Every review on TestedForSellers follows the same four steps, so tools in the same category are compared on equal terms. This page explains each step, the tasks we run and how we score.
Step 1: Sign up or buy for real
For software, we open a real account on the plan a small seller would most likely choose, usually the free plan and the cheapest paid plan with automation. We do not use vendor demo accounts or press logins. For gear, we buy the product or borrow a retail unit, and we say which in the review.
Step 2: Run the same tasks
Each category has a fixed task list. We time each task and note anything that blocked us.
| Category | Tasks we run |
|---|---|
| Email marketing | Import 1,000 test contacts; build a 3-email welcome flow; set up an abandoned-cart email with a test store; send a campaign and check inbox placement |
| Store and website builders | Build a 5-page store from a template; add 10 products; take a test order; check page speed on mobile |
| CRM | Import 200 contacts; build a sales pipeline; set a follow-up reminder; connect email |
| Accounting and invoicing | Create and send an invoice; record an expense; reconcile a test bank feed; export a report |
| Shipping label printers | Install drivers on Windows and Mac; print 50 labels from a marketplace; measure print speed; check label quality |
| Shipping scales | Weigh known test weights; check accuracy and repeatability; connect to a shipping app if supported |
Categories we add later get their own task list here before we publish any review in them.
Step 3: Record everything
We take our own screenshots and photos, and screen-record the full test. The recording becomes the video in the review. Video narration may be AI-generated from our written script; the footage is always our own test.
Step 4: Check prices and update
We check every price on the vendor’s own pricing page and show the date we checked it. We re-check prices every month and log changes in the review’s changelog. When a tool changes significantly, we re-run the affected tasks.
How we score
Each tool gets a score out of 5, weighted as follows:
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Ease of use: how long the core tasks took us | 25% |
| Features small sellers actually need | 25% |
| Pricing and value at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts or orders | 25% |
| Reliability and support: what happened when we needed help | 15% |
| Integrations with the tools sellers already use | 10% |
Scores help comparison, but the verdict matters more. Every review says who should choose the tool and who should skip it.
What we do not do
- We do not accept payment for a review, a ranking or a better score.
- We do not publish a review of a tool we have not used.
- We do not copy feature lists from vendor pages without checking them.
Questions about our method? Email hello@testedforsellers.com.