, not introductory offers. For each price claim we record the date, plan size, required commitment, shipping, mandatory fees, and whether the price is promotional — using the same order quantity across services where possible. Where checkout determines the actual total, we tell you to verify the non-promotional price, shipping, taxes, renewal schedule, and cancellation cutoff before paying. We remove a price rather than keep one we cannot verify.

For subscriptions we record the skip, pause, cancellation, renewal, already-processed-order, and refund rules. “Cancel anytime” is incomplete if the next order locks several days in advance.

Affiliate separation and disclosure

The shortlist and provisional conclusions are written before affiliate availability is checked. Advertisers may correct factual errors; they cannot approve conclusions, suppress drawbacks, or require favorable placement.

Every page containing affiliate links must:

• disclose the relationship before the first affiliate link;
• use plain language you can understand without opening another page;
• repeat the disclosure beside prominent commercial calls to action where needed;
• mark outbound affiliate links rel="sponsored nofollow noopener";
• identify sponsored placements as sponsored.

Free samples, discounted access, sponsorship fees, and other material relationships are disclosed even when no commission is earned. See how we make money for the business model behind this.

Updates and removal

We re-check high-risk and fast-changing pages more often than general buyer guides:

• Telehealth provider availability and pricing — at least monthly, and after material regulatory events
• Meal-service pricing, menus, delivery, and cancellation — before publication and at least quarterly
• Connected-device specifications, apps, and warranties — before publication and at least twice a year
• Affiliate terms and tracking destinations — before activation and at least quarterly

We remove or pause a recommendation when:

• a key safety, legal, or accuracy claim cannot be substantiated;
• the product or program becomes unavailable, or a link destination changes unexpectedly;
• the terms would require misleading coverage;
• support, cancellation, privacy, or fulfillment problems materially change the reader fit;
• we cannot keep the page current.

Every tracked link runs through a redirect with a kill switch, so we can stop sending readers to a problematic destination immediately rather than waiting for a full site deployment.

Corrections

Material changes are summarized in an update note. We correct errors promptly and explain changes that could affect a purchase decision. Reader reports are investigated against primary or official evidence rather than copied into the article as fact. Our published corrections are at corrections.

Found something wrong? Tell us at [email protected] — including when it is inconvenient for us.

The checklist every commercial article must pass

An article is not published until all of these are yes:

• Is the reader problem clear?
• Were the criteria set before affiliate availability affected the page?
• Does the article state whether the products were researched or tested?
• Are direct measurements separated from manufacturer estimates?
• Are health claims backed by appropriate evidence and written with the necessary limits?
• Are prices, subscriptions, warranties, delivery areas, and specifications dated?
• Does every candidate have a meaningful drawback?
• Are non-paying and low-cost alternatives included where useful?
• Is the affiliate disclosure before the first commercial link?
• Has someone checked every outbound destination?
• Has the page passed editorial, compliance, accessibility, and build checks?