Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

reviews.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 198 posts

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#101

Post by neltnerb »

spaetzleesser wrote: post #75
BitwiseFool wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In practical terms it dilutes the value of 4 and 5 star reviews for other restaurants. There's some cognitive dissonance involved when McDonald's gets a 4.6/5 and a mom and pop haute-cuisine restaurant gets a 4.6/5 as well. These are two very different dining experiences but they are being judged using the same system and feels inaccurate.

For what McDonalds is they probably deliver a 5 star review the way their customers see it. You probably have to divide restaurants into different categories and compare within them. I beat a lot of people will rate MCDonalds higher than haute cuisine restaurants even in direct comparison. There is no absolute rating for restaurants.

If in direct comparison they rate McDonald's higher, then that's fine... McDonald's is a huge business, they obviously have people who like them.

But it should be a direct comparison, I certainly think KFC is far superior to most haute cuisine fried chicken.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#102

Post by dragontamer »

bombcar wrote: post #87
dragontamer wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if those 1200 other reviews were bought from a Facebook review farm? https://www.amzfinder.com/blog/top-100-facebook-groups-list-... There are a ton of Facebook groups out there whose sole purpose is to shove $$$ into paid reviews on Amazon (or Yelp, or other review sites). Could be a bunch of college kids looking to make a quick buck, or maybe some broken-English dude from some 3rd world country who actually ma…

What I look for is bad reviews that indicate to me the problem is PEBKAC - nobody is buying bad reviews, but if the only real complaint is that when someone dropped it on their toes it hurt, then it's probably OK. But more and more I lean toward "if I have to get it from Amazon it needs to be something I'd be happy with being crap".

> nobody is buying bad reviews

https://usasocialmediaservices.com/services/buy-negative-fac...

Going price of negative reviews (that lean positive to sell the product) is $10 for 5 reviews.

A mix of good, medium, and bad reviews "naturally" sells a product. You can literally buy astroturfing for your products these days on the cheap.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#103

Post by discardedrefuse »

sharkweek wrote: post #30
everdrive wrote: post #7

As well they should. This is a game of cat and mouse. Consumers were ahead for a little while, but companies have really gotten a grasp on the internet, and they're winning the information war. It's no mistake that I've come to rely on brand name again. It's the best heuristic available to me. When all this first started (mid-2000s) I was actively avoiding basing ANY decision on brand name. For a brief window, I had…

I used to trust Amazon for just about anything I needed to buy, but I'd guess maybe in the last 6-8 years I'll mostly only order something if I recognize the brand name selling me the product. Tried to buy a pair of cheap-ish bluetooth headphones off there a few months ago. Three different pairs and none of them even worked out of the box. Gave up and bought a more expensive pair from a known brand.

You can't trust ANYTHING on Amazon; including name brand. They co-mingle their legit inventory with counterfeit 3rd party inventory. When you order something, even if it's "Sold and Shipped from Amazon", they ship you the closest product. You may very well end up getting the fake 3rd party item.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#104

Post by wincy »

yborg wrote: post #36
mumblemumble wrote: post #18

I also don't particularly trust professional reviews anymore. The affiliate link funding model has set up a glaring conflict of interest.

Consumer Reports. That's literally it.

My method for making >$100 purchases is open up Consumer Reports, look at the top 3 ratings, and often the first will be some I'm sure very good product at $1200, and the second-best will be $500, so I buy the second-best rated of everything.

Like a Peloton is really good, yeah, but there's probably a $1000 treadmill that's pretty good, or Traeger makes great if overpriced pellet grills, but there's definitely some cheaper options that will smoke your meat fine if you don't need wifi and bluetooth for your smoker. And then sometimes the expensive products are really terrible quality with an aura of mystique about then (looking at you, Molekule air purifier) and Consumer Reports is willing to call these snake oil salesmen companies.

