How to Become a SHEIN Product Tester and Reviewer

The most obvious way to try out SHEIN products is to participate in their official testing program, which they call the Free Trial Program. You’ll get clothes sent to you for free in exchange for providing honest and concise reports about them.

How the SHEIN Free Trial Program works

On the SHEIN Free Trial platform, you can browse a selection of clothes and apply to review up to 3 items per week.

Unfortunately, applying doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be selected. SHEIN’s site states that its system chooses participants randomly (although there’s evidence that if you’re an active SHEIN customer and reviewer, you’re more likely to be picked—more on this below).

For obvious reasons, popular items with a higher number of applicants will be more difficult to get.

Note that if SHEIN does pick you to test their product, you won’t be paid in cash. Instead, you’ll get to keep the clothes you reviewed, and you’ll receive “points” that you can exchange for store credit. This is quite normal in the industry; for instance, you’ll often receive non-cash rewards if you work as an Amazon product tester.

The SHEIN testing process

If you’re lucky enough to be selected, SHEIN will send you the product you wanted. You’ll test it out, then submit a report to them, which will include:

• A star rating (out of five stars)
• A short review explaining what you thought of the item
• Photos of the item (a minimum of two, but SHEIN recommends at least four, including a full-body picture of you wearing it, detail shots, and at least one photo that shows “how you styled the item or what you like most about the item”)
• Your evaluation of the fit (whether it was true to size)
• Your own measurements, such as your height, weight, waist measurements, etc.

You’ll have 10 days to submit your report. It’s important to do this within the time limit; if you don’t, SHEIN may ban you from the Free Trial platform.

SHEIN says that they want reports that are “detailed, honest, and accurate,” so don’t give your item a positive review unless you genuinely like it.

Once you’ve submitted your review to SHEIN, they’ll evaluate it and determine whether or not it meets their standards. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to rewrite it. Once they’re satisfied, SHEIN will release your payment. 1

How much will you earn with the SHEIN Free Trial Program?

Again, SHEIN won’t compensate you with actual cash. Your “payment” will consist of the free item you’ll get, as well as a few “points” (store credit).

You’ll earn:

• 20 points for submitting your report
• An additional 100 points if your report is deemed to be a particularly helpful “Quality Review”

100 SHEIN points are equivalent to $1. You can use them to pay up to 70% of the price of any item in SHEIN’s store, not including shipping, taxes, or fees.

How to sign up as a SHEIN product tester

If you’re interested in taking part in SHEIN’s Free Trial Program, you’ll need to confirm that you meet their requirements:

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• It must be legal to participate in SHEIN’s program where you live (SHEIN doesn’t actually list any places where it’s illegal to do so, and if you’re anywhere in the US or Canada, you’re fine).

You’ll then need to follow these steps:

1. Create an account with SHEIN

All Free Trial participants must have an active SHEIN account, so you’ll need to set one up if you don’t already have one. Doing this is easy:

1. Go to SHEIN’s homepage and click the person-shaped icon in the top right corner
2. Enter your email address or phone number and click “Continue”
3. Enter a password and select your style preferences
4. Click “Register”

2. Go to the Free Trial platform

Once you’ve created your account, navigate to the Free Trial platform. To do this, sign in and click “Personal Center,” then click on “More Services.” Go to “Other services” and click on “Free Trial Center.”

3. Choose an item you’re interested in

On the Free Trial platform, you’ll see a list of products. Browse through these until you find something you’re interested in.

Each listing will display the time left to apply, the number of participants that’ll be accepted, and how many people have applied already.

Once you’ve picked an item, click “Free Trial.” You’ll need to select your size, fill in your shipping information, and then click “Submit.”

You may need to try this quite a few times before you get accepted; the number of tester slots for each item is limited. Anecdotal reports suggest that if you regularly buy products from SHEIN and leave reviews on the site, it might boost your odds of being selected for their Free Trial Program, although that hasn’t been officially confirmed.

