I recently bought a printer that has thousands of good ratings on Amazon, but the printer ultimately turned out to be bulky and annoying to use. How many of these reviews do you think are legitimate and how many are paid off? People have been known to pay others for a good review, so now I'm somewhat wary of online marketplace ratings. Now I also look the item up on other forums to see if the ratings coincide with another consensus. Who do you turn to when considering purchasing a product?
There's no way would I trust an online view and here's why. I was paid off to write good reviews on Amazon before using a site called Fiverr. Fiverr is such a good online income outlet, by the way. With Amazon and/or Ebay or any online shopping outlet to purchase items seems ultimately illegitimate anyways to me. That's why I hardly ever buy from the internet. You don't know what you're really getting. However, despite my negative review on online shopping, Amazon and Ebay is loved by most online shoppers. I haven't heard one bad thing about these sites. What I would do is always, always check the reviews on anything you buy online. If they seem like a too good of a review, you know that one is definitely paid off. Just weed through.
I generally go to many sites before making a decision. I won't buy something that hasn't received many reviews in numerous places. Unless it's a cheaper item, then I'm less cautious. For more expensive things though, I will search the net up and down for every mention of it and I will concentrate extra hard on the bad reviews. If they're complaints don't mean much to me, then I'll start reading the good reviews and see how I feel.
I don't think that most people are paid for giving reviews. And companies that put out bad products but somehow still have good reviews will be dealt with in their own time. These kinds of companies wont last because someone honest enough will give a shout out to others with warnings.
Often people are compensated by cash or free product to give reviews and even though they are asked for their "honest" review the incentive will tend to cause them to lean more positive than they would have if they'd purchased the item straight out. Because of that I am weary of some reviews and review sites.
It's normally hard to tell whether a review is genuine or fake but if the review is posted on a reputable site then I would trust it. However if the review is on some site I've probably never heard of then I won't review. There was a time sellers on Amazon paid people to write positive reviews and I think there are some who still do. Some sites where you'll find genuine reviews: Log In Log In Log In
I mostly use Amazon to purchase things online. The two main retailers that I use are Amazon and Ebay. I find that Ebay tends to be more honest, but Amazon are definitely a little bit more dodgy with reviews, and verified reviews and all of that. Thank you for the links to those legitimate websites
As a freelance writer, I can pick out when a review was paid for. If you read a review that has the exact product name in the body several times, it was probably paid for. Amazon products are famous for having paid reviews. When I'm looking for an honest and real review, I always turn to my favorite mom blogs that do product reviews. They always have personal pictures to let you know that their post is real. While they do receive a product in turn for their opinion, their opinion is always their own.
I usualky trust the reviews on amazon, I just make sure it's a verified purchase. Aside from that I do look up a lot of other reviews. Youtube video reviews are the ones I like as I get a good view of what I'd be getting.
I only give them half of my trust. It's good that reviews are there to give you a general idea of the big picture but I know there are a lot of paid reviews out there so I try to take everything I read with a grain of salt. I find that venturing out and actually looking at reviews from multiple sites and independent sources such as personal social media and blogs are best because you get to hear actual honest opinions and experiences and you can be more assured of the authenticity.
We normally check the reviews when we are searching for accommodations thru online booking. Most of the reviews, particularly the positive, look genuine. But some of the negative remarks should also be taken into consideration except when it looks like sour graping. All of our hotels in our travel thie year are good and all were based on reviews. We have another trip later this month and we are still searching online for accommodation.
I buy from amazon.com and I'm asked by other customers about the products I bought and I give them an honest answer. I write reviews after I receive the product and I tell the truth. Amazon.com never pays for my opinions or reviews in any way. Shoppers who want to know about something I bought ask me directly too and I get nothing for helping with an answer to their question. I also ask questions before I buy and I am told the truth. I have had good products I bought from amazon.com at very good prices. No paying off or rewarding goes on at amazon.com. The things I buy have both positive and negative reviews. You just have to make up your mind of what you buy. If there isn't any specs for the product you can ask customer service about it. If you are dissatisfied ask customer service about returning it. Customer service will help you. Good luck!
I always do a wide search of online reviews, but I'm very cautious and take them with a pinch of salt. I've heard of businesses doctoring reviews, paying people to give rave reviews and even paying people to smear competitors....basically resorting to underhand tactics to steal business from right under the noses of their competitors.I know that some YouTube reviewers also embellish their reviews to make companies look good because they're getting paid for it. It's disgusting, but something that happens all the time. Like some people here, I always go to my trusty discussion forums and blogs and look further into the honest reviews there because I know for a fact nobody's paid for them. I also depend on word of mouth.
I've been doing some early Christmas shopping on amazon and have to say, I'm seeing a lot more transparency about sponsored/comped reviews. It seems every other item has a review with a disclaimer: "I was given this item for free in exchange for my honest opinion." I'm sure it still goes on under the surface, but it's headed in the right direction. I also look for the "verified purchase" label below the username. Of course, it's ideal to grab reviews from as many sites as possible, but sometimes you're stuck with just the one you're on and have to make an educated guess. I always read the most highly rated positive AND negative review - you often learn more from the latter. But, make sure it's the most highly rated negative review (these are often around 2-3 stars) - if you just look at what 1 star reviews say, it's often "product too small" when the person didn't read the dimensions before buying, or something negative about the seller instead of the product itself. With that final point, always check up on the seller as well. So much on amazon is now fulfilled outside the warehouse that you should get to know the sellers. That is a given on sites like Etsy and Ebay that is seller based, but many people take that for granted on amazon. So far, it's far more likely I'm disappointed in a product bought in person than one purchased online.
While we all know some reviews are fabricated, reviews are only pertinent according to your needs and expectations. For example TripAdvisor does include what kind of traveler you are on the review to give you a better indication of the reviewer and any bias. The views of a family on holiday in a hotel is going to mean very little to a business traveler and vice-versa. The same is for someone that may use a printer for domestic uses versus small business use too. I think with the bulkiness, that could have been avoided as the specifications will state dimensions and weight, so that should have not been a surprise.
I am not that concerned about fake reviews, because I always pay using Paypal, so if anything goes wrong then I can just file for a refund since the duration of their buyer protection program has increased to 180 days. If there are negatiive reviews, if the item is cheap then I will still go ahead and buy it, especially if the negative reviews were mostly about one or two specific items only that are poor in quality. For the price, you can't expect topnotch quality, right?
When it's a pricier item I get very particular with reviews. I will read the good reviews 5 star reviews but will always focus more on the 3 stars or less. I will also check other websites for reviews on the same product to make sure it's consistent. If i saw the same complaints on the bad reviews I'll probably think twice about purchasing.
I am doubting of online reviews both positive and negative. There have been times when I wrote a review for something that was working out great for me and then ran into troubles later and times when I wrote a bad review because I couldn't get a problem resolved to find that with a little more patience I loved the product despite my customer service struggle. I trust my friends and family and co-workers not to give me a missed review but other than that I usually buy local.
Online reviews are tricky. When looking at an item its hard not to take the online reviews into consideration. However, it's important to keep in mind that very few people actually reviewing an item unless they've have an exceptionally bad or exceptionally good experience. More times bad then good. Unless a lot of people are saying the exact same thing; for example a feature on a product doesn't work, I try not to let the reviews influence my experience. However, it is hard not to go with the highest rated item if they are priced similarly.
