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How we research
Our editorial policy: where facts come from, how scores work, and how we make money.
The short version: we read the official pages so you don't have to, link every fact to where we found it, and tell you plainly what we haven't checked.
Who we are
The Rundowns is a small, independent, Australian-run site. Pages are bylined to The Rundowns team because that's who writes them. We don't use made-up author names or stock-photo “experts”.
What we publish
- Researched reviews: one product, judged on its published specs, plans and prices.
- Comparisons and best-of guides: several options side by side, picked by goal.
- How-to guides: summaries of the official instructions, with the source linked.
“Not hands-on tested” means exactly that
Unless a page says otherwise, we haven't used the product ourselves. We don't claim testing we didn't do, and we don't publish invented benchmarks, star ratings, testimonials or “X people bought this”. If we ever test something, the page will say what we did and how.
Where the facts come from
- Manufacturer and vendor pages first: pricing pages, spec sheets, help centres, terms.
- Named retailers for prices, with the date we saw the price.
- Each fact gets a numbered source link, and each page shows how many sources it uses.
- Anything we couldn't confirm is marked unverified, or left out.
- When an official page contradicts itself, we say so rather than picking the convenient answer.
How Rundown scores work
A Rundown score is a published checklist, not a gut feeling. Each item scores 1 point if an official page confirms it and 0 if it doesn't or we couldn't confirm it. The total out of 10 is the score. Every review shows its own table with the source for each point. Commissions never change a score.
Newsletter platforms checklist
- Has a free plan
- Free plan covers at least 1,000 subscribers
- Unlimited email sends on the free plan
- Entry paid plan can sell paid subscriptions
- 0% platform cut on paid subscriptions
- Built-in ad network
- Email automations on the entry paid plan
- Entry paid plan ≤ US$40/mo at 1,000 subscribers (annual billing)
- Can remove platform branding on the entry paid plan
- Free trial of paid plans
USB and podcast microphones checklist
Ten spec-and-price points, listed in full with sources on the RØDE PodMic USB review. A checklist score says nothing about how a mic sounds.
Prices
We show the price and the retailer next to every “Check price” button, with the date we saw it. Prices change, so the retailer's page is always the final word. We don't hard-code prices from stores that forbid it.
Images
We only use product images we're licensed to use. Otherwise we use our own illustrations, labelled as illustrations, so you're never misled about what a product looks like.
How we make money
Some links are affiliate links. They're marked “paid link” right next to the link and tagged rel="sponsored". Links that don't pay us are marked “not a paid link”. When a free or non-paying option fits you better, we say so. Full details are on our disclosure page.
How pages are made
We use AI tools to help gather and draft research. Every number on a page is checked against the linked source before it's published, and the sources are there so you can check them too.
Updates and corrections
Every page shows the date it was last updated, and the date each source was checked. When a price or plan changes, we update the page and recalculate any score. If we get something wrong, we fix it and note the change on the page.
Last updated 31 Oct 2026.