My New Hobby

I started a new hobby about a year and a half ago. I have been reviewing products on Amazon. My sister got me hooked on this. I started with one FaceBook group. I've gotten to review all kinds of things. I order products for free or reduced prices and try them out. After a period of time, I leave my honest feedback in the form of a review on Amazon. After about a year of doing this, I started getting contacted by product sellers directly asking if I would review their items. Now I belong to at least 4 or 5 different review groups.

I receive at least one or two packages a day now. Here's a picture of our front hallway last week.

We reuse a lot of the boxes when possible. Last week was a little busy, but usually we crush the boxes down daily so they're not taking over the entry way!

It's been fun watching my Amazon ranking move up. When I started, I was ranked in the millions. My current ranking is under 10k.

I never promise to give a product a 4 or 5 star review. That's a big misconception with reviewing. In most cases, I do promise that if I can't give a 4 or 5 star review honestly, then I will contact the seller first to see if they can fix the situation. A lot of the sellers don't have first hand contact with their products once they arrive at the distribution facilities. One time I reviewed an item that didn't come with a power supply. I had extras at home and was able to test the product out anyway. But by contacting the seller, he found out that all of his items were shipped to the US without one.
He sent me one later and was able to fix all of his other products.

I've gotten to review all kinds of things. Lately, I have started getting to review jewelry and clothing. I love reviewing beauty products, Essential Oils, and technology items. Hannah got an iPhone for Christmas last month, so I have gotten to review phone cases and screen protectors for her.

I've had a few friends ask how they can get into reviewing. I tell them to start reviewing all of their purchases on Amazon first. Good reviews should have at least 4 or 5 sentences. I had reviewed some of my own stuff before I joined my first review group. They should be helpful and sincere. If you don't like something, explain what you don't like about it. I hate reading reviews that just say "terrible item" or "I love it". Be specific with your review.

Now that I work full time, I shop a lot of Amazon. If I don't find something I need during my weekly shopping trip, I go straight to Amazon to see if it's there. I don't have the time to go to several different stores just to find things anymore. And when I am shopping on Amazon, I read through some of the reviews and if there are ones that I find very helpful, I mark them as helpful.

I usually write at least a couple of reviews every evening. I try to post pictures with my reviews and I've just started adding video reviews to some items. This is a new creative outlet for me!!!

Here are some items that I have gotten to review lately: