Code evidence
Record the code exactly, source, date, market, eligible product or plan, minimum spend, account requirement, stacking rule, exclusions, and checkout result where accessible.
Editorial Policy
The evidence, review, disclosure, correction, and accountability standards used across CandidCodes coupon research, store reviews, buyer guides, product comparisons, and software pricing coverage.
The short version: CandidCodes separates the product, the offer, and the seller. Conclusions are based on traceable evidence, current terms, transparent limitations, and a defined correction process. Affiliate access may support the work, but it does not determine coverage, placement, scoring, or conclusions.
Purpose and scope
This policy explains how CandidCodes researches, writes, reviews, updates, and corrects editorial content. It applies to coupon and deal pages, store reviews, buyer guides, product comparisons, software and SaaS pricing coverage, policy explainers, and trust-focused shopping guidance.
The objective is not to publish the largest number of offers or to make every merchant look attractive. The objective is to help a reader identify what is known, what is claimed by the merchant, what was directly observed, what remains uncertain, and which terms can materially change the decision.
Editorial responsibility and accountability
CandidCodes is operated by Nguyen Van Dinh, Founder, CEO & Editorial Lead. He is responsible for the research framework, source selection, material limitations, affiliate disclosures, corrections, and final published standards.
Founder, CEO & Editorial Lead
Nguyen Van Dinh
Nguyen coordinates research across coupons, store policies, product and software pricing, buyer guides, and commercial disclosures. Founder-led accountability means a reader, brand, or network has a named route for challenging a factual statement, while the final editorial judgment remains with CandidCodes.
Evidence hierarchy
Different questions require different evidence. CandidCodes gives greater weight to current, direct, and specific evidence than to an undated summary or a repeated marketing claim.
Direct observation
A representative cart, visible checkout result, product interface, current policy page, or completed interaction can support only what was actually observed, at the time and market recorded.
Primary documentation
Official terms, product pages, help documentation, plan tables, return policies, warranty pages, and merchant communications can support factual claims when their scope and date are clear.
Independent context
Regulator guidance, technical standards, reputable reporting, and comparable products or plans may provide context, but should not be used to invent a merchant-specific fact.
Secondary or user reports
Reviews, forums, and reader reports may reveal patterns or questions worth investigating. They are not treated as proof of a universal experience without supporting evidence.
Research and publication workflow
- Define the decision: identify the reader question, market, product or plan, seller, and time-sensitive terms.
- Collect primary sources: record official pages, policy language, eligible products, price references, and relevant timestamps.
- Separate claim types: distinguish merchant claims, direct observations, calculations, third-party reports, and editorial judgments.
- Test what can be tested: use a representative cart or accessible workflow when appropriate, without claiming a purchase or hands-on test that did not occur.
- Calculate transparently: state the reference price, discounted price, quantity, region, currency, exclusions, and assumptions needed to reproduce a saving.
- State limitations: explain inaccessible checkout steps, account requirements, regional restrictions, missing evidence, or conditions that could change the outcome.
- Review before publication: check the destination link, disclosures, names, dates, numerical claims, and whether the conclusion follows from the evidence.
- Monitor and correct: revisit material changes and keep a route open for documented corrections.
Coupon, deal, and price standards
CandidCodes does not label a code “verified” merely because it appears in an affiliate feed, email, or another coupon site. Verification describes the evidence available at the time and must not imply broader eligibility than was observed.
Automatic deals
Identify whether the saving appears without a code, requires a landing page, applies only after adding quantity, or depends on a new-customer or account-specific condition.
Sale-price claims
Compare against a meaningful current reference price and avoid treating a crossed-out figure as proof of historical value without support.
Failure reporting
A failed code should be investigated for market, cart, timing, account, product, and stacking conditions before being described as universally expired.
See How We Verify Coupon Codes Before Publishing and How Shoppers Can Compare Deals Without Falling for Fake Discounts.
Store reviews and buyer guides
A store review considers the seller, offer, policies, and buyer route. It is not a guarantee that every order will be problem-free. Buyer guides and comparisons should explain who an option suits, who should avoid it, which limitations matter, and when an alternative or delayed purchase makes more sense.
Seller identity
Check the domain, company and contact information that is publicly available, policy ownership, support routes, and whether important claims are internally consistent.
Offer clarity
Check product or plan identity, price, coupon conditions, checkout behavior where accessible, recurring charges, bundles, and restrictions.
After-sale exposure
Review shipping, returns, refunds, warranty coverage, cancellation, renewal, and support terms that can change the real cost after checkout.
Decision quality
Explain strengths, trade-offs, alternatives, and uncertainty. A large headline discount does not override unclear return terms or weak support evidence.
The complete framework appears in Our Store Review Methodology.
Software and SaaS coverage
Software coverage distinguishes product capability from pricing eligibility. Plan names, billing cycles, seat minimums, usage limits, trial rules, taxes, renewal pricing, add-ons, cancellation, data export, and support access may determine the real value.
CandidCodes may rely on official documentation, plan pages, release notes, support material, and accessible product use. If a feature, integration, performance claim, or enterprise term was not directly tested or is not publicly documented, the limitation should be stated rather than filled with an assumption.
Commercial relationships and independence
CandidCodes may earn compensation from eligible affiliate actions. Brands and networks may also provide current terms, data, or correction evidence. Neither access nor compensation grants editorial control.
Partner communication
Program terms, eligible markets, approved landing pages, offer conditions, and policy updates may improve factual accuracy. They do not grant a guaranteed conclusion or placement.
Sponsored arrangements
A fixed payment, supplied product, free access, or other material benefit should be disclosed when it could affect how a reader interprets the coverage.
Editorial control
CandidCodes decides the scope, evidence threshold, wording, limitations, alternatives, score if any, and final conclusion.
Commercial details appear in the Disclosure Policy.
Updates, corrections, and material changes
A correction request is assessed against current evidence. A factual error should be corrected clearly. A material change in price, coupon eligibility, product availability, software plan, or merchant policy may require an update even when the earlier statement was accurate at publication.
- Minor clarification: fix wording, formatting, or a non-material link without changing the conclusion.
- Factual correction: change an inaccurate name, term, calculation, policy statement, or evidence description.
- Material update: reassess the recommendation when an offer, product, seller, or policy changed enough to affect the buying decision.
- Removal: remove or archive content when it cannot be supported, is dangerously misleading, or no longer has a useful current subject.
Limits and reader responsibilities
Research is time- and market-specific. CandidCodes may not have access to every country, account state, device, membership tier, checkout step, or support interaction. A guide should identify those limits rather than imply universal testing.
Frequently asked questions
Does CandidCodes buy every product it covers?
No. Coverage can be research-led, documentation-led, checkout-observed, or based on direct use. The article should state the type of evidence and avoid claiming hands-on testing that did not occur.
Can a merchant preview an article?
A merchant may be asked to confirm a narrow factual point or provide current documentation. It does not receive authority to approve the conclusion or remove supported criticism.
How are errors reported?
Send the page URL, disputed statement, current evidence, and a short explanation. CandidCodes reviews the evidence and decides whether a correction, clarification, update, or no change is supported.
Does affiliate revenue affect ranking?
Commercial availability may affect whether a link can support the publisher, but it does not by itself establish product quality, store trust, deal value, or editorial rank.
Challenge a factual claim with evidence
Send the page URL, the exact statement in question, the current primary source or checkout evidence, and why it changes the published fact or conclusion. CandidCodes reviews supported corrections without giving outside parties editorial control.
contact@candidcodes.com