It really depends on which pool of contributors you are looking to get review from.

If you're looking for a "professional" reviewer from CNET, PC Magazine, etc. type background they will want $250 for a review of 1,000 words (like .25 a word). These folks are doing this for a living and it's just a job in general.

If you're looking for folks in the blog space (think Engadget, Gizmodo) you would be looking at $35 to $100. These folks are doing it for passion and to make a modest living.

If you're looking for someone from the eHow, Associated Content, etc. background you could offer a revenue split on the back end, or $5 to $20 up front.

You'll get the most reliable content from the Engadget/PC magazine type people.... but the consumer level folks will surprise you from time to time.

If you're talking tech products, I'm seeing rates going for around $30-$40 on places like getafreelancer.com and MCpressonline.com . But no mention is made of whether the reviewer is paying any shipping costs or whether the reviewer is keeping the product. MC Online pays extra for screen shots and graphics, too. I'm seeing rates go up from there: one freelancer has a $50 minimum, plus product.

Freelance reviewing seems to be a little different than straight freelance writing in rates. When you look at freelance writing offers, often the company needing the writing will say that rewrites are fine. That's probably the reason they pay a little less. When you write a review, you know it's going to be looked at repeatedly as people look at buying the product, so it's important it be completely original, and that the reviewer be able to stand behind it. Just a guess, but that's why I think product reviewers can command more money.

Hope this helps. I could be more exact if you filled out the terms a little.

You need to consider how much effort is required to carry out the review, and the skills of the people involved. You want the reviewers to benchmark and test an item, and spend time with the item in order before writing a comprehensive review.

To me that sounds like more than $15-$20 worth of effort.

So how much time is needed to, say, review a laptop?

Benchmarking: Variable depending on the item. Let's say two hours - one hour to benchmark using a standard benchmark suite, and one hour to record and write up the results. (It's probably more - how long do benchmarks run for, and how much handholding do they require while they run? Will the reviewer need to get 'hands on' to fix problems running the benchmark tool?)

Testing: Again variable, but maybe four hours is a nice average.

Writing the review: One hour? Two? Let's assume 'quality' and go for two hours.

Recording the video: It might be a 5 minute review, but it might take an hour to record it.

That's about nine hours per item. Minimum wage in the US seems to be an average of about $7 per hour, so something in the region of $63 per review if you stick with minimum wage.

Or $100 if you want to (a) attract reviewers, (b) reward the effort, and (c) retain reviewers who have done a good job.

$15 to $20 per review, as that seems to be good if it's one page, or the going rate. Mahalo pays its editors $15 for Mahalo Greenhouse reviews, at least that's what I last heard. If it involves a lot of extra research then you might want to pay reviewers more for their reviews.

depending on the quality of the review and how descriptive it is, and what ever your budget. i say about 150 being the highest and 0 if you want dollars. so if you pay them by quality if they do a terrible job and just want the money you give them your chosen amount. you can also make it higher amount if you want. the 150 is just a guess.