I don't trust any other reviews, though.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#105

Post by m463 »

coding123 wrote: post #45

Maybe re-phrase the question - I ONLY trust negative reviews now. The key is to see how many people have negative reviews and then scan them. Let's say I am interested in a BBQ Grill. 10 reviews about an open box/returned box? I'll probably go to a local CampingWorld and pick it up instead of Amazon and pay the extra $50. 4 people say the grill grate is bent but there are 1200 other reviews that don't seem to have a…

are you saying 1-star reviews? Because they are sometimes bonkers reviews from some non-critical-thinking folks.

I would say 3-star reviews are more likely to provide useful information.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#106

Post by aSockPuppeteer »

spaetzleesser wrote: post #70
akramer wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spend entirely too much money at Best Buy, and I’ve only written 5 star reviews for products I like. The bad products get immediately returned for a full refund - one of the advantages of buying from a big brick and mortar store. I never think about products I returned, I would prefer not to unless I’m given some incentive to write a bad review. Now, if I were stuck with the item, I’d probably trash it online in th…

I guess a useful metric would be if they posted return rates, warranty cases and so on.

This is one of the bonuses of a brick and mortar store if you can get a commissioned associate to tell you.

Ex: I’m not going to say phonefriend makes a bad phone but they have the highest return rate and people will buy a much more expensive Panasonic when they leave for a second time.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#107

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

duxup wrote: post #9
99_00 wrote: post #4

Every product I order from Amazon from a Chinese brand has an offer for a free 'gift' for leaving a good review.

That and requests to delete my review in exchange for a refund.

I don't even get that courtesy. Amazon deletes legitimate negative reviews all the time without the seller having to make amends.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#108

Post by AdmiralAsshat »

everdrive wrote: post #7

As well they should. This is a game of cat and mouse. Consumers were ahead for a little while, but companies have really gotten a grasp on the internet, and they're winning the information war. It's no mistake that I've come to rely on brand name again. It's the best heuristic available to me. When all this first started (mid-2000s) I was actively avoiding basing ANY decision on brand name. For a brief window, I had…

> It's no mistake that I've come to rely on brand name again.

I've been saying for awhile, this could be the salvation for brick-and-mortar stores. As long as Amazon continues to play fast and loose with counterfeits, the one thing that will get me to drive down to the store and buy something in-person is the store's guarantee that the product came from the vendor whose name is on the box, and that I can return it if I get a lemon.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#109

Post by Fomite »

bombcar wrote: post #87
dragontamer wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if those 1200 other reviews were bought from a Facebook review farm? https://www.amzfinder.com/blog/top-100-facebook-groups-list-... There are a ton of Facebook groups out there whose sole purpose is to shove $$$ into paid reviews on Amazon (or Yelp, or other review sites). Could be a bunch of college kids looking to make a quick buck, or maybe some broken-English dude from some 3rd world country who actually ma…

What I look for is bad reviews that indicate to me the problem is PEBKAC - nobody is buying bad reviews, but if the only real complaint is that when someone dropped it on their toes it hurt, then it's probably OK. But more and more I lean toward "if I have to get it from Amazon it needs to be something I'd be happy with being crap".

This. I look for genuine problems. Works with hotels too - are the negative reviews unreasonable ("Dude, I think you're the problem, not the hotel...") or things that I can see someone like me being upset about occurring ("They say construction is done on the new wing, it's not done and they start at 8 AM...")

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#110

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

mumblemumble wrote: post #78
monkeybutton wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they still influential? They're something I associate with my parent's generation and the era of print magazines.

They won't influence you if you don't subscribe, of course. I used to subscribe, my sense is that they do a good job, but their tastes are geared toward those of more affluent boomers and genxers. If you're someone who can't afford a Lexus, or who'd even consider choosing a Kia over a Lexus even though you can easily afford one, then Consumer Reports may not cater to your tastes.

It was humorous when they started doing computer reviews in the 90's and they clearly didn't have a clue about what they were reviewing.
Post reply on HN