SHEIN has also indicated that Free Trial participants who submit high-quality reviews are more likely to be picked again in the future. If you keep at this until you manage to land at least one testing gig, things may pick up from that point onward.

4. Get approved and receive your items

It normally takes around one week for SHEIN to pick testers for each item. If you’re approved, they’ll send you an email and a notification on their app.

You can check the status of your application by going to “My Free Trials.” If you’re accepted, it’ll display “Approved” next to the item, and SHEIN will automatically ship it to you for free.

5. Test the clothes and write your report

Once you receive your item, you’ll have 10 days to write and submit your report to SHEIN. You can do this by going to “My Free Trials” and clicking on the item.

Follow their instructions carefully so that they accept your review. In addition to making your actual evaluation as comprehensive and accurate as possible, do your best to take high-quality photos. Pay attention to the framing and lighting, and take them against a relatively neutral background.

As mentioned, reports that SHEIN defines as “high quality” will get you more points.

6. Submit your report and wait for approval

SHEIN will evaluate your report. If it’s suitable, you’ll see “Approved” displayed next to the item. If it isn’t, you’ll see “Failed,” along with a “Rewrite” button. You’ll have one more chance to rewrite and upload your review.

Once SHEIN accepts your report, you’ll receive your store credit in your account.

Because SHEIN’s Free Trial Program doesn’t pay out cash, it isn’t the best choice for people who are looking to earn actual money from their side hustle.

Unfortunately, there are no SHEIN product testing programs that pay money. SHEIN’s Free Trial is the only official program, and while you may find third-party sites that claim they’ll pay you to test SHEIN products, these are likely scams (or, at best, they’re making misleading claims about what they offer).

However, there are alternative ways to try out SHEIN products and make money in the process. One of the major ones is participating in the SHEIN Affiliate Program.

What is the SHEIN Affiliate Program and how does it work?

The SHEIN Affiliate Program is available to bloggers, content creators, and influencers with a decent online presence. In brief, you’ll promote SHEIN products to your audience, earning a sizable commission (up to 20% of the price) if someone uses your link to buy something. You’ll receive this even if they don’t buy right away; if someone clicks your link and makes a purchase within 30 days, you’ll still get paid.

You don’t actually have to test the products that you promote, but you can if you like. For instance, you could order SHEIN products and post regular reviews of them, inviting people to use your affiliate links to buy the items you recommend.

One caveat is that you won’t get free clothes with the Affiliate Program, so you’ll need to buy any items you want to promote. However, in addition to getting commissions from your affiliate links, you will also get other benefits by participating, such as:

• Monthly payouts: Affiliates get monthly cash bonuses and coupons for promoting specific deals or items.
• Welcome gift: All new affiliates receive a $5 reward for their first referral.

Who’s eligible for the SHEIN Affiliate program?

To take part in the SHEIN Affiliate Program, you need to:

• Start a blog, website, or social media channel (and ensure they’re active)
• Have access to a third-party affiliate marketing network

SHEIN’s site doesn’t list any other requirements, like a minimum number of followers you need, but they manually assess all applications and consider metrics like post engagement and how professional your site or channel looks.

The upshot is that if you already work as a content creator who’s established and successful, you can probably make money as a SHEIN affiliate. If you’re still building your audience, this might not be a practical option for you.

How to sign up for the SHEIN Affiliate Program

Now you’re clear on how the SHEIN Affiliate Program works, let’s look at how to get started:

1. Sign up to a third-party affiliate network: To reiterate, in addition to having an established blog or social media channel, you’ll also need to sign up for a third-party affiliate network to be one of SHEIN’s partners. Fortunately, many of these are free. Spend a few hours researching your options and pick one; CJ Affiliate is a popular choice, but there are many others.
2. Find SHEIN on your affiliate platform: Once your account is up and running, search for SHEIN on your chosen affiliate service. (If you picked CJ Affiliate, you can go to the “Partners” section, click “Find Advertisers,” then search for SHEIN and apply to their program.)
3. Wait for approval: SHEIN will manually assess your profile and decide whether or not to approve you. They don’t provide any information about how long you’ll have to wait, but it will probably be at least a few business days.

