Editorial terms and conditions
These terms govern any work that you engage me to create. This includes but is not limited to:
- Product reviews;
- Sponsored posts;
- Long-form content in which sponsored products are featured.
These terms include works published on kelvinsparks.com and in other publications or on other websites. The terms govern any work where a product is sent to me in exchange for a review, or you pay me to write an article.
Sending me products to review
Unless previously agreed, you may send me any product you like to review. Sending me products unsolicited does not guarantee a review unless you have consulted me first. I keep an up-to-date list of products I am interested in reviewing on my Work With Me page; products that feature in my list of items I am not currently interested in reviewing are unlikely to receive a review, although I reserve the right to make exceptions at my own discretion.
I absolutely cannot guarantee availability of a particular body type or set of anatomy for the purposes of reviewing a product. I will make a best-effort attempt to use products for their intended purpose, but if this is not possible I may be unable to publish a review.
Standards of products and packaging
Products sent to me for review must arrive in sealed packaging. If products do not arrive in sealed packaging, their hygiene cannot be guaranteed; whilst a good faith effort will be made to sanitise products upon their arrival, I will dispose of any products whose hygiene and body-safety cannot be guaranteed if I am unable to sanitise them to a good standard.
The only exception to the above is when packaging is opened by postal or customs officials.
I will not review products made from materials that are not body-safe. This includes coatings, decorations, or any part of a product that may come into contact with my body or the bodies of others.
Shipping
I will not pay or accept responsibility for shipping costs. This includes the cost of return shipping if, for any reason, an item needs to be returned. It is your responsibility to ensure that sufficient postage and any applicable customs charge is paid for an item sent to me; items that arrive with insufficient postage or customs charges to pay may be returned without a review.
Returning products
I reserve the right to decide not to review a product. If I make this decision before I have opened the packaging of an item, I will contact you so that you may decide whether to let me keep the item, or whether you would prefer that I return it to you.
If you choose to have me return the item, as stated above, you will be required to pay the cost of return shipping. This will not be on a reimbursement basis. I will either provide a quote for return shipping by the cheapest available Royal Mail service (which you will pay in advance), or you may arrange collection from the supplied address by any courier service.
If I have opened the packaging of an item, for safety and hygiene reasons, it will not be returned under any circumstances.
The product review process
Product photography
All product photography on my website is taken by me (or a photographer chosen by me) of products in the same condition in which they arrive. Products will not be altered in any way before photographs are taken. Photographs are not substantively edited other than minor colour correction and lighting adjustments before publication.
I reserve the right to use stock imagery (including imagery provided by you) in addition to or instead of my own product photography if the product is not tangible or possible to photograph (for example, an ebook).
I will not use product photography provided by you or any third party except where noted above.
Testing and treatment of products
I will endeavour to use all products supplied to me for their intended purpose as far as possible, but as stated above am unable to guarantee the availability of a particular body type or set of anatomy on which to test a given product. However, if I have agreed to review a particular product, it is most likely that I know it will be something I can use for its intended purpose.
As part of reviewing a product, I reserve the right to perform tests on the item in addition to what may be construed as “normal use”. For example, this includes but is not limited to flame testing of silicone items, to verify manufacturer claims that items are made from genuine silicone and not TPE or similar materials. Where the results of such tests are notable, they will be included in the review. All testing will be conducted after the product has been photographed. I cannot guarantee that tests performed will not result in damage to the product.
Review content
These clauses only apply to product reviews and not to non-review form sponsored posts.
I maintain final editorial control on all review content published on this website. Where I supply review content to other publications or websites, the third party operating the publication or website maintains final editorial control. In any case, you may not:
- Submit wording to be included in the review;
- Request edits to a published review, except for factual corrections or minor spelling and grammar changes;
- Request the removal of a review.
In the case of reviews published on this website, I reserve the right to make edits at any point in the future, or remove the review from the website should it be necessary. I will endeavour to notify you if this happens, but this may not always be possible.
For the avoidance of doubt, reviews written by me may be positive or negative about the product in question; you as the manufacturer or supplier of the product have no right of recourse if the review content or tone are not to your satisfaction.
Review length
I make no guarantees about the length in words of a review before it is written. Typically, reviews written by me tend to be between 700 and 1200 words in length, but this is a guide and should not be seen as a guarantee. If you choose to send me multiple similar products, I reserve the right to review them all in one (generally somewhat longer) article as ‘mini-reviews’.
Affiliate and other external links
Where available and possible, I will use affiliate links on this website. These will likely point to a website or shop I have an existing affiliate relationship with. I am not currently looking to join any more affiliate schemes.
If you are engaging me to review a product, you may request that I link to any website on which customers may purchase the product, whether or not I have an existing affiliate relationship with them; I will not sign up to a new affiliate scheme for one review/product, and I reserve the right to link to a different seller if the requested website only sells to a limited region or stops selling a product. I will not, however, link to a competitor unless it is unavoidable.
If you are engaging me to write a sponsored post, I will not use affiliate links in the post without your express permission.
Links to external websites included in reviews or sponsored posts on this website will always be ‘no follow’ links to comply with search engine optimisation rules.
Disclosures
Statutory rights
Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights, and these terms may be superseded by any mutually-agreed contract I hold with you.
Governing law and jurisdiction
These terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and the parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
