Review guidelines

New Media Thomas Sanladerer (“NMTS”) regularly produces independent and in-depth product reviews under the “Thomas Sanladerer” and ”Tom’s 3D” brand, covering the entire range of Maker-focused products from 3D printer products over CNC-controlled machines down to manual tools and accessories.

Reviews published here are not simply recaps of a product’s spec sheet, any reviewed product has been thoroughly tested. The experiences and results from these tests are then shared in video or written form.

While all products are welcome, please note that there are a few rules that apply to any product review produced by NMTS:

Neutrality

Payment

Any results and opinions thereof presented in a review video or post are a truthful representation of our experiences with a product. Under no circumstances will payment or other compensation be accepted to influence the stated opinion about a product.

Reviews conducted by NMTS never require payment. This allows us to maintain our journalistic integrity.

You may, however, opt to purchase sponsorship independently of a review. More details on sponsorships here!

Manufacturer’s influence

The resulting video (or its script) will not be provided before their public release.

“Review guides” with pre-audited talking points are welcome for completeness, but will not be strictly adhered to.

Product requirements

Pre-release products

Reviews of pre-release products provide limited value to end users. Due to the additional overhead required to get an unfinished product to function correctly and the possibility of additional changes being introduced before the product’s final release, NMTS will not accept any pre-release hardware for review unless it is identical to the product eventually shipped to customers.

Identical conditions apply to crowdfunded products. Due to a history of drastic changes between the campaign’s promises and the final release as well as a history of fraud connected to crowdfunding, NMTS will also not review crowdfunded products that have not yet been completely fulfilled to customers.

Product safety

Products that have glaring safety issues and would provide a danger to the user or during review will not be accepted. Should it turn out that a product has a severe safety issue that is capable of damaging property or harming users, the product will be decommissioned and the review process halted. Any findings may still be published.

Resolving issues

Up to a reasonable limit, NMTS will try to resolve any issues that might arise during product testing. Please note that technical difficulties and challenges will need to be mentioned in a review.

Cherry-picking products or providing non-standard product versions is discouraged. NMTS has limited means to detect a cherry-picked product, so we need to trust product manufacturers and resellers to provide a product that is identical to the product an end user would receive.

Provided review samples

NMTS does accept review samples from manufacturers or resellers, so long as the conditions were agreed on beforehand.

Loaned / provided products

If you require a provided product to be returned after review, please state so before sending a product. Products sent without communicating loan terms or return conditions prior to shipping will be considered gifts and will not be returned.

Unsolicited products

Products that are sent without prior agreement will not be returned and will not be considered for review. NMTS will choose an appropriate use for any unannounced deliveries. Disposal fees will be charged to the sender.

Imports

If you’re shipping from a non-EU country, please respect the applicable import declaration rules. Shipments that are improperly declared will be returned or destroyed by customs.

Always state the actual value of the product you ship. German imports does not accept invoices for zero-value samples.

Products that do not conform to the standards required for bearing the “CE” mark may be destroyed by imports.

Legal

Unless explicitly agreed on, NMTS cannot guarantee a specific date for the release of a product review. Unexpected issues with a product might delay a review further as they are being resolved.

If a product was provided with the requirement of a video review to be published about it, this is legally considered an exchange of good and therefore a sponsored video and ad for the product. As a result, the review would need to be declared as such. NMTS generally does not guarantee a review to be released after a product has been provided.

NMTS is not required to accept any product for review and retains the right to decline review opportunities for any reason.

Get in touch

All cool? Send an email to reviews@toms3d.org if you’re up for it!

PS: There are imposters trying to request products in the name of NMTS and Thomas Sanladerer. Please make sure to always reply to a @toms3d.org email address.