I..... I don't trust you?

"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
12/07/2016 at 13:24 • Filed to: Xmas Shopping

This seems to be the newest thing on Amazon: Find a product you are interested it, sort by reviews, READ reviews, and all of a sudden there’s a ton of 5 star reviews from people with this disclaimer at the bottom:

I received this (insert product name here) at a discounted rate in exchange for my honest review.

Does that look shady as shit to anyone else?

Also... how can I get that thing for a discounted rate? I’ll leave an “honest” review!!

DISCUSSION (36)

For Sweden > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 13:26

Welcome to the world of Automotive Journalism

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 13:30

There’s nothing quite so informative as a two or three-star review of greater than a paragraph. You will learn everything about general flaws or a significant uncommon flaw, and be able to form an idea of what to expect if it sucks more than average.

Five-star reviews are almost totally worthless most of the time. One-star reviews more so.

HammerheadFistpunch > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 13:31

I have one of those on Amazon...but I genuinely gave my honest review of the product.

http://overland.kinja.com/annt-40-inch-curved-lightbar-review-1779909067

They reached out to me, and didn’t expect the product back, so I didn’t worry about what a bad review would do to me. I generally disagree with reviews with this caveat though, and I wouldn’t blame anyone for not trusting mine...but...it doesn’t change the fact that I wrote what I would have if I had paid for it.

JRapp: now as good as new again > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 13:31

I looked into that not that long ago, and I believe they stopped allowing that via 3rd parties as of recent. Now you need to be one of Amazons selected few to receive something at a discount in exchange for a review.

Edit: http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/10/amazon-bans-incentivised-reviews-based-on-free-or-discounted-products/

Textured Soy Protein > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 13:32

Yeah it’s pretty rampant. For every one person who takes the time to read the reviews and get to that line about “unbiased” (but always 5-star) reviews, there are probably 10 more who see the 5 star rating and click “buy” without reading the reviews.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/07/2016 at 13:33

I find 4 star reviews to be the best positive reviews. Ideally EVERYTHING should be 4 stars unless it absolutely blows your mind/expectations. Then 3 stars would be not the best, but still alright. 2 stars is meh kinda shitty, do not buy. And 1 star would be reserved for “this thing burned down my house and ate my children”. I tend to just ignore the stars and look at the number of reviews and content of it. I REALLY wish amazon had a “sort by number of reviews” because that would be the most useful.

Mid Engine > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 13:35

Amazon has become Ebay, there’s no accountability in their business any more. They’re gaming the reviews and allowing counterfeit products to be sold with impunity. Have you looked at their Black Friday and Cyber Monday “specials”? Pricing is the same as any other retailer, quite often Amazon is more expensive. Bigger isn’t better Mr. Bezos.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > HammerheadFistpunch
12/07/2016 at 13:37

What’s odd, though, is that nowhere in the “hey, review our shit” idea is it textual that you are to be favorable. People just assume that it’s like getting a gift and if you can’t say anything nice, you should... well, lie. No, guys. It’s a business transaction. They give you a discount on the item, you review it - not “wink wink, review this for me, please”.

grumble grumble unprofessionalism grumble.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/07/2016 at 13:43

All very true. You can typically, however, get a relative count of crazy reviews (5, 1) and compare 2,3, 4 numbers and get a sense of whether something rocks, is cool but flawed, or is deeply flawed/only for the adventurous pretty quickly. So, in a sense, idiots provide a normative baseline for something - a sample size indicator, bookends, and some hint of whether it’s polarizing, before you dig any deeper. The animal spirits involving the item, so to speak. I totally encourage their presence, even if they’re not set out by a cogent mind - they’re just as necessary as the “real” reviews.

macanamera > HammerheadFistpunch
12/07/2016 at 13:53

Now I know what you look like

Alive

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 13:53

At least they are disclosing the fact that they did not pay full price for the product. Those reviews were there before, they just weren’t disclosing that information.

Chariotoflove > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/07/2016 at 13:56

Agree except that one-star reviews tend to be from someone who has a specific bone to pick. I trust the 2-4 star reviews with some length the best, and I especially look for the “verified purchase” ones.

ttyymmnn > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 13:57

I saw similar things on reviews of refrigerators when I was shopping. I don’t trust them.

