How we test and score supplements
Who we are
Trialwise is a small independent review publication operated by Trialwise Media, LLC out of Richmond, Virginia. We have reviewed dietary supplements since 2021, one product at a time, with a simple editorial promise: we buy what we test with our own money, we publish the minuses next to the pluses, and no manufacturer sees a review before you do. Our reviews are written by our staff reviewer, Owen Pierce, who holds an MS in Health Sciences and has spent years researching consumer wellness products, with research support from the small Trialwise editorial team.
How a review comes together
Every review starts with a real order placed at the product's official store, the same way you would buy it. We use the product at its label dose for a minimum of eight weeks, tracking a handful of simple measures appropriate to the category: for a cognitive-wellness product, that means a daily mental-fog log, word-recall notes during work calls, and subjective focus and mood observations. Alongside the hands-on period we research each labeled ingredient against public sources such as the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, NCCIH, MedlinePlus and PubMed, and we test the practical parts of buying: shipping speed, support responsiveness and, where feasible, the refund process itself.
One honest boundary: we are reviewers, not a laboratory. We do not run chemical assays on samples, and our testing is structured personal use, not a clinical trial. Where our experience and the published research diverge, we say so in the review.
The seven criteria and their weights
Editorial scores are a weighted average of seven criteria, rated 1 to 5 in half-point steps:
| Criterion | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness | 30% | Did anything change during structured use, at the pace the category can honestly deliver? |
| Value for money | 15% | Cost per day against comparable formulas and pack options |
| Tolerability | 15% | Side effects in our test and in reader reports |
| Ease of use | 10% | Dosing schedule, format, and how hard the routine is to keep |
| Onset speed | 10% | Time to first honest signal versus the category norm |
| Label transparency | 10% | Published doses, blend disclosure, manufacturing claims we can check |
| Customer support | 10% | Shipping, responsiveness, and whether the guarantee holds up in practice |
Where the reader numbers come from
Next to the editorial score we publish an aggregated community rating. It combines reviews submitted through the form on the review page, which are moderated for authenticity before counting, with our ongoing monitoring of publicly visible buyer feedback for the product across platforms. Community statistics (star distribution, themes, demographics, time-to-results) describe that aggregated pool. The two numbers are kept separate on purpose: our editorial score reflects our test and research; the community rating reflects what buyers report, and the two do not always agree.
Independence and how we earn
Trialwise accepts no sponsorships, no free samples and no paid placements. The site earns through affiliate links: when a reader clicks through to a product's official store and buys, the seller pays us a commission at no added cost to the reader. Commissions are identical whether a review scores 2.1 or 4.8, which removes the incentive to inflate anything. Scores are locked before affiliate links are inserted, and negative findings have never been softened for revenue reasons; the critical reviews we quote stay on the page. The full mechanics are in our advertising disclosure.
Corrections and updates
Pricing, guarantees and formulas change. We re-verify the commercial facts of each review on a rolling basis and stamp every page with its last update date. If you spot something outdated or plain wrong, email editor@vapoceptreviews.com and we will check it against the source and correct the page, with the change noted where it matters.