Every product on WhyDidIBuyThis goes through a 25-point rubric before it's allowed anywhere near your screen. Most products fail. This post explains the test — and, because you deserve the whole picture, exactly how we make money when you buy something.
The 25-point test
Five things, five points each. A product needs 16 or more to get published. Here's what we score:
- Uniqueness — would you stop scrolling for it? A steel water bottle scores 1. A water bottle that reminds you to drink by glowing sulkily scores 5.
- Giftability — can you hand this over at a family function without a three-paragraph explanation? Gifts should delight on arrival, not after a demo.
- Image quality — if the merchant's photos look like they were taken through a fish tank, we pass. You can't love what you can't see.
- Delivery reliability — a great gift that arrives after the festival is a bad gift. We favour merchants who ship fast and pack properly.
- Commission — yes, it's on the list, and it's worth the same 5 points as everything else. It can push a great product up. It cannot rescue a mediocre one.
What gets in vs what gets binned
What gets in
- Products we'd genuinely gift to our own family
- Weird-but-wonderful finds with honest reviews
- Merchants with reliable festival-week delivery
- Clear photos, clear pricing, clear returns
What gets rejected
- Anything scoring under 16 on the rubric — no exceptions
- High-commission products we wouldn't personally buy
- Listings with shady reviews or fantasy delivery dates
- Dropship mystery boxes with a 40-day 'shipping window'
Okay, so how do you make money?
Affiliate commissions. When you tap a Buy button here, you go to Flipkart, Amazon or Myntra through a tracked link (via networks like Cuelinks and EarnKaro), and if you buy, the merchant pays us a small percentage. You pay exactly what you'd pay anyway — the commission comes out of the merchant's marketing budget, not your pocket.
The honest bit: this model has a built-in temptation to push whatever pays best. Our defence is the rubric — commission is 5 points out of 25, and the 16-point publish bar means a product can score full marks on commission and still get rejected if it's not genuinely good. Sponsored placements exist too, but they're always labeled 'Sponsored' and never appear in our organic Most-Loved rails.
Commission decides nothing on its own. Taste gets veto power, always.
Good questions
Do brands pay you to be featured?＋
Some pay for clearly-labeled Sponsored slots — and even those must pass the same 25-point rubric first. Nobody can pay their way into our organic picks or Most-Loved rails. See our advertise page for the full policy.
Are the prices on the site live?＋
No — prices are indicative, each shown with the date we last checked it. The final price is always the one on the merchant's site, which is where you actually pay.