Are paid reviews gray/black hat?
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Are sites like ReviewMe or PayPerPost white hat? Are follow links allowed within the post?
Should I use those aforementioned services, or cold contact high authority sites within my niche?
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if you mark a payed review as paid for and put a nofollow on all links it is perfectly legit and white hat. Any changes to that make it "darker".
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I wouldn't get too bogged down in the hat debate, the real issue when it comes to these things is would you feel comfortable discussing this with someone external to your business. Focus on relevance and promotional opportunities rather than a link alone.
In my opinion, it would be far better to contact the big sites in your market to see if paid reviews is something that they do.
Look at the way Michael does it over at GrayWolf (http://www.wolf-howl.com/sponsors/serpiq-interview/) he works with sponsors to produce top-notch content so that the 'paid link' doesn't feel quite so cheap.
Consider a bit of ego-bait first to get on side with the authority sites and bloggers just so your email or phonecall isn't so 'cold'.
Hope that helps.
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Grey Hat I think.
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Buying links is a No, No
But Matt Cutts has stated that paying for a review is ok. In fact a directory that charges for a review and does not accept just anyone is better.
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