Only the best for you for shopping, purchasing, and love. Life can be busy – but we don’t need to tell you that. You feel it every day as you try to balance work, keeping your home, and enjoying time with family and friends (and yourself!). We know you’re a star and capable of handling it all – but isn’t it nice when you find a product that makes life feel a little easier? We’re talking about the electric robot vacuum that cleans the house while everyone is away, the sheets that make you feel comfy when you crawl into bed, or the air fryer that makes dinner prep quick and easy – so you can spend more time enjoying your family’s company.
But when you shop, how do you know if those products will live up to their promises? That’s where we come in!
For years, Real Simple has been a resource to help you get everything on your to-do list done easily – and now, you can rely on us for trustworthy product recommendations that will make a difference in your life. We are committed to recommending the best products in every category, based on actual testing. Every product that earns a Real Simple Selects badge has gone through a rigorous testing process and meets our high standards before being added to our list.
What is the testing method?
First, we identify the products we will test. To start, our team researches the category to see which products are available on the market – we take a look at beloved brand choices, startups, and even trending products on social media to see what’s out there. We review manufacturer data, ask experts to share recommendations, track online ratings, and browse current search trends to pinpoint the products that will enter the testing list.
Most of the time, we purchase these products ourselves, but sometimes we may ask the company to send us a sample to try instead. If we request a sample, we always explain to the company that sending a free sample doesn’t mean it will make it onto our final list – every product we test is evaluated the same way, whether we have paid for it or not.
Also, as part of our commitment to diversity, it’s important for us to include brands owned by Black, Indigenous, and Asian individuals in our testing groups whenever possible (along with ensuring our testers represent a diverse spectrum of people).
Then we’re ready to test
Once the research is complete, we send the products to one of our testing labs in Des Moines, Birmingham, or New York. Our labs are truly equipped to test everything. Our three testing locations span over 100,000 square feet and include more than 50 test kitchens. Each month, we test thousands of different products across diverse categories side by side.
In the labs, testers put the products through their paces. Our team plans specific tests for the type of product we’re testing, based on what we think is most important for shoppers to know before buying. In some tests, we vacuum everything from hair to popcorn kernels, and in another test, we might toast hundreds of slices of bread to experience every setting available.
We conduct unique and interesting tests, but it’s also important for us to run multiple tests. We know every customer will be different, and what may work best for one person might not work best for everyone. That’s why our lab may prefer an expensive iron that can remove wrinkles from any fabric in seconds, but we may also give high marks to a compact model that suits shoppers who want a reliable iron they only use occasionally.
What
What are our testing standards?
We start by asking ourselves about the key features of each product category. So, for example, if we are testing sheets, we might ask – how well do they withstand washing? … how do they fit on a mattress? … how do we feel about the price after using them? We always base our evaluation on the qualities that matter most to us, such as comfort, ease of use, value, and design – then we prepare an assessment guide for each category to be judged against.
How does the home testing part work?
Once products pass the lab testing, we sometimes also send the top performers for testing in our team’s homes. At this point, products may not be tested in the same way, but we can get a better idea of how they perform over weeks, months, and even years. It also allows us to gather impressions from more people – sometimes what works for one person doesn’t work for another, and we aim to get as many perspectives as possible.
Sometimes we also test entire categories at home. Some items, like doorbells and showerheads, need to be tested in a real-world environment over weeks or months to give the right recommendation. In such cases, we ask several specific questions to ensure we understand the strengths and weaknesses of each product and ask the testers to keep the product and inform us if their impressions change over time.
What happens after testing is completed?
Then we get to share the exciting things we’ve learned with you – and that’s really our favorite part! After a product passes all stages of our testing, we compile all the results and scores to determine which ones deserve the Real Simple Selects seal of approval. Usually, you will find that we will give the “best overall” for a product category, but you will also find winners that we considered suitable for individual circumstances (like budget-friendly winners, best for small spaces, etc.).
You can rely on every product review to provide details on how the products perform – the good and the bad. We don’t believe in hiding anything, and we know that even the best products are not completely flawless.
Publishing our results doesn’t mean the job is done. We go back and update our recommendations whenever we learn something we think is worth sharing. Whether it’s after testing a new product we believe deserves a spot on the list or after learning something from long-term testing that we think you need to know, we always check back to ensure our recommendations are truly the best.
Why should you rely on our reviews?
Our primary goal is to make online shopping a straightforward and positive experience for you. We aim to do all the hard work so that you don’t waste any time or money. That’s why we will never embellish anything and will prioritize showing our work through every step of the testing process with valuable photos and notes from our testers. You can also count on us to continually revisit our recommendations because we know that things change, and there is always the potential for a better product to appear later.
And while we primarily focus on products, we will also include insights on customer service and delivery experience. We believe these matters are equally important and want you to enjoy every aspect of your shopping experience!
Commission Disclosure and Safety
We may receive a commission on some products you purchase through the links listed in our reviews. However, we do not take any input from product manufacturers and only recommend products that we truly believe in and consider the best of the best. Through our unbiased recommendations, we hope to share tools that will help make life easier for you.
We may
All products, including those we recommend and feature, are sometimes subject to recalls. If that happens, we will update our recommendations as soon as we are aware of such changes. Although we strive to stay informed, we strongly encourage you to monitor any official announcements from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that may be relevant to the products you purchase.
Source: https://www.realsimple.com/real-simple-selects-seal-approval-5649700
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