Amazon Product Reviews/ratings.. misleading, possibly a scam
Comments
-
Only for Amazon.com for now are reviews of free products not allowed, BBC and independent both wrongly reporting. I would think it will come to co.uk too though, although companies may try and find ways around it. There's a petition been started on change .org in the US- the comments make for interesting reading... some people clearly saw reviewing freebies as their job0
-
ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »I'd agree, if I could be bothered to leave a review for a product that did what I expected it to, all I am going to say is "Fine". There's no benefit in it for me using my time to do anything else.
Anyone who feels moved to spend half an hour writing a paean of praise about something is probably being paid for it.
But the whole idea of leaving a review is to assist others - "fine" is of no use to anyone and I would vote that as unhelpful, so not worth the small amount of time it takes you to leave it.
The idea that everyone who writes a proper review is being paid for it is nonsense. I'll often leave reviews for items bought elsewhere because it will help someone else. My review (whether good or bad) will therefore not be a verified purchase but it will be genuine.0 -
Totally agree. A review doesn't have to be War and Peace but 2 or 3 lines mentioning specifics is much more helpful. And often it's a mixed bag of positives and negatives rather than a eulogy or total damning.. When the same negatives or positives crop up again and again, that's when I take note.;)But the whole idea of leaving a review is to assist others - "fine" is of no use to anyone and I would vote that as unhelpful, so not worth the small amount of time it takes you to leave it.
The idea that everyone who writes a proper review is being paid for it is nonsense. I'll often leave reviews for items bought elsewhere because it will help someone else. My review (whether good or bad) will therefore not be a verified purchase but it will be genuine.0 -
But the whole idea of leaving a review is to assist others - "fine" is of no use to anyone and I would vote that as unhelpful, so not worth the small amount of time it takes you to leave it.
The idea that everyone who writes a proper review is being paid for it is nonsense. I'll often leave reviews for items bought elsewhere because it will help someone else. My review (whether good or bad) will therefore not be a verified purchase but it will be genuine.
Why do I care if you vote it as unhelpful? I've left it for the people who realise not everyone has the time to write long reviews, but just want basically to know does it do what it says on the tin. Not everyone is you.0 -
Totally agree. A review doesn't have to be War and Peace but 2 or 3 lines mentioning specifics is much more helpful. And often it's a mixed bag of positives and negatives rather than a eulogy or total damning.. When the same negatives or positives crop up again and again, that's when I take note.;)
When buying a fairly standard item you have fairly standard expectations, shared with everyone else. If it meets those, it's fine. No more needs to be said.0 -
ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »Why do I care if you vote it as unhelpful? I've left it for the people who realise not everyone has the time to write long reviews, but just want basically to know does it do what it says on the tin. Not everyone is you.
If you care so little about assisting others why bother then? Oh, and enough 'unhelpful' votes whill mean that eventually your unhelpful one-word 'reviews' won't be published anyway.0 -
If you care so little about assisting others why bother then? Oh, and enough 'unhelpful' votes whill mean that eventually your unhelpful one-word 'reviews' won't be published anyway.
You don't seem to understand. I don't care that much about helping you, with your idiosyncratic view of what is helpful. Not everybody is you, and a lot of people sensibly think that a one word review of a simple item is useful.
I won't get many "unhelpful" votes because again, not everybody is you,and not everybody behaves in what, to my mind at least, is such a foolish way as to go around marking things unhelpful because they don't think enough has been written, and seem to think they have to impose their own standards on everyone else.0 -
ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »You don't seem to understand. I don't care that much about helping you, with your idiosyncratic view of what is helpful. Not everybody is you, and a lot of people sensibly think that a one word review of a simple item is useful.
I won't get many "unhelpful" votes because again, not everybody is you,and not everybody behaves in what, to my mind at least, is such a foolish way as to go around marking things unhelpful because they don't think enough has been written, and seem to think they have to impose their own standards on everyone else.
You're not a reviewer. You're the deliverer of a verdict.
And as a verdict without a shred of explanation is not so much unhelpful as downright pointless, why not spare yourself the trouble of going online to make your one-word pronouncements anyway?0 -
While you can always generalise, individuals will have varying preferences.ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »When buying a fairly standard item you have fairly standard expectations, shared with everyone else. If it meets those, it's fine. No more needs to be said.
For example I recently bought a counter top oven online. Reading the reviews beforehand, it was clear that different things mattered to different people. You might be the sort of cook who just wants to shove in some oven chips now and then or you might be a Mary Berry wannabe. So it was useful to know how it stood up to different expectations.including some of the practical detail - such as you could simmer on the smaller hob, how long it took to heat up, extent of condensation on the glass door, how much heat did it generate externally, was the oven temperature consistent enough for temperature sensitive items, was it in daily or just occasional use and had any issues developed, was it easy to clean? Etc etc ...
Your 'fine' or 'does the job' might not be be 'fine' or 'do the job' for me.
The other factor is how long has it been in use for.
Which is why I appreciate a little detail on reviews.
.0 -
Over the years I have been one of the "lucky ones" that have been supplied free items to test and give a review on and I have always been honest with my feelings on the items.
I don't doubt your honesty and that you are giving a genuine opinion.
However your opinion is immediately biased when you receive a free item.
This is psychology 101.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.7K Spending & Discounts
- 235.2K Work, Benefits & Business
- 607.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173K Life & Family
- 247.8K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards