I basically always go to Reddit now for reviews... even if companies are astroturfing their as well, there's usually more honesty in the reviews than whatever is on the vendor's site.
If you are going to Reddit then they are going to Reddit.
Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
121–130 of 198 posts
Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
#122I invite people to checkout BestBuy's online shop. Just about every single item has a rating from 4.0 to 4.8 out of 5. I have yet to see a single listing under 4 stars. There are of course, unrated items, but can you honestly believe that virutally every product they carry is nearly perfect? Who actually writes a 5 star review for a no-name brand of tape and cable ties? When everything is perfect, nothing is, and I d…
This is a problem with nearly every online rating place. 4.0 means TOTAL GARBAGE and 5.0 means it didn't burn by house down. Totally useless.
This is so common that I considered creating a browser extension to convert/normalize the the min and max values on a page into a 5-star rating. When the lowest rating of items on the page is 4.2, 4.2 would displayed as 1.
Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
#123In other news 60% of people don't pay attention to anything other than what is parroted to them by other "people"
Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
#124I use niche ( [0] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2rzsm1Qi6N1X-wuOg_p0Ng [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLIkZRmqgjI
+1 for project farm, I've found his recommendations and putting things to the test to be very accurate. Been pleased with the buys I made off his recommendations.
Will Prowse is a real gem too https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoj6RxIAQq8kmJme-5dnN0Q
Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a problem with nearly every online rating place. 4.0 means TOTAL GARBAGE and 5.0 means it didn't burn by house down. Totally useless.
This is so common that I considered creating a browser extension to convert/normalize the the min and max values on a page into a 5-star rating. When the lowest rating of items on the page is 4.2, 4.2 would displayed as 1.
That is actually a really cool idea. Probably a lot more work than it sounds like.
Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
#126I recently canceled my Amazon prime subscription after having it for almost a decade. The final straw was Amazon removing the ability to comment on reviews. First, they remove the ability to see the comments using the mobile site, then they remove them all together saying that not as many people were utilizing it. Unfortunately, those comments were a good litmus test to the authenticity of a review - positive or nega…
I agree completely. Now the only way to "reply" to a review is to leave another review which adds something that shouldn't be a review to the reviews making reviews even more worthless.
Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unfortunately, even this approach isn’t foolproof. Fake brand-name products make it into supply chains all the time, especially on sites like Amazon via third-party sellers. In China for example, “fake alcohol” (where brand-name bottles are refilled with cheaper, sometimes dangerous off-brand liquors) has been a big problem: https://www.mersolluo.com/china-cracking-down-on-counterfeit... I can’t imagine that the rubb…
Yeah that is true. I'm hoping Costco has their supply chain down well enough that it's not an issue, but at least there is a slightly higher chance it's legit if it says Clorox on the side.
absolutely, I've been shifting my purchases to in store, leaning heavily towards Costco because whoever their buyers are have a good eye for quality. Also with their incredibly generous return policy I don't really worry about buying things from Costco and will buy by default because I know I can change my mind later if things don't work out.
Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
#128In Germany there's Stiftung Warentest [1] which offers reviews without the apparent conflict of interest. They release paid articles with review and comparison all kinds of items. I find their offering a breeze of fresh air compared to the dumpster fire that online reviews have become.
[1] https://www.test.de/unternehmen/ (German)
Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
#129I recently bought some sheets. Actually sorting through the sheets on Amazon was a hassle because 90% of the reviews would be obviously fake "best sheets I've ever slept on - 5 stars" and the remaining 10% would be 1-3 star reviews that would be photographs of poor fabric or tears in the arriving product. It is almost impossible to buy quality goods online and I'm afraid that is just going to get worse.
What is also strange is when comparing "different" offerings they sometime turn out to be exactly the same product, just with a slightly different picture/text and a (sometimes substantial) price difference. For products like iPhone cases it feels like there is one factory in China which produces a few different models, which lead to the 200 offerings you'll see when searching for one at Amazon.
this, it's product representation dilution. When things go sour a new listing is made with a different name, edited photos, and same product. Amazon is so polluted with noise like this we've started to shift our business elsewhere.
Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
and Doordash. how is everything >4? are we really to believe that McDonalds has a rating of 4.6 out of 5? it makes the system completely useless.
Isn't this just the logical consequence of the "less than 5 stars means you want them punished " mentality popularised by Uber?
And I suspect the use of grades in US Highschools where anything that isnt an A is considered a failure is an element why every ones gives a 4 or 5