As a new business, Reb’s Bags & Gifts faces a challenge many small brands experience: customers want to see customer reviews before buying, but it’s hard to get reviews when no one has bought your stuff. To solve this problem, we created our Product Testers Program, a simple way to gather real customer feedback and publish honest product reviews from real people. Our goal is to create a collection of tester approved products and transparent feedback that shoppers can trust. Through our Product Tester Program, customers can try our items for a deep discount, possibly free, and help us improve our designs. These product testers help us ensure every item we sell is both fun and functional. How Our Product Testers Program Works Our Product Testers Program is designed to collect honest product reviews while allowing customers to try our products in everyday life. Here’s how the process works: 1. We select product testers at random from our mailing list. 2. Selected testers receive a code for a free product of their choice. 3. Testers go through the normal checkout process. (This helps us test our website.) 4. They receive the item and use it just like any customer would. 5. They leave customer reviews based on their real experience. Because the product was provided at lower cost or free, we clearly label all feedback as “incentivized”. Transparency and the trust of our customers matters to us. Testers keep the products they choose. They can: * Use them every day * Gift them to someone * Donate them * Take them traveling * Carry them to work or school This allows us to see how our products perform in the real world. The result is a growing collection of tested and approved products backed by authentic experiences. What Our Product Testers Taught Us Our Product Testers gave us valuable insight which led to improvements to our products and designs. Here are some of the most valuable lessons from our customer reviews and sustainable bags tested by real users. Shipping Preferences Our real customer feedback showed that are offer of free shipping may not be as exciting as we originally thought. In the future, we will move toward customer-paid shipping options, which allows us to lower item prices and give customers more control over their shipping preferences. This change helps keep our eco-friendly bags and gifts competitively priced, while allowing shoppers to choose the shipping speed that works best for them. The Flip-Flop Sandcastle Hot Dog Bag One of our fun summer designs — the flip-flop sandcastle hot dog duffel bag — revealed a design issue during testing. Our product testers discovered the print was appearing upside down on one side. This was our oversight, and we quickly corrected the design for both the duffel bag and the large tote version. Two testers chose this item, which told us something important: the design has strong appeal. As spring and summer approach, we’ll be highlighting these tester approved products more heavily. One tester shared this honest product review: “Very cute and seems strong. I used the bag for a weekend getaway and it worked great. It has a zipper pocket inside the bag which is great for holding personal items. The pattern is also fun too!” We’re thrilled to hear that our bags are eco-friendly, durable, and fun. Printing on Both Sides Some of our product testers pointed out that certain designs might look better with artwork on both sides. Instead of mirroring the entire design (which can create alignment issues during printing), we decided to place a small design element on the back. This keeps the product visually balanced while still maintaining printing reliability. Thanks to our real customer feedback, many of our future products will feature this design improvement. Rethinking Our Brand Personality Originally, we thought Reb’s Bags & Gifts would focus on a more premium look. But after reading honest product reviews and hearing from our product testers, we realized something: our customers love the fun side of our designs. So we’re leaning into that identity. Our brand will continue focusing on fun, creative, eco-friendly bags tested and approved by real users. Unexpected Notebook Popularity One surprise from our gift tester program was how popular our notebooks turned out to be. In this cycle, two testers chose this notebook and this notebook.  Here’s some real customer feedback from our testers: “I like how you can color the cover to add your own personal touch. Product arrived quickly.” Another tester wrote: “I’m running and writing all day and I appreciate having it in my tote. The spirals are secured and the print is very vibrant.” Because of this feedback, we’re exploring better pricing and possible notebook bundle options in the future. Our Favorite: The Large Heart Tote Our CEO, Rebecca, personally loves the large heart tote and uses it every day. She carries it to the library for writing sessions (she’s also a creative writer) and business stuff. She says:  “This tote is my go-to. I carry it to the library to work on writing and business. It’s enormous!” You won’t see her review in the store — we keep our customer reviews reserved for actual customers and product testers. But rest assured, we test our own products too. Join Our Tester Program If you would like to become one of our product testers, the best way to participate is by joining our mailing list. Our Product Tester Program runs about once per year, and participants may receive: * Free products * Deep discounts * Early access to new items * Opportunities to leave honest product reviews These reviews help us ensure our sustainable bags and the shop itself continue to improve. As a bonus, when you sign up for our mailing list you’ll also receive a code for 25% off your first order. A huge "thank you" to the Product Testers!