Press Kit
“you can develop a relationship online; your customer can feel like she knows you, that you’re a trusted friend.”
This site is part of my ToolBoxHero Organization.
ToolBoxHero consists of TodaysMower.com, MovingSnow.com, MowingSnow.com (Canadian Snowblower Reviews), Chippewa Athletics.com, and ToolBoxHero.com Each site has a specific purpose, yet each site is part of my goal to help you find the right product for your home and how to use that product. I’m here to have fun and help you in the process!
Hi, I’m Paul Sikkema
The purpose of this website is to offer a great selection snow throwers, snow blowers, snow plows and snow thrower parts. The information and products offered here are for equal use by everyone.
Yes, my articles are called reviews but my goal is not to tell you which snowblower is the best, but which snow thrower is the best for you. Yes, I have my own opinions, but it is not my intent to sell you MY choice. It is my intent to show you the features and help you select the best machine for you.
My hope is that you come to trust this website and use the information and products offered here to enrich and enjoy your life to it’s fullest. To help you develop that trust feel free to visit the partner sites Todaysmower.com and ToolBoxHero.com. Todaysmower.com is one of the highest rated sites on the net for finding the best lawn tractor. Go there and please read the many comments from the users.
All opinions here are my own. Whenever possible I have personally used and inspected the machines I am reviewing. I do not use manufacture’s advertisements or press releases to write about the snowblowers discussed on this website. I am not affiliated with nor do I receive any funds from any manufactures, distributors, or suppliers.
You are welcome to reproduce and distribute any articles you may find on this website. All I ask is you reference www.movingsnow.com as the originator and any embedded links remain intact.
If you have any comments, ideas, articles, or questions you may contact me at [email protected] If you want to find more about the owner of this site please go to toolboxhero.com and read the about page there.
Thanks, I hope you enjoy your experience on this site.
Paul
My Ratings Or Why I Say What I Say About Today’s Snow Throwers
My reviews are just that, an opinion. My real goal here is not to tell you what I think is the best snow blower…..my goal is to help you select the best snowblower for you!
I’ve spent years owning, using, and repairing snowblowers, snow throwers, snowthrowers and snow blowers. I have used them for personal use, for my lawn care company, and worked on other owner’s machines. I have owned snowblowers from the Toro Power Shovel to the Jacobson Turf-Cat Hydralic Drive. My father & I even toyed around with putting a snowblower on a New Idea Uni-Harvester. I know what worked and what didn’t for me.
I’ve also spent years listening to my mechanics and store owners brag, complain, and suggest which is the best and the worst snow throwers.
So, I base my reviews on the two best walk-behind snow throwers of all time. I use those two snowblowers as my reference point to determine the quality, capacity, and reliability of todays snow throwers.
How I Base My Opinions:
Single-Stage Reference Snow Thrower:
When I write about single stage snow throwers I use the Toro Power Curve from the mid-90′s as my reference point. For a single stage unit this snowthrower was the best.
- Toro Power Curve
It could move more snow than a lot of the two-stage units and clean packed snow right down to your cement or blacktop. It had lots of power for the weight. I base the pros and cons of my reviews in relation to this machine.
Two-Stage Reference Snow Thrower:
There has been one snowblower made over 50 years ago that is so rugged many of them are still running. These snowthrowers were not as safe and reliable as todays machines, but they definately could move a lot of snow. I use the Gravely Model L with snow thrower and it’s grandson the 16 hp Gravely Convertible as my primary reference for judging two-stage snow blowers.
The Gravely Model L was an awkward machine to use. It started hard, lacked good traction, but was just about bullet-proof for dependibility and ruggedness. It could move a ton of snow, it could throw the snow the length of a football field and never miss a beat.
- Courtesy mytractorforum.com
I use the Berco products as the reference point for tractor mounted units and the BOSS snow plows for truck mounted equipment. I owned and used both of these brands commercially and they held up to the most severe use and abuse.
Disclosure Policy for Product Reviews
As of December 1, 2009. the Federal Trade Commission is requiring that I disclose any relationship I have between a product manufacturer or service provider when I write about a product or service.
