About
Before the Cart is an independent publication about buying decisions. It is written by one person, funded by affiliate commissions, and owned by nobody it writes about.
Why one person
Most review sites at this size are either a content farm with a byline attached or a genuine person with too little time. This one is the second, and it makes a promise the first cannot: every page here was written by somebody who read the sales page, checked the claim and formed an opinion. Nothing is generated in bulk and nothing is published to fill a schedule.
The practical cost is speed. Reviews come out slowly, and there are entire categories this site will never cover. That is the trade being made on purpose.
Who this is for
People at the last step before buying. You have already found the product, you have already read what the seller says about it, and now you want somebody to tell you plainly whether it is worth it and what the catch is.
If you are still exploring a category and do not know what you want yet, there are better places to start than here. This site is deliberately narrow.
How it is funded
Affiliate commissions. When you buy through a link on this site, the seller pays a share of that sale, and you pay exactly what you would have paid without us. There is no subscription, no paywall and no sponsored content.
That model rewards recommending things, which is a conflict worth stating out loud rather than burying. Three rules hold the line against it:
- Commission never affects ranking or score. Where two products both work, both get said so, including when one pays more than the other.
- Reviews that say no are published. A site that has never told you to keep your money is not reviewing anything.
- Whole categories are excluded. Anything claiming to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent a condition is off limits here regardless of what it pays.
Corrections
When something here is wrong, the page gets a dated correction note at the top saying what was wrong and what changed. Pages are not quietly edited and reviews are not deleted when a company complains.
If you have found an error, or you make a product written about here and think a review is unfair, write to hello@beforethecart.com with the specifics. Corrections that hold up get published.
Independence
Before the Cart is not owned by, operated by, or affiliated with any brand, retailer or manufacturer it covers. Product names and trademarks mentioned on this site belong to their owners and are used only to identify what is being discussed.