I think the point Nick was making, was whether or not getting figures early and free of charge, creates a moral hazard that the review may not be quite as rigorous, as when the collector has had to pay for the figure.. However I think most collectors would pick up on reviewers who are overly positive, about every figure they review.. I have seen a few of these, but they tend to be on YouTube channels belonging to peeps selling collectibles as a business (which is to be expected).
I tend to use a variety of reviews, to get a balanced picture.