Here are the guidelines I operate under at Todaysmower.com, Toolboxhero.com and Movingsnow.com:
I am never paid to do a review. I never accept money to review a product or service. I invest my own time to review products. I pay out of my own pocket the cost to produce and post these reviews on my sites.
I don’t pay for products I test. If I do test a product I will be upfront with you and explain how and where I got the product to test. I do pay for products I review for long term use.
Manufactures Please Note: I will help my readers decide if your product is the best for their situation. I know you have spent considerable time engineering and producing a product. I know you feel you have a great product. But…I know your product is not a perfect fit for all my readers and no amount of advertising hype will change that. You are welcome to send me a product to review, particularly if that product is only available on the Internet and not readily available in retail stores. I will take my time and give you an accurate, honest review.
I don’t return the products after I test them. Once I have done adequate testing I will donate them to a select few local charities. Specifically tools are donated to charities that use the tools, not charities that resell items to make money. The company supplying the product is welcome to come and get it when I am done and it is their responsibility to come and get the product.
I will write reviews on products I have seen (and used), not products I have read about. Whenever possible I will demo a product I review or at least give it a good “look over” at the dealer. I have enough experience with this type of equipment that I can accurately give you my opinion based on the physical “look over.”
If I create a link to a product in a review, I sometimes get paid a commission if you purchase the product or service. In general I get commission from direct sales from companies like Sears.com, NorthernTool.com, Lowes.com, etc. and Samsclub.com. In other cases I don’t get any compensations ……. the owners of the companies I know and have a long standing relationship with. For example, I’ve known Gary at Acrease Mowers for years and have spent hours and hours discussing his product. In another example, Eric of Peterson Computer Consulting (hire him) is my son-in-law. If you ever have a question about this, ask me..
I will only send you to companies I trust and have done business with. I get dozens of requests every week from companies that want to sell their products on my sites, but as you will see there are very few that I trust well enough to recommend.
These are good rules and practices in today’s world. I want you to be sure that you can trust me. That my opinions are my own. And they are based on my experience ……… not how much I am paid. It’s important for you as a consumer to understand the relationship between a person reviewing the product and the manufacturer or service provider. If you don’t see a disclosure policy as part of a review of a product, that reviewer may be violating the law or at the very least the Code of Ethics.
Guest Posts
I want to tell the world about my favorite snow blower!
I get many emails from people and companies who want to know if I accept guest posts on MovingSnow, and if that is the case, what are the guidelines. I figured that it would be easier to write the guidelines out and just refer every one here. So the answer to the first question is: Yes, I do accept guest posts. Currently I will publish one guest post per week, usually on Wednesdays.
Below you will find all the details about the process.
What kind of content do I accept?
Anything that is useful for our readers is good content for a guest post here. It can be related to snow removal of any kind, snowblowers, or maintenance and repair of snow equipment. Product Reviews, Dealer Reviews, tune-ups, repair are just a few topics I suggest. The best post is derived from your own personal experiences. Please write like you are talking to your best friend. There is no minimum length for your post, but usually the guest posts have over 500 words. (Trust me 500 words is not that much)
I reserve the right to change the grammar and punctuation so if you don’t feel you are a very good writer, write anyway….. I’ll help.
Guidelines
Your post must be original and must have never been published before on the Internet
You agree to not publish the post anywhere else (i.e., in your own blog or as a guest post in other blogs)
You can include up to two links in the byline, which will be displayed at the bottom of the post
You can’t use SEOd anchor text for your links
If you are writing a review please include the following:
The year you bought it or when you tested it.
Where you bought it or tested it.
The make, model, and model number off the nameplate.
What you liked and didn’t like. (even if you think the item is junk, it has a few good points)
The size of your driveway, etc and if it is too big or too small.
If you are a manufacture please specify the type of work it is designed for (residential or commercial), the size of the job (small, medium, large), and why this item would be right for our readers.
Dealer, retailer, and manufacture reviews are welcome. I will specify this clearly though in a preface.
How do I submit my guest post?
If you have a post that meets the guidelines above, you can send it to me on the email moosegroomerATgmail.com. Usually within 48 hours I will reply stating if we will accept the guest post or not. If I reject your post, you are obviously free to use it in your own blog or to propose it as a guest post to some other website.
