TechCity’s buying guides, reviews and deal posts exist to help you spend your money well. This page explains how we choose the products we recommend, how we make money from those recommendations, and what we will never do.
The short version
- We tell you at the top of every guide whether we used the product ourselves or built the guide from research.
- Every pick comes with its downside and a line on who should skip it.
- Some links earn TechCity a commission. They are labeled “paid link,” and they never cost you more.
- No brand pays to be in a guide, and no brand sees a guide before it goes live.
Two kinds of guides, always labeled
Hands-on. When we have the product, we use it the way you would: at home, at work, on a commute, over days rather than minutes. We tell you what we did with it and what happened.
Research-based. When we have not used a product, we say so in the opening of the guide and again in its “How we picked” section. We never write as if we used something we did not.
What we look at
- Independent test results from labs that run the same tests on every product, such as picture, battery or sound measurements.
- The maker’s own spec sheets, checked against what the store listing says.
- Patterns in owner reviews, especially problems that show up weeks or months after purchase.
- The real price, checked on a date we print in the guide. A “was” price or a percent-off sticker is not a reason to buy.
- Our own math, like cost per inch of screen or cost per year of use, so you can compare products that are priced very differently.
We name every source with its date. If we cannot confirm a claim, it does not go in the guide.
Every pick has a downside
No product is right for everyone. Each pick in a TechCity guide has a line starting “The downside:” with the thing the maker is not advertising, and a “Skip if:” line that tells you when to look elsewhere. If we can’t find a real downside, we haven’t looked hard enough.
How TechCity makes money from these guides
Some links in our guides are affiliate links. If you buy through one, the store pays TechCity a small commission. The price you pay is the same. As an Amazon Associate, TechCity earns from qualifying purchases, and we also work with other stores, including Best Buy.
- Every guide with affiliate links says so at the very top.
- Every buy button is labeled “paid link.”
- We choose the product first and look for a place to buy it second. A product does not make the list because it pays a higher commission.
- We only link to listings sold by the store itself or by the brand’s official store, not to unknown third-party sellers.
- Sponsored content is a separate thing. It is always labeled as sponsored, and it still names the downsides.
Our affiliate disclosure has the full details.
When a company sends us a product
Sometimes a company lends or gives us a product to try. When that happens, we say so in the article. It does not buy a better review, and the company does not see the article before it goes live.
Who writes them
Buying guides and reviews carry the name of the TechCity editor or writer who did the work. Short price alerts, such as “this TV just dropped $200,” run under the TechCity Deals Desk byline, because they report a price change rather than a recommendation.
Keeping guides current
Prices and stock change all the time. We recheck our guides, replace picks that go out of stock or get beaten by something better, and say what changed and when. The price on the store’s site when you click is the one that counts.
Spot a mistake?
Tell us at info@techcityng.com. We fix errors quickly and say what we changed, as set out in our corrections policy. You can read more about how we work in our editorial standards and ethics policy.