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Sure, and I'm not saying there's no possible influence in any direction. At the same time, I suspect things are more separate than in 2014, and I don't see that

Sure, and I'm not saying there's no possible influence in any direction. At the same time, I suspect things are more separate than in 2014, and I don't see that claim on their pages from back then [0][1]. In fact they seemed to have independently reviewed the desks and only then asked about an affiliate program. When they switched their recommendation to Fully, they apparently didn't have an affiliate relationship with them, either. NextDesk calls that "false" — but based on Wirecutter linking to Amazon to earn a commission. That's a bizarre conflation (although like you said it's not nothing) but it's what Wirecutter usually did regardless of the product, and they were up front about it at the time [1]. [0] https://web.archive.org/web/20150603092537/https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-standing-desk/ https://web.archive.org/web/20150603092537/https://thewirecu... [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20150518125823/http://thewirecutter.com/how-to-support-the-wirecutter/ https://web.archive.org/web/20150518125823/http://thewirecut... (Wirecutter used the word "kickback" here, too, so if anything it seems like they were trying to be as uncharitable as possible about their own model.)

lozenge 4y ago
Wirecutter's "business team" won't let their "editorial team" review the new iterations of the NextDesk product because if their "unbiased recommendation" is NextDesk, revenue will go down. The CEO was explicit in his email that he looks to maximise revenue on the standing desks page (and by implication, every other page on the site). The "business team" was explicit - the editorial team doesn't act directly, they can only get review units arranged by the business team - which is refusing to receive review units because no affiliate program is in place.
- GavinMcG 4y ago
  Eight years ago, right? Are they refusing now? (Genuinely curious if you've got up-to-date info. If they are terribly biased I want to know it, so I can downgrade my trust, which is why I upvoted the OP about the air purifier.) Also, it's not really clear to me that "independently review" has to mean "we completely isolate any business-related decision-making from editorial functions" as Nextgrid seems to assume.
  - hamburglar 4y ago
    Well it certainly calls their objectivity into question, and the objectivity is supposed to be the entire point. The way they described the better (and more expensive) desk before the shakedown made it clear that it was the best one. That they changed it to a runner-up after many attempts to solicit a kickback is a seriously bad look. I don’t trust them at all now.
    - GavinMcG 4y ago
      They didn't change it to a runner up—they changed it to an upgrade pick, that is, still the best, but without enough marginal benefit for the substantial marginal cost. Not sure what pricing was like back then, of course, but at this point Wirecutter's recommendations run about seven hundred dollars, and NextDesk's offerings start at eighteen hundred.
      - hamburglar 4y ago
        And in the first article, they acknowledged the large price disparity and were very explicit that it was well deserved and worth every penny.

lozenge 4y ago

Wirecutter's "business team" won't let their "editorial team" review the new iterations of the NextDesk product because if their "unbiased recommendation" is NextDesk, revenue will go down. The CEO was explicit in his email that he looks to maximise revenue on the standing desks page (and by implication, every other page on the site). The "business team" was explicit - the editorial team doesn't act directly, they can only get review units arranged by the business team - which is refusing to receive review units because no affiliate program is in place.

GavinMcG 4y ago
Eight years ago, right? Are they refusing now? (Genuinely curious if you've got up-to-date info. If they are terribly biased I want to know it, so I can downgrade my trust, which is why I upvoted the OP about the air purifier.) Also, it's not really clear to me that "independently review" has to mean "we completely isolate any business-related decision-making from editorial functions" as Nextgrid seems to assume.
- hamburglar 4y ago
  Well it certainly calls their objectivity into question, and the objectivity is supposed to be the entire point. The way they described the better (and more expensive) desk before the shakedown made it clear that it was the best one. That they changed it to a runner-up after many attempts to solicit a kickback is a seriously bad look. I don’t trust them at all now.
  - GavinMcG 4y ago
    They didn't change it to a runner up—they changed it to an upgrade pick, that is, still the best, but without enough marginal benefit for the substantial marginal cost. Not sure what pricing was like back then, of course, but at this point Wirecutter's recommendations run about seven hundred dollars, and NextDesk's offerings start at eighteen hundred.
    - hamburglar 4y ago
      And in the first article, they acknowledged the large price disparity and were very explicit that it was well deserved and worth every penny.