If you’ve been visiting this site for a while, you know how much we like free samples. There are quite a few companies which will give you samples of their products just for asking about them.

But did you know that there are other businesses which will send you full size products to use? And I’m not just talking about toothpaste and shampoo. These companies will send you free electronics, beauty products and home goods to test– and to keep.

Now, if you’re anything like me, I like to tell my friends about all the new products I try. Bought a cereal I hated? My friends will know. Invested in a new phone? You better believe my friends will know. So when I heard about these product testing companies, I was hooked. I could get free stuff just for reviewing products!

So I began looking into a few ways to participate in product testing, and I learned that some are better than others. If you’re interested in trying product testing for yourself, take a look at this list. These are the best ways to start testing products for free.

Ipsos

You’ve probably heard of Ipsos. In fact, we’ve covered them before on this site. Ipsos is most well known for its paid surveys; you can earn money from home just by filling out surveys. But what you may not have known is that Ipsos also offers product testing opportunities to people who qualify.

It costs companies a lot of money to release a new product. They don’t want to waste money on a failed product launch, so they hire Ipsos to do a little bit of research for them. These companies pay Ipsos to develop surveys and to find people to test their products. That’s where you come in. When you sign up with Ipsos, you can qualify to do product testing on what are new and sometimes not yet released items.

BzzAgent

BzzAgent works a little bit differently than the two product testing companies I’ve mentioned so far. The first thing you’ll do is log in with a social media account. Once you create your password and fil out basic info, you’ll be taken to your dashboard.

On your dashboard, you’re going to see what BzzAgent calls a BzzScore. When you first sign up for BzzAgent, your BzzScore might be pretty low. That’s okay, because as you participate more and more, that score will rise. Your BzzScore will depend on your participation in product testing campaigns. You’ll have the opportunity to post pictures to social media, share information about the products you’re testing and to write reviews of the products.

The products you’re sent are based on your lifestyle, just like Ipsos and PinchMe. As your BzzScore rises, you’ll have the opportunity to receive even more products for testing. But BzzAgent doesn’t guarantee any number of products to you. You may get one per year or you may get one per week. That’s up to you, your lifestyle and your participation.

Amazon Vine

Amazon Vine is in the product testing big leagues. It’s very selective, and it’s not as easy as filling out an application. Instead, Amazon Vine product testers are selected based on reviews they’ve written on the site. When those reviews are marked as “helpful” by other Amazon customers, the chances of selection as a Vine tester increases.

It’s difficult to become a Amazon Vine reviewer, but dang is it worth it. You’re not going to just be testing dog food. Instead, you’ll be testing electronics, baby care items and more. The products are very cool, and usually very expensive.

My advice to you if you want to be an Amazon Vine product tester is to start writing reviews now. Like, today. Go find some products that you’ve already bought through the site, and write a helpful and descriptive review for each. Hint: “This humidifier works good” won’t cut it. Your reviews are going to need substance.

There are many other sites which offer product testing opportunities. We’ll cover those more in depth later, but you can check out Influenster and Crowdtap if you’re curious. In the meantime, take a look at the sites I mentioned above, and let us know what you think!