Are Reviews On Websites Worth Anything

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Mar 11, 2020
1,404
4,476
Southern Illinois
Recently my wife made a purchase on AXXson. The product broke the second time it was used. She left a bad review on the website. Within hours she received a warning from AmXson that our membership would be suspended if we continued to leave negative reviews. The same thing happened to me last year, there was now profanity used just an honest negative review. I just wonder how many times this happens and are the reviews worth anything if they get filtered?
 

mingc

Lifer
Jun 20, 2019
3,976
11,065
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
Recently my wife made a purchase on AXXson. The product broke the second time it was used. She left a bad review on the website. Within hours she received a warning from AmXson that our membership would be suspended if we continued to leave negative reviews. The same thing happened to me last year, there was now profanity used just an honest negative review. I just wonder how many times this happens and are the reviews worth anything if they get filtered?
AXXson? Or is it AmXson? Or are you trying to say Amazon?
 
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verporchting

Lifer
Dec 30, 2018
2,879
8,933
Generally I only find product reviews helpful to identify possible issues that seem to crop up in enough independent reviews that it’s likely to be genuine, rather than gushing on about how fantastic it is or vitriolic nonsense saying it’s the worst product since New Coke, etc.

If enough people identify the same problem or weakness it says something about the product but otherwise I don’t find much value in reviews. How do I know what someone else’s standards are or if they have a different set of priorities or biases?

Seems unlike to help me make my choices.

Plus, I prefer to see the product, touch it, judge the quality, etc. I often ask for the salesperson’s opinion but often disregard it if their opinions and priorities seem out of line with mine.

That happened recently with a gun purchase - the guy’s opinions were just not consistent with mine and I bought a pistol he disliked greatly because it had qualities I was specifically looking for. It’s been flawless and I love it. He probably thinks I’m an idiot but he’s not the guy carrying it so I don’t care much. The proof has been in the sheer number of rounds without a single failing so his “opinion” was just that.
 

madox07

Lifer
Dec 12, 2016
1,823
1,689
There are sites, though, that specialize in consumer reviews. Some are reputable, others less so. I for one do take them into consideration when purchasing something, the more expensive the more I look in various sources for reviews.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I am interested to hear what people have to say in reviews, but if they are just kissing up you can sometimes tell, just the tone and common sense of the review. The statistical aspect, 40 good reviews out of 42, misrepresents, since positive reviews are solicited and negative ones are punished. In the case of a reviewer you follow from time to time (jiminks for example) you trust because of the specificity and knowledge brought to bear on the subject and because you've tried the same blend and concur, whether you like it more or less than he does. Reviews on products for sale by the site, just take it as a sales pitch, with maybe a few negative reviews thrown in to con the reader.
 

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,033
14,644
The Arm of Orion
Is the item sold by Amasux itself or by one of the many sellers of its 'marketplace'?

Loooong time ago I bought a book on there that came from a seller and it did arrive in bad shape, so I left an unpositive review. I was promptly contacted by the seller with a plea to revise it.

I do check out reviews, but use them only as confirmation or supporting 'evidence', never as my main determiner to make a purchase.
 
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anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,398
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
You have to know how to navigate reviews for them to be at all useful. I have a love/hate thing with terrible reviews. Like the guy that gave a restaurant 1 star because he got dumped there, like bro it's not the restaurants fault it happened cause you're an idiot. People who confuse reviews with blogging are funny. And lots of scammers too. I remember one female dog that I dealt with at work and she had a review of our client that was full of blatant lies. Like ridiculous lies. Or the spoiled brat reviews. Like the guy that gave the hospital one star because the emergency room doctor told his wife to go to a dermatologist for a minor rash. But they had to wait behind people with life threatening injuries but they where there first for a slight rash. And also thought it was so terrible that the emergency room doctor stated that they don't know much about rashes because you know those aren't really emergency situations. But no everyone should have bent over to comply with her mental illness even though they had serious issues. Seriously though medical reviews are b.s. often the worst doctors get great reviews because they care more about pleasing then treating and junkies will right bad reviews of doctors that don't give them drugs too. Yeah reviews totally useful if you know how to navigate them.
 
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Dec 6, 2019
4,296
19,375
33
AL/GA
I always felt like for some things there is a bias.. like for example: If you buy a hammer and the head falls off, you might leave a bad review.. If the hammer drives nails then you aren't going to go write a glowing review.. So basically, all the hammer reviews out there are going to be negative.. but that doesn't mean all hammers are bad.

And yes.. there are plenty of fake chinese reviews out there, even on amazon. You'll see a whole lot of people who say they love their "wood enchase male smokers gift".
 
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Dec 6, 2019
4,296
19,375
33
AL/GA
Our local newspaper has a food critic that only writes positive reviews. If the food critic is not happy with a restaurant, they don't publish a review. They're playing it safe. I gave up reading their restaurant reviews.

Sounds like you live in a nice town.. But that certainly takes the fun out of the reviews.
 
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musicman

Lifer
Nov 12, 2019
1,119
6,052
Cincinnati, OH
To answer the OP's question, yes and no.

The internet, and the advent of widespread consumer reviews has been both a good thing and a bad thing. On the one hand, I can find many different opinions and endless feedback about a certain establishment/restaurant/tobacco/etc., and I can use that information to make an informed decision, but on the other hand, there is very little, or no extra weight placed on a review by someone who actually has a level of expertise on the subject. Basically, on the internet, everyone is an expert (or NOT!) and it's up to us to suss out the details.

I see this most frequently with restaurants. It used to be that newspapers sent out food critics to review establishments, and after visiting a number of times they would write an article detailing these reviews. In many situations such critics were experts, or at least well trained in writing an objective review using clearly defined criteria and formulae, and one could generally trust their opinions on such matters. Now, with yelp, everyone is an expert and you must do a considerable amount of research to sort out the biases of the reviewer before determining if their opinions are in any way helpful for you. A good example can be seen in the town in between Tucson and Phoenix, Casa Grande. There is very little fine dining in Casa Grande, and if you go to yelp, even the most lowly fast food establishments are rated very highly, regardless of quality.
 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I've written many reviews, some good some bad. I've never had a "caution" from Amazon. I am careful to detail my complaint, always, as I want readers to fully understand the "why.".

I put weight on an Amazon review when the reviewer is certified as having purchased the item. Negative reviews I weigh as to when the review was posted. If it's a couple years old, there is a chance the deficiency had been corrected in the intervening time. So, depending on my needs and wants I may take a chance.

But, there are "professional" reviewers who may be trying to put prospective buyers "off" hoping they will turn to a product the negative reviewer has an interest. Then there are those "reviewers" who, with nothing else to do simply post negative reviews.

I'm "let the buyer beware" kind of guy. So, buying sight unseen is always a risk. Sometimes I take the risk.
 
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