Chariotoflove > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 13:59

I don’t like those reviews, but sometimes they do provide pics or video and can be fairly detailed so I can see the product in action. That can be helpful, even if I don’t trust the motive of the reviewer.

Know what’s really useful? Too see how the vendor reacts to negative reviews. I sometimes see responses from vendors or updates from customers that show the vendor really took care of the customer when something went wrong. If I find that, it’s gold to me and really warms me to a product that I may be considering.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Chariotoflove
12/07/2016 at 14:02

Like WWD:N says, a 1-star review is “this thing burned down my house and ate my children”. The issue there is the credibility among those who either don’t believe about the house or don’t have children: to what extent is the review hyperbolic about a picked bone, and to what extent is the problem an applicable one to the purchaser?

The rage-spasms are most useful as a calibrating tool.

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > For Sweden
12/07/2016 at 14:06

Kinja'd!!!

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 14:07

Amazon’s not allowing this anymore.

For Sweden > ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper
12/07/2016 at 14:14

CityTV

Canadians reeeeeeeeeeeeeee

E92M3 > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 14:27

I don’t know how you sign up to take part, but lots of companies are now doing this, sometimes even selling products at a loss just to get their other items in the “buy box”.

Future next gen S2000 owner > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/07/2016 at 14:31

Possibly, but I have tried to leave a few unfavorable reviews and mine always get rejected. There is a little window telling me why it is rejected, but it always seems like a way to just limit bad reviews.

Chariotoflove > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/07/2016 at 14:31

Just read a review of a 4D puzzle of the continental US that the buyer dinged because he was from Utah, and the puzzle put one of his nearby famous landmarks in Colorado. He admitted that it was the one thing that really nagged at him and earned the 1 star. That was fun to read but didn’t sway my decision as much as those that about the details of the puzzle as a whole.

HammerheadFistpunch > macanamera
12/07/2016 at 14:37

I used to be a lot more guarded about it...but I’m not that hard to find

Takuro Spirit > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
12/07/2016 at 14:38

I just flagged a bunch of TOP REVIEWS that were tainted by this though.

for Michigan > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 14:41

They’re in the process of weeding them out.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 14:46

If I recall correctly they are going to purge those type of reviews. Not sure...

macanamera > HammerheadFistpunch
12/07/2016 at 14:48

In all realness that was an excellent review video

HammerheadFistpunch > macanamera
12/07/2016 at 14:49

Thanks.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > HammerheadFistpunch
12/07/2016 at 15:19

That light bar is pretty sweet. Has it held up well?

Tekamul > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 15:19

Yes, my wife did this for a while. You sign up, they send you stuff (you pick from a very short list) and then write a review.

If it’s not a 5 star review, you have to write an additional communication to the company with a lengthy explanation why. She stopped doing it rather quickly, as much of the stuff sucked, and she did not enjoy getting pressured into writing a good review.

I did get a very good knee brace out of it, though.

HammerheadFistpunch > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
12/07/2016 at 15:46

surprisingly...yes. no water intrusion or dead lights and it stays put. I even used it to light an interview recently, it worked okay.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/07/2016 at 17:39

My favorite reviews are the one star reviews. About 80% of the time it is painfully obvious that the reviewer does not actually know how to properly use the object in question, or utterly failed to read the description of it.

Frenchlicker > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 18:11

Isn’t this how most reviews we read on the internet and trust except these are somewhat more regular people. Also maybe join some club that does that testing bs.

Takuro Spirit > Frenchlicker
12/07/2016 at 18:14

Some had the disclaimer at the bottom. Easy to weed out.

Some were somewhere near the middle, and I almost missed them and trusted the review.

Frenchlicker > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 18:39

I’ve come to ignore long and/or over descriptive reviews.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > HammerheadFistpunch
12/07/2016 at 19:02

Not bad for the price. If I ever find a place to go off roading in New England (surprisingly difficult!), I might add one.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Takuro Spirit
12/07/2016 at 19:34

Also the inverse on a high vis jacket:

“One star because I bought it and can’t wear yellow at work, only orange”