The Balance Product Review Editorial Guidelines & Mission

Our Team

We’re a team of experienced writers and editors who obsessively scour the retail landscape (both online and off) to find the best products for your life. Besides being experts in our fields, having worked for brands like Amazon, Ebay, and Time—we’re consumers too—and we personally have a passion for products and services that make your life easier.

Our Mission

It is our mission to help our users make the best purchase decisions—it’s that simple.

What We Do

We exhaustively research and recommend a broad range of products and ultimately make a curated list of recommendations from writers with subject-matter expertise in every product category we cover. We do receive an affiliate commission on some, but not all, of the products that we recommend if you decide to click through to the retailer site and make a purchase.

After we publish an article, we don’t just forget about it. Our team is relentless when it comes to updating and keeping our existing recommendations fresh, accurate, and helpful. We have our fingers on the pulse when it comes to the latest products and services, from wallets to calculators and more. Our recommended products run the gamut from budget to splurge-worthy, and we’re not loyal to any one specific retailer or brand. We make it a point to source recommendations from reliable companies who deliver exemplary customer service, so you can have a seamless shopping experience.

Please note that all products, including those we review and recommend, may from time to time be subject to recalls or revised use recommendations. We, therefore, urge you to monitor any official announcements by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for recalls that may be related to the products you purchase.

We also know how frustrating it can be to do your research on a product only to add it to your cart and see that it’s out of stock, so we try to mitigate this by having dedicated editors check availability daily to provide you with the best user experience possible.

As an online resource dedicated to personal finance, we are committed to ensuring that our content and team reflects the diversity of our audience. This means showcasing brands owned by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and other minority groups whenever possible, and hiring more diverse writers, staff members, and experts. You can read our full Diversity & Inclusion Pledge here.

Why You Should Trust Us

The product recommendations from The Balance are purely editorial. Our team never takes free samples for reviews nor lets retailers, public relations firms, or salespeople dictate our content and product coverage. Instead, we do the heavy lifting ourselves by tapping into our network of experts and testers to help you make smarter purchases—and to avoid that dreaded buyer’s remorse.

Meet Us

Tory Brangham

Tory Brangham is Chief Commerce Officer at Dotdash, having assumed the role in May 2017.

Tory initially joined Dotdash as General Manager of The Spruce, overseeing the development and launch of the site, now one of the largest home and food sites on the Internet.

She received her B.A. from Colgate University with a degree in International Relations.

Julia Warren

Julia joined Dotdash’s commerce team in May 2018 and is now the VP of Commerce. She brings with her more than a decade of experience working in the digital publishing industry. Prior to working at Dotdash, Julia was a freelance commerce writer and the editorial producer at TravelandLeisure.com, where she managed the site’s sponsorship initiatives. 

Julia’s work has appeared online for What to Expect, Food & Wine, Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, and This Old House.

Julia received her BS in food science from Cornell University and graduated from the culinary arts program at the International Culinary Center. 

Hana Maeda

Hana Maeda is an associate commerce editor for Liquor.com and The Balance. She has been with Dotdash since October 2018.

In her current role, Hana is constantly curating and writing about the best barware and office gear, including whiskey glasses and gel pens. She was previously a commerce production assistant at Dotdash.

She received a B.S. in Magazine Journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Mallory Leibowitz

Mallory is the Senior Revenue Product Manager for the commerce team. She joined the company in 2016. 

Antes de ingressar na Dotdash, ela trabalhou na revista The Atlantic, onde criou experiências digitais de conteúdo de marca para marcas como Jaguar, H&M, TIAA e National Geographic.

Mallory recebeu seu bacharelado em Marketing e especialização em Web Design pela Universidade da Flórida.

Entre em contato conosco

Se você tiver perguntas, comentários ou opiniões que gostaria de compartilhar com nossa equipe de editores, sinta-se à vontade para nos enviar um e-mail para commercefeedback@dotdash.com