The Spark Reviewer program was an invitation only reviewer program that Walmart ran. It was like the Vine program by Amazon, with a few operational differences. The premise was the same, they offered a selection of product to review on the Walmart site and you were required to have the reviews done in a certain amount of time after receiving the product.
But it (for whatever reason) ended last March (2016). All of us who were in the program received a letter on March 25th which read like this:
Dear Spark Reviewer,
We thank you for your participation and partnership on the Walmart.com Spark Reviewer Program. We appreciate the time you’ve taken to test and review the Spark Reviewer samples and for the feedback you’ve provided. We truly appreciate the time and effort you have put into making this program a success. However, we regret to inform you that we will be ending this program. Thank you again for your participation in the Walmart.com Spark Reviewer Program.
Thank you,
Walmart’s Spark Reviewer Team
They even sent a second follow up letter in April to clarify that the entire program was ending, and it wasn’t that they were kicking out individual members from the group.
I don’t know the reasoning for cancelling the program. If I had to speculate I’d presume it wasn’t profitable for them. The quality of the reviews they received were probably pretty decent overall, they required (usually) a 200 word minimum review and highly encouraged photos, videos and sharing on other social networks.
It was fun while it lasted, easy come easy go.
UPDATE 3/8/17 – The Spark program is back on!
Want to learn more about reviewing? Check out my blog archives!
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I’m so glad it’s back!! I missed the program dearly for the last year. I’m in the Home Depot Seeds program but Walmart Spark Reviewer remains my first love in the reviewing field. It’s been ten days since the return announcement email and I haven’t heard from them since. I am ready when they are.
As far as the program being non-profitable, it wasn’t meant to be for profit IMO. It was an investment to get good reviews in return that would lead to boost in sales.
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The location on Forest Ln and Abrams is the worst manage and handle store I have ever seen you have 4 registers open on a Saturday and one yes one person working the customer service desk the worst you will never get a dime from me again I don’t care what sales you have going on I will pay extra to not have my time wasted
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It appears that the program came and went. I did receive two products, put together reviews for each one yet am unable to post them as the status for each one is Not Shipped. Yet I have received them. It’s a tabletop drying rack and a Keurig coffee brewer.
I have emailed the program NUMEROUS TIMES asking to change the status yet received no response. Today I decided to be proactive and posted about this on the Facebook Walmart page & my wall, Yelp, Twitter and now here I am. I also initiated an instant chat on the Walmart website and the rep told me that the program is closed. Why oh why do I have to learn about the program closure from a third party? Hmmm… so many why’s and so few answers if any.
And the good part is, I get to keep my Keurig. The first Keurig in my life. Yay.
Still would love to post a review but will not do so outside the program, if only on the principle.
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I have not received my items yet… I requested two sets of shoes. I did get an email to say they had shipped, but if memory serves, their shipping took a long time the last go around.
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Just thought I would tell you their customer support people probably don’t even know what the Spark Reviewer program is. I must say, just because someone says you are going to get something for free, really shouldn’t give them the right to treat you like crap. Unfortunately, the Walmart Spark Reviewer program is very poorly ran, to say the least. It came back, yes, but it is more unfair now than before. It seems they sent some a product (armor car cleaning product) but not everyone. I did not receive it. The next thing you know, they sent a notif to choose a product but did not send a pre-notice a few days ahead of time like they should. I ended up with a baby crib mattress, there was nothing else to choose by the time I got on the page. I also have plainly NOT chosen toys and such in my profile……however, the profile seems to not be used in regards to categories of what the reviewer prefers. I did receive the mattress and submitted my review. In fact, I even did a video review and realized afterward that it would not post. I guess they are no longer wanting us to do video reviews but stressed it last time. I did not get any kind of notification to choose products in June. I remember they said they would be doing it different and sending in WAVES. What the heck does WAVES mean, anyway? Their replies to any questions are very short and often do not make sense. They are very rude. They act like everything is some sort of huge secret mission. HA! I don’t know if they are closed again or not but they don’t seem to know what their left hand is doing when their right hand is trying. It’s a very poorly thrown together program. So, I don’t care any more. If I get a notif to choose something, I will. If I don’t, then I don’t. I am no longer excited about their so called spark reviewer program. It was more worrisome than it was worth.
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I love doing the reviews I have gotten thousands of dollars in merchandise and yes some times but ralrley stuff doesn’t show up like my lawn mower come to find out the shipper had wrong address as soon as that was fixed my mower came
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I have to say I love the program very much. I am sleeping on a wonderful bed they provided. I walk on nice rug each day. in both my rooms. My coffee maker is divine as well. I am not allowing a phone call or lack of anything get me down. It’s a blessing to get great items like this to sample. I have not received 6 items so far. I could not care. They were not paid for I did not lose anything. I don’t mind the little hick ups here and there. I love quality items and sharing my honest views for shoppers like me to save or spend. Thanks walmart for picking me.
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How does one become a part of this program? Is there a specific number of reviews you need to write? I write very thorough reviews, so I’m wondering if it’s a quantity thing or if it’s how many likes your review got?
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It is an invite only program, but you can write walmart to ask to be included… can’t hurt.
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My friend asked the same thing. I said review anything you purchase from walmart. Honest no matter if it’s good or bad. Not only will it help them it helps other shoppers. she was picked soon after. The only thing I will say is not everyone gets the same thing. The blessing is you won’t evr regret it. I just reviewed my awesome coffee maker. I am reviewing about three items this month. There is nothing better than free. I review everything under the sun no matter where it comes from. I get packages left and right.
try this and then find anywhere on the net to leave a review. verydice on your cell phone. 2095629. There is nothing better if you give it a month. take time to use the search feature for your desired items. save them with that heart in the top right corner. Roll your dice every few days. work to get the jackpot. shop then leave a review on pinterest. join any facebook groups and review anything you get. companies will reach out to you after while.
the best thing is I no longer shop amazon.com. You will find just about everything there on this game. Trust me on this those points add up. join crowdtap.com the site is under construction but work your best to get samples. Put in good reviews and nice images. You will love them for that alone. Not to mention the cards. get on any platform and leave a review where they let you.
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I was just asked to become a member of Spark which I gladly accepted. But now I am just waiting for that e-mail that tells me there are products to be reviewed.I cant even find the Spark web page where I can look for current products?
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https://sparkreviewer.walmart.com/ sign in and look on the dashboard
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