Which Products Have You Tested?

[Sherry67]

After a couple of minutes of searching, I couldn't find any threads dedicated to listing off what we have tested through our assorted survey sites/panels, focus groups, etc. (I don't know if I typed in the wrong combo of words in the Search engine, but I found nothing like what I was specifically looking for.)

A lot of us have been doing surveys for many years, and have probably had the chance to try some interesting things, both edible and non-edible.

So, let's talk Product Tests only! What have you tried over the years? What did you really love? What did you hate? Did anything you tried ever not make it to store shelves?

I would suggest that, just to keep our vow of silence to the companies that are kind enough to send us things to test, we don't mention the panel/site in question when we name some of the items -- if the PT is recent or current. If it's something you tested a few years ago or so, or it's already being sold in stores, I don't think it matters if you mention who sent it to you if you can remember who sent it.

So I will start! Here are some that I can remember testing (in no order of any kind):

Yogurt-covered granola bars to test. I believe that Nature Valley was the brand, and I got the box through Zoom Panel

Bertolli frozen skillet meal

Unknown/non-labeled brand -- frozen spaghetti and meatballs dinner

Lean Cuisine -- frozen chicken and vegetables dish

2 full boxes of Ritz Crackers (a product I already buy) to test

2 full packages of Oreos to test (that was one of my favorite PTs!)

2 full bottles of Banana Boat sport sunscreen

2 Chocolate Protein bars (unsure of brand)

2 boxes of Ritz Crackerfuls (nacho cheese and ranch)

Assorted cans of unknown ground coffee

Planters Peanut Butter with raisins, nuts and other things in it

All kinds of shampoo and scalp treatments over the years -- Pantene (assorted varieties); Dove; Suave; and unknown brands (which I think may have been Clear and also Fructis). Companies used to send out generic, non-labeled, small, sample size bottles in the past, but now they often send out the full, large sizes with the brand right on the bottle

Sensodyne ProNamel toothpaste (great product)

Lysol TapTop cleaner (which I loved)

Febreze NuAir (air purification system -- I had to send it back)

Playtex Rubber Gloves (which I had to send back)

Some sort of Gillette razor (I had to send it back)

All kinds of bathroom tissue over the years -- especially Charmin and Quilted Northern, but I have also received Cottonelle. I have received 4-packs and also 12-packs of TP.

All kinds of paper towels over the years -- usually various types of Bounty and Viva.

Lipton Tea and Honey packets

All kinds of detergent and fabric softener over the years, including Tide, Woolite, All, Downy, etc.

Body Wash -- usually in a generic white bottle, though I think one brand may have been Caress or Dove

V-8 Complete chocolate protein drink (2 bottles)

Minute Maid bottled juice (with extra vitamins and anti-oxidants)

Tropicana Twister drink

Kellogg's fiber bars -- Chocolate/Toffee

Dawn Dish liquid

4 boxes of Quaker Instant Oatmeal and 2 boxes of a generic, non-labeled oatmeal

Crest Whitestrips

Mary Kay cosmetics -- eyeliner

I know there are many more that I am forgetting -- probably even more recent ones, as I was trying to think back beyond 2014 to all the PTs I did in the old, old days. I probably overlooked something recent. What have you tested?

[JD]

You've done quite a few PTs.

Vacuum cleaner.

Paper towels.

Soft drink.

T-shirt

Chips (not french fries) - the snacking kind.

Frozen meatballs.

Pasta sauce.

Toilet paper.

Wipes.

Frozen lasagna.

Dried cranberries.

Granola bars.

Plastic storage bags.

[gothicsmurf]

I started doing surveys in 2011 and I have had a few product test from various panels. So far I have tested:

- Maggi's So Crispy Herb & Garlic Chicken Breadcrumbs

- Yorkshire Assam Tea

- Walkers Deep Ridged Crisps Multipack

- Lynx Deodorant (2 separate tests, with 2 cans in each test)

- KP Chilli Peanuts

- Nivea for Men Aftershave Foam

- Tesco Ready Salted Crisps Multipack

- Magic Sponges (The kind used to remove stains from walls ect.)

