Disclosure Policy

FTC AsktheBuilder.com Disclosure Policy for Product Reviews

The Federal Trade Commission requires that I disclose any relationship I have between a product manufacturer or service provider when I tell you about a product or service.

Here are the guidelines I operate under at AsktheBuilder.com:

• Most of the times when I mention a product in a column, newsletter or video, I do it as a part of my job. I invest my own time to review and test products. I often absorb the entire cost to tape and post-produce all videos I tape about products. If I'm ever paid to do a review, it will be clearly annotated at the end of the review.
• The text you see in my product reviews and statements you see me make in my videos are my opinions. My opinions are based on decades of working in the homes of paying customers and using tools in my own hands. This experience allows me to render insightful opinions.
• My integrity is the only thing that's lasting. That's what people remember about someone in the media - or the lack thereof. I want my legacy to be one where you say, "Tim Carter always did the right thing. He told the TRUTH about products. If it's good enough for Tim and his family, it's good enough for me!" Because of that, I have a strict policy that I WILL ONLY DO PAID REVIEWS FOR PRODUCTS I BELIEVE IN AND USE AT MY OWN HOME. Fortunately, there are still companies that make great products that I will gladly tell you about. It's my pleasure to work with these companies so I can help them transform you into another satisfied customer.
• I don't pay for the products I test. They're sent to me by the manufacturer. In almost all cases, the manufacturer approaches me first via a press release or a phone call. If I feel it's a product you might get benefit from, then I request they send me the product.
• I don't return the products after I test them. In certain cases, the product is used up or destroyed. In other cases, the product may get damaged during the testing. I don't have the staff nor the resources to process the return of the products.
• If I create a link to a product in a review, often I may get paid a commission if you purchase the product or service.
• If you click a link from one of my columns or newsletters and it delivers you to a website selling that product (e.g. Amazon.com, etc.), you can assume I get a small commission from that website should you buy.

These are good rules and practices in today's digital world.

It's important for you as a consumer to understand the relationship between a person reviewing the product and the manufacturer or service provider. If you don't see a disclosure policy as part of a review of a product, that reviewer may be violating the law or at the very least the Code of Ethics.