Methodology

How we score products — and why you can trust it.

Every number on life.gg comes from verified long-term owners. Here is exactly how the score is calculated, what the badge means, and why no brand can buy either.

00 — What We Cover

Currently focused on budget-to-premium products

life.gg's current categories are everyday-to-premium gear — desk setups, kitchen and coffee equipment, appliances, furniture, baby gear, audio, and watches — the kind of purchases where "would you buy it again after 6+ months" is a real, honest question.

Ultra-luxury items (think five-figure watches or designer handbags) aren't part of the catalog yet. At that price tier, ownership verification gets a lot harder — counterfeits are common, and "would you buy it again" starts measuring status or resale value more than actual product quality. If we expand there, it'll come with a verification approach built for that reality, not a bolt-on to the current one.


01 — The Badge

What "life.gg Verified" actually means

When you see the life.gg Verified badge on a product, it means two things are true at the same time: the product's score has crossed a high threshold, and that score is backed by a meaningful number of long-term owners — not a handful of early reviews.

No team at life.gg selects or approves products manually. The badge is calculated automatically from the data. There is no application process, no sponsorship tier, and no way to pay for it.

life.gg Verified

Current threshold: ≥ 94% score · 500+ verified owners

Both conditions must be met simultaneously. A product with 98% from 12 people does not qualify. A product with 800 owners at 91% does not qualify. Both bar must be cleared.


02 — Verification Tiers

Not all votes are equal — and that's by design

Anyone can claim to own a product. Our tiered verification system rewards owners who prove it. The more verifiable your ownership, the more your vote counts toward the score.

Tier 1
Community

Public community consensus

Aggregated long-term owner data from verified public sources — Reddit threads, forums, and community posts. Available pre-launch to seed initial scores. No account required.

1.0×
Tier 2
Receipt Verified

Purchase receipt upload

Upload a photo or PDF of your receipt from any retailer — Amazon, a brand's own site, anywhere. Our system verifies the product name and purchase date automatically. Receipts that need a closer look are reviewed by our team and can be re-submitted if unclear.

1.5×
Tier 3
Photo Proof

Photo-in-situ verification

Upload a photo of the product in your actual setup — on your desk, in your kitchen, in your home. Our review process checks that the product is clearly visible in a real-world environment.

2.5×

03 — The Formula

How the score is calculated

The score is a weighted percentage. Each vote carries a weight based on the owner's verification tier. The final score is the sum of all "would buy again" weighted votes divided by the sum of all weighted votes.

# Weighted score formula
score = Σ(vote × tier_weight) / Σ(tier_weight) × 100

# Example: 3 votes, mixed tiers
Tier 1 yes → 1 × 1.0 = 1.0
Tier 2 yes → 1 × 1.5 = 1.5
Tier 3 no → 0 × 2.5 = 0.0
────────────────────────────
score = (1.0 + 1.5 + 0.0) / (1.0 + 1.5 + 2.5) = 50%

Scores update in real time as new verified votes come in. A product's score can go up or down over time — products that age poorly will show it.


04 — Score Thresholds

What each score range means

Score Rating Badge
94% + & 500+ owners Exceptional long-term ownership life.gg Verified
80 – 93% Strong — most owners satisfied
60 – 79% Mixed — worth reading the verdicts
Below 60% Poor long-term satisfaction

05 — Our Promises

What we will never do

Some product links on life.gg are affiliate links — if you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This revenue funds the site, but it never influences a product's score, badge, or ranking. Those are calculated the same way whether a product has an affiliate link or not.

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