I'm sure have had more, but my mind has gone blank

[franksmom]

mac and cheese

breakfast sausage

spaghetti sauce

salty snacks

cookies

granola bars

descaler for coffee maker

cat food

cat treats

dish detergent

plant fertilizer

toothpaste

hair dye

hair volumizer

shampoo (loved it-wish I knew the brand)

eye gel

toilet paper

paper towels

storage bags

[Sherry67]

I am so fascinated by these lists -- especially seeing the brands mentioned in gothicsmurf's post!

I don't know why, but for some reason I was thinking I would see a lot of duplicates (brands) of what I tested in other folks' answers -- assuming that many of us tested the same things for some of the same companies -- but it doesn't seem to be the case so far.

And, isn't it interesting how certain food products we use a lot are the things that we don't get to test? Or am I the only one who has noticed that? For example, I use pasta sauce all the time -- several times every month, at least -- and have used it for years, and yet I have never, ever encountered a PT for pasta sauce (nor for meatballs), but I see that JD and franksmom have done pasta sauce PTs!

Well, keep the PT lists coming, everyone! For some reason I find this incredibly interesting.

[NFriday]

Hi- How did everybody get so many products to test. I have only tested two products. I tested Crest toothpaste, and I tested Tide. I still have some of the 92 load box of Tide powder detergent left to use up. I have not bought detergent in over a year. What is strange though that in both of the products that I was suppose to review, I never got a followup survey from them asking me to rate the product. Besides the free product are you supposed to receive any money for reviewing the product? How much do they usually pay?

[JD]

Over half/most of my product tests came from Pinecone. Pay was $3 for taking a followup survey. The vacuum product testing paid $75 Amazon gift card but it was a product test over a couple of months. Think I got $10 for tasting the cranberries and filling out a taste log.

[spider]

I've tested : toilet bowl cleaner, tide, canned corn, gum, mixed nuts, frozen pizza, feminine pads (numerous times) , paper towel, tomato sauce

That's all I can think of right now but there have been plenty more. I haven't had one for almost a year now.

[rosiesmom]

Frozen dinners-ugh

Dog Food

White Noise machine-that was my first one and it came with lavender room spray and lotion-still using it

An Iron- I kid you not, and used it once since I told them I already had 2. Gave it to a friend.

Toothpaste-more than once

Shampoo and conditioner-more than once

Facial cleanser

Facial lotion-anti aging

A toaster oven, just used it twice now

A crockpot

Granola bars

Shower gel

Dish detergent

Toilet Paper- couple of times

But I haven't had anything in over a year now to test.

[Sherry67]

Hi- How did everybody get so many products to test. I have only tested two products. I tested Crest toothpaste, and I tested Tide. I still have some of the 92 load box of Tide powder detergent left to use up. I have not bought detergent in over a year. What is strange though that in both of the products that I was suppose to review, I never got a followup survey from them asking me to rate the product. Besides the free product are you supposed to receive any money for reviewing the product? How much do they usually pay?

How long have you been doing surveys/focus groups/panels, etc.?

The reason I have so many PTs on my list (and I know I forgot some of them) is because I've been doing this a long, long time. I was signed up with Zoom Panel (or whatever it used to be called) and My Survey (under its former title/version, NFO) before I even had a personal email address, and they were still sending out surveys on paper through the mail. I also belonged to a couple of other places back then as well (we're talking like pre-2001). I signed up with Ipsos i-say shortly thereafter, and then Synovate (which ultimately merged with i-Say). I belonged to Lightspeed for a while, but it merged with My Survey. Over the years I have picked up more sites and panels and added to the list.

