Amazon reviews - not as trustworthy as they used to be?
Discussion
I bought something on Amazon a few months ago on the back of overwhelmingly favourable reviews, and it turned out to be a crock of ste. I can't actually remember what the product was, but it was something trivial so I thought nothing of it.
Yesterday I bought some new in-ear headphones, again based on the fact that they had overwhelmingly positive reviews, more so than many more premium brands (I'd never actually heard of this brand).
Well, you can guess the punchline. They're absolute garbage. They're packaged and presented like a premium product but they're by far and away the worst headphones I've ever used. The sound quality is appalling. OK they were only £25 but I'd have felt hard done by having paid £5 for them.
Are companies just 'buying' reviews? I notice a lot of products have reviews that are qualified by 'I must point out I received a free sample of this product.....' then surprise surprise it's a glowing review....
I used to really use the reviews on Amazon to gauge the product quality and have mostly found it very telling, but starting to doubt things now!
Yesterday I bought some new in-ear headphones, again based on the fact that they had overwhelmingly positive reviews, more so than many more premium brands (I'd never actually heard of this brand).
Well, you can guess the punchline. They're absolute garbage. They're packaged and presented like a premium product but they're by far and away the worst headphones I've ever used. The sound quality is appalling. OK they were only £25 but I'd have felt hard done by having paid £5 for them.
Are companies just 'buying' reviews? I notice a lot of products have reviews that are qualified by 'I must point out I received a free sample of this product.....' then surprise surprise it's a glowing review....
I used to really use the reviews on Amazon to gauge the product quality and have mostly found it very telling, but starting to doubt things now!
You're not imagining it, I've noticed same. I'm the sort of person that will spend what feels like hours looking at reviews before I finally commit to buying something which costs about a fiver . I find that starting with the 1 star reviews and working upwards tends to provide one with a better picture with regards the true quality of the item although there's no exact science to it.
A little tip I was told was to go for the well-worded 3-star reviews. These are usually good at praising the positive aspects of the item, while drawing attention to the negative sides. Balanced review and usually the most honest you can get. Nobody would pay someone to give them 3/5 stars.
I've received a 10% discount from a supplier for leaving a review on amazon. I left the review because it was actually a good product that I'd still happily recommend to people but I'm sure there's plenty of people out there willing to leave a good review for crap because they got it cheap.
GetCarter said:
Have to say: Pay £25 and you'll get £25's worth. Amazon or not.
As for reviews - i never trust them. I do however trust the % happy from the supplier. Much harder to fake.
I get that £25 isn't going to buy you top of the line, but honestly you should hear these things. £5 and you'd feel like you'd been robbed! As for reviews - i never trust them. I do however trust the % happy from the supplier. Much harder to fake.
-crookedtail- said:
Are you sure they are not fakes, there does seem to be a few when it comes to earphones?
I'm not sure what brand you got, but I would definitely recommend SoundMagic e10s (they may have a newer model now) for around the same money - They're top drawer!!!
Will look into them, thanks!I'm not sure what brand you got, but I would definitely recommend SoundMagic e10s (they may have a newer model now) for around the same money - They're top drawer!!!
I had some Logitech Ultimate Ears (can't remember the exact model number) which have finally gone kaput after about 6 years, they were absolutely ace. But about 4x what my budget is now!
I've only actually experienced this bought reviews phenomenon once and that was with a third party wireless charger that turned out to charge at a ridiculously slow rate. There were hundreds of positive reviews and I only figured out what was going on afterwards when I looked in to the reviews in more detail. I returned it with no problems which I suppose is the the other side of the coin with Amazon.
Most of the time I just use amazon to buy things that I can't be arsed to go get or it works out cheaper for me not to go and get for myself. Prime is a godsend for this. Certainly helps to go in with eyes wide open though.
Most of the time I just use amazon to buy things that I can't be arsed to go get or it works out cheaper for me not to go and get for myself. Prime is a godsend for this. Certainly helps to go in with eyes wide open though.
What earphones are they?
I can recommend Brainwavz and MEE Audio, any model, they will sound much better than their price suggests. The SoundMagic mentioned are also very good.
Probably a bit over budget, but MEE Pinnacle P1 are one of the best earphones I have heard, out of the 100+ I have tried.
I can recommend Brainwavz and MEE Audio, any model, they will sound much better than their price suggests. The SoundMagic mentioned are also very good.
Probably a bit over budget, but MEE Pinnacle P1 are one of the best earphones I have heard, out of the 100+ I have tried.
sebhaque said:
A little tip I was told was to go for the well-worded 3-star reviews. These are usually good at praising the positive aspects of the item, while drawing attention to the negative sides. Balanced review and usually the most honest you can get. Nobody would pay someone to give them 3/5 stars.
This works for me. Ignore the 1 and 5 star reviews and the truth is usually lurking in the rest.Some of the reviews are from people who are given the product to review for free. It does mention this on the review though and you can filter them. I know someone who is a product tester for one of the cheap brands, she didn't apply or anything she just wrote a review and they asked her if she'd be willing to review stuff they sent her. Cheap rubbish but it's free!
For some of these cheaper items the companies have a clever little policy though. I've left a negative review, a couple of hours later the company contacts me and tells me they have sent a replacement already and would I mind changing the review if the new one is working. It's sneaky because any bad reviews only last a short period of time before being upgraded.
I have discovered this works rather well in my favour though. For example I bought a twin USB charger and it didn't work after 24 hours. Stuck on a negative review. They contacted me as normal but I said it was too late, I don't want a replacement and I'd rather have a refund as I now want a 4 USB charger instead and maybe the twin for the car. I now have all of these chargers, they only cost me the original price. They will bend over backwards, sideways and do the twist if you ask them to. They just want 5 stars at any cost.
For some of these cheaper items the companies have a clever little policy though. I've left a negative review, a couple of hours later the company contacts me and tells me they have sent a replacement already and would I mind changing the review if the new one is working. It's sneaky because any bad reviews only last a short period of time before being upgraded.
I have discovered this works rather well in my favour though. For example I bought a twin USB charger and it didn't work after 24 hours. Stuck on a negative review. They contacted me as normal but I said it was too late, I don't want a replacement and I'd rather have a refund as I now want a 4 USB charger instead and maybe the twin for the car. I now have all of these chargers, they only cost me the original price. They will bend over backwards, sideways and do the twist if you ask them to. They just want 5 stars at any cost.
Look at the 1 and 2 star reviews. If there aren't any, then read the 3 star ones etc.
The Nur said:
Its always almost Chinese produced stuff. As a rule if I see the "I was supplied with this product for free in return for a review" or similar I just take that as a sign to avoid it like the plague.
Yep.This looks cheap, and has great reviews, should I buy it?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veet-Men-Hair-Removal-Cre...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veet-Men-Hair-Removal-Cre...
cirian75 said:
This looks cheap, and has great reviews, should I buy it?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veet-Men-Hair-Removal-Cre...
The problem is that it doesn't have great reviews; it has entertaining reviews. If you genuinely are looking at buying the product because you're an ape, then it's gonna take you ages to sift through the ste (I may be wrong and apart from the two I saw, the other reviews might be genuinely useful).https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veet-Men-Hair-Removal-Cre...
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