The prohibition on people offering tests and evaluations seems self-defeating.
Customers are attracted to sites because of content, so more is almost always better.
Bentley's evaluations are very high quality and very complete so they are unlikely to be eclipsed by others. And if they are, so what? More content & better content = more eyeballs.
It also does not seem likely that other people's evaluations are likely to affect the flow of free grills to the site. If the site is popular (eyeballs, remember?) the then manufacturer will recognize the value of providing a sample unit.
I am a SCORE small business mentor. If a client came to me with this idea I would do my best to talk him out of it because it is not in his own best interest.
Please don't take this as being arguementive, but the company I werk for has changed drastically over the last few years in the direction you are hinting at. Our sales have dropped 30% in the last 5 years because the big shots have been repeatedly sold a bill of goods claiming to capture the world market. It's a multi billion dollar company that has locations all over the world. You see, everyone wants to think they're the next Amazon, and no one can actually compete.
Due to this 'thought process' (we can be all things to all people), we've bitten off more than we can chew, and our former customer base can see/read/feel it loud and clear. There was once a time we could explain to a customer that good service, quality products, and attention to details came at a price. Put simply... You get what you pay for.
This is the recurring mentality everywhere you look today. Folks want all that quality at a rock bottom price. Truth is, it will never happen. If it does happen, it's short lived.
Sorry for being long winded, but Kristen summed quite nicely. I'm not a 'customer' on this site, and if it ever came to that recognition, I'd go elsewhere.
In this particular case, I trust Bentley to provide an unbiased critique of the item tested. And I don't believe that the testing rule applies to everything. I seriously doubt he'd be concerned about me offering up my views on newest version of a rub injector/vacuum sealer/sous vide machine, etc.
He can correct me if I'm wrong; but I think the whole idea is to prevent backtard (sp) cowboys from spamming the site for their own material gain.
Pelltfan.com is not an advertisers forum at this time and likely never will be.
In summation; this site exists for the pellet cooking enthusiast. All are welcome to join if they're serious. Does the site need to accept everyone? No. Steady growth is healthy. Pandering to the masses is a proven way to fail in most cases.