So I would say that most of my PTs have come from NFO/MySurvey, i-say, Synovate (which was integrated into i-Say), Mindfield and Pinecone -- and that's over the course of many years.

Occasionally I might get one random PT from a different company other than the ones I mentioned above (like the Planters Peanut Butter came from Kraft Tastemakers, and the Playtex Rubber Gloves came from a separate company that I think was In-Home Product Testing) -- and then I never ever get another PT from that company again! It's a "one and done" situation. Lol. I still belong to Valued Opinions, but they have only sent me one PT in the time I've been with them (shampoo). I got the Crest Whitestrips from Marie Claire's Velvet Rope panel.

Sometimes certain panels may pay you extra cash, extra points or gift cards for doing a PT -- it depends on the company, how much time is involved in testing it, etc. Sometimes you'll just get your regular payout (that the company in question would normally pay you) for a PT and nothing extra. The payoff is really supposed to be in testing the product, I suppose.

[cricket]

Nestle Toll House cookies, came refrigerated and I had to compare them to Pillsbury. Pizza (didn't know which), Stouffer's meatloaf and mashed potatoes, many paper towels and toilet tissue, many Pantene shampoos (I think, it smelled like Pantene), Mini Oreos, yogurt, Clorox wipes in a canister, hand and face creams, soaps....I am sure there are many more but I can't remember. My favorite was the chocolate chip cookies I had to bake. So many that I gave them to the kids in the building or else I'd eat too many. So much of the time, Pinecone says they will send something (if we send you this, will you be willing to try it) but nothing ever comes, but I'd say most of the time they do deliver.

[StilettoSuicide]

I've tested SO MANY things I can't even begin to remember them all. At one point I had so many food PT's at the same time that there were 6 white boxes in my pantry. However, I do remember one particular product that never made it to the shelves - Downy Clean & Repair detergent. It actually ruined a load of my laundry, thank goodness it was only towels.

Seems to me like everything else I've ever sampled has been available for purchase not long afterwards.

The last Pinecone survey I did was on hard cider, there's one PT I'm really hoping they'll send me

[Sherry67]

There does seem to be an abundance of shampoo, detergent, toilet paper and paper towels available for PTs, doesn't there (and that's across all the survey panels)?! I couldn't believe it when one company (and it's been a few years, so I don't remember which panel it was) sent me two 12-roll packs of bathroom tissue for one PT! Even one 12-pack would have surprised me, but two for the same PT?!

Over the years there have been a few things that I really, really, really wanted to test and did not get selected for. I would say that 85% of my PTs are for items that I am just so-so about at first (meaning I may or may not have bought them in the store eventually, without doing a PT, and then I either ended up loving them or hating them after I did the PT). Maybe 10% of my PTs have been items that I already would or do buy anyway. The other 5 percent are things I would probably never buy in a million years. There have been a couple of things that I was asked to try and I said no, because I already hated them and did not want to subject myself to tasting them! Lol.

One item I really, really, really wanted to try (quite a while back) was a frozen gingerbread pound cake -- that would be have been right up my alley -- and did not get to.

[NFriday]

Hi- I have only been doing surveys for about 2 1/2 years. I finally just got accepted into Pinecone a few weeks ago, and so maybe I will get some products to review from them. The only other survey companies mentioned that I am involved with, are Mindfield and my survey. I have been doing focus groups for years though. I don't remember ever doing any focus group PT though. I remember years ago, my mother used to do PT for I believe Carol Wright, where they would mail her items in plain white boxes, and she would have to give her opinion on the product, and I think on occasion she would get lets say two different kinds ofboxed macaroni and cheese, and she would have to say which one she liked the best.

[rosiesmom]

Livebranch Online Community was a great one to belong too. I don't remember doing surveys for them, but I got all my bigger stuff to test from them, a crockpot that stirs itself, the iron, and the toaster oven. I always wanted to try the keurig but never got selected for it. Sadly, they closed up shop. It was nice to see the reviews on some of the products.