toy, camera and electronics review sites are regularly loaned new cameras, electronics and toys by the manufacturer - they rarely pay for them. the manufacturers who don't send items out don't get as many hands-on reviews - simple. generally each reviewer is given a certain amount of time with the items they are sent, then send them on to the next reviewer.
how do i know this? well, not only am i a great fan of review sites where they tell us about it, but one of my family members writes product reviews. i write reviews as part of my living - okay, i write pornsite reviews, but still honest and unbiased reviews. i know from my clients how valuable having product reviews can be, and considering that whenever i look up anything to do with ebooks on google, i find mobileread in the first 3 listings (often the first), i can't imagine a company not wanting to have their product listed here.
if eslick wanted a full unbiased review, they should have sent a review unit like other companies generally do. after all, it's great advertising AND they can improve their products when reviewed by reviewers who are both educated and experienced with similar products. and btw, the cost of the units is deductible as marketing if they're in the u.s. as it is, nate worked with what he had. and keep in mind that he didn't make stuff up - he listed his sources for his hands-off review, part of which was from the eslick forum.
i've rarely seen such poor PR, and such a complete lack of understanding of what great exposure and branding a review on a site like this - one, i might add, with tons of authority on google. it would well have been worth the cost of a single unit. as it is, many more eyes are on this board than the regular posters, and erik_b's comments don't make eslick look like a company i would want to do business with. as far as i can tell, he didn't even respond to SaraB's post
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...80&postcount=2 