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

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

#151

Post by throwawayboise » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 9:00 PM UTC

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #110

mumblemumble wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

How so? I mean, I could imagine that they were reviewing computers on practical things that real-world users cared about, but maybe a tech enthusiast would find irrelevant.

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

#152

Post by thrwaway2day » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 9:01 PM UTC

throwawayboise wrote: post #145

lotsofpulp wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely buying a brand name disinfectant by the gallon and paper towels and a spray bottle are orders of magnitude cheaper. And probably orders of magnitude better for the environment?

Not to mention it isn't really necessary. It's pretty clear now that surface contact is not a major vector for COVID transmission. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-si...

When dealing with teachers understand that when presented with a career choice they are the folks who self selected into the job with summers off and the easiest course load. They will use the smallest excuse not to have to show up for work.

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

#153

Post by insickness » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 9:05 PM UTC

argiope wrote: post #128

In 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)

Who pays for the articles and who writes them? Is this like Consumer Reports?

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

#154

Post by 99_00 » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 9:06 PM UTC

OhSoHumble wrote: post #22

I 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.

I'm shifting to brick and mortar or online retailers that I feel vet their sellers like Costco.

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

#155

Post by throwawayboise » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 9:07 PM UTC

neltnerb wrote: post #92

egypturnash wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is also unevenly distributed cultural knowledge: anything less than five stars starts causing hassle for the driver. I hate this inflation but I also wanna make sure the person who gave me competent service that I would realistically mark as three stars - not bad, not great, job done exactly as specified and I'm perfectly happy with that - is going to get five. (hassle varies: offered fewer/worse-paying jobs is…

When I moved to California for a while I once made the mistake of describing my food at a restaurant with "fine, thanks" when the server asked how it was. Apparently this translates very differently in the culture of the Bay Area where it means something like "I am very upset" whereas in Boston I think this roughly would be read as "I am satisfied, but don't really feel like chatting."

Randomly reminded me of George Carlin's bit on that.

It’s like “fine.” Another weak word.

“How are you?”

“Fine.”

Bullshit! Nobody’s fine. Hair is fine.

“How’s your hair?”

“Fine.”

That makes a lot more sense to me.

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

#156

Post by djoldman » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 9:12 PM UTC

Amazon/walmart/google throwaway account people: whats the holdup on fixing fake/fraudulent/spam reviews? Is it a tech problem or do people not care to fix it (perceived small benefit to cost)?

If it's a tech problem, I'd be curious to know the details. Is it more interesting than "too big of a firehose"?

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

#157

Post by tjs8rj » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 9:29 PM UTC

fearling wrote: post #51

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. Big +1 here. Brand name is a core part of my decision making process at this point. Otherwise, I'm relying on word of mouth. Occasionally , I'll use some of the more "reliable" independent review services.

This has been mentioned before but I’ve done this for a while: searching “[product] reddit” often does the trick when looking for candid reviews. Normal people with nothing to gain except internet points (which just incentivizes them to give the popular consensus or fantastic failure of the product).

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

#158

Post by TRcontrarian » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 9:32 PM UTC

mumblemumble wrote: post #65

kull wrote: post #28

Reviews and rankings are broken across the industries. For products I usually start my journey at NYT Wirecutter https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/ . I was also recently looking for a place at Apartments.com, as I learned all places get 5 star ranking to start, and it’s of course not clear at all in the UX. I think at the moment google maps does pretty good job with rankings.

I'm finding Wirecutter to be less-than-useful, though. There's the question marks around their funding model, but the deeper problem is their "the best X" format. It requires setting up a very specific rubric that tends to favor Cadillac models, and leaves you with very little information to go on if you don't have Cadillac needs. Concrete example: I recently bought a new office chair. My shopping process involved a…

The funding model is extremely sus. I used to trust them but your criticisms are right on, and their 'the best x' lists have a curious tendency to prioritize brands that already have high ad spend, rather than surface little known indie choices.

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

#159

Post by klmadfejno » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 9:34 PM UTC

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.

Just curious. Like what kinds of products?

I hear this a lot, but I've never seen it in the wild.

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

#160

Post by yblu » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 9:35 PM UTC

djoldman wrote: post #156

Amazon/walmart/google throwaway account people: whats the holdup on fixing fake/fraudulent/spam reviews? Is it a tech problem or do people not care to fix it (perceived small benefit to cost)? If it's a tech problem, I'd be curious to know the details. Is it more interesting than "too big of a firehose"?

Dealing with fake/fraudulent reviews is hard enough, this is probably harder: manufacturers incentivizes real customers to write good reviews & remove bad reviews. I recently bought a few highly-rated gadgets from Amazon. One of them came with a leaflet saying they would send $50 gift card (the product costs $200) if I review and send them the screenshot. For another product, after I posted a 3-star review, which was not at all negative, I've been receiving a dozen or so emails from different addresses with varying subjects/contents but all asking me to remove that review in exchange for a gift card. I could only imagine how much harder they would go after the 1-star reviews...