Assuming you’re approved, you can start ordering and testing SHEIN products and posting reviews (with affiliate links) right away.

If you’re a college student, you have access to another program that you can use to make money on the side: the SHEIN Campus Ambassador Program.

Like the Affiliate Program, this isn’t a dedicated product testing program, but it ventures into some of the same territory. Your responsibilities as a “campus ambassador” (also called a brand ambassador) will include:

• Promoting SHEIN on your campus via social media and creating online content about it.
• Organizing SHEIN-related events on campus.
• Relaying your peers’ feedback on products to SHEIN.
• Posting or otherwise distributing codes for customers to use to buy SHEIN products.

In exchange for promoting SHEIN, you’ll receive a commission of up to 3% when someone purchases something using your reference code. You’ll also get access to special giveaways, gift cards, and internship opportunities.

Who’s eligible for the SHEIN Campus Ambassador Program?

To be eligible, you must be:

• At least 18 years old
• Currently enrolled in a US university or college
• Authorized to work in the US

It’s also important to have an active social media platform where you can promote SHEIN’s products.

Be aware that there’s a lot of work involved in this side hustle. You’ll need to be motivated and proactive to earn much at all through the SHEIN Campus Ambassador Program, and it may be difficult if you’re studying full-time.

However, if you have an interest in fashion and are active on social media, it might still be worth a try, particularly if you’re studying marketing or something closely related.

How to sign up for the SHEIN Campus Ambassador Program

Assuming you’re eligible (i.e., you’re a college student in the US), applying to be a SHEIN brand ambassador is easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Create a SHEIN account if you don’t already have one
2. Visit the SHEIN Campus Ambassador page and click “Apply now”
3. Follow SHEIN’s instructions to complete your application, then wait for a response

SHEIN accepts applications between the 1st and 20th of each month.

If you’re set on testing products and getting paid for it directly—something that none of the options we’ve listed so far will do—then you can consider branching out and signing up for a focus group or third-party market research site.

There are lots of companies that offer paid product testing gigs. Unfortunately, none of them focus on SHEIN products, specifically, but you may be able to find one that offers similar types of products (i.e., clothing and accessories).

Refer to the table below for some of the biggest market research and product testing companies that will pay you.

Major Product Testing Websites

These are just a few of the many companies that offer product testing jobs, so if none of them appeal, don’t give up. There are a lot of other sites that might offer what you’re looking for—it just might take a little work to find them.

How to avoid product testing scams

Many people love the idea of testing products and making money from the comfort of their homes, and scammers know it. So be cautious when you’re looking for paid product testing jobs.

To avoid getting caught by scams, follow these tips:

• Always check the company’s website: Legitimate companies, such as SHEIN, advertise their product testing programs on their official websites. If you see an offer to test items from a well-known brand and it’s hosted on another site, proceed with caution.
• Never pay to be a product tester: No legitimate site will ask users to pay to test their products. Even if they claim they’ll pay you back, it’s almost certainly a scam.
• Avoid “too good to be true” offers: If a site offers something that’s clearly unrealistic, like $300 to test a $10 t-shirt, steer clear. Sites that promise very high rewards are most likely not legit.
• Don’t give out sensitive information: Be wary of handing over personal information. Obviously, to pay you, sites will require at least some information (such as your PayPal email), but you should never give out your credit card info or your Social Security number.
• Read user reviews: Before you sign up for a product testing service, check out user reviews on sites like Reddit or Trustpilot. If you see anything concerning, don’t move forward with the site; you’ll find plenty of other opportunities that will be less risky.