8 ms·

au contraire: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TQ5TDLC http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TQ5TDLC

by wf 11y ago

tedmiston 11y ago
Note that the most helpful review is someone who did not buy one. Same with the second. And the third. > Sample provided for review. > Got this at no cost for unbiased review. > *I received a sample product from Ivation. Reviews are much more scattered if you filter by "Verified purchase only". It's interesting that this drops the number of reviews from 165 to 104 for a product which is designed for and presumably sold only on Amazon. I'm not necessarily suggesting these reviews are shady, but given the other aspects of Amazon that this company tracks, it would seem reasonable to suggest they've figured out a way to track influential reviewers likely to give them a positive review.
- themartorana 11y ago
  This type of review has ruined any tentative faith I used to have in Amazon reviews.
- guelo 11y ago
  I like how their super-duper religion doesn't prevent them from scamming people. EDIT: downvoters, care to explain what's wrong with this comment?
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - sciguy77 11y ago
    Since you asked, I'd say you're probably being downvoted because the fact that the creator is Jewish is irrelevant to the comment you replied to. OP was having a balanced discussion about the ethics of providing review products whereas your comment declares the creator a scammer without any explanation or supporting evidence. IMO I don't think religion, even if its "super-duper" is really on topic in a discussion about the quality and ethics of Amazon reviews. I hope this doesn't come off as critical, I'm just trying to explain where your donvoters may be coming from.
    - guelo 11y ago
      Thank you. Maybe the problem is I replied in this specific thread after reading the other threads were the religion is discussed. And also where the scamminess of Amazon reviews is discussed.
- ashmud 11y ago
  From what I can remember, Amazon has always been full of mostly useless reviews. Disclosing that products were provided for free does little to change that. About the only thing that does is let the parties involved "white wash" their hands of ethical issues. Occasionally, there will be a shining star. Recently I ordered an AIO printer and a reviewer had a fairly comprehensive reviews on multiple models, almost at a short article length. Music seems to be one category where I sometimes find value in the reviews. It seems like people are more forthcoming about their music tastes, even though subjective, than what they think about utilitarian products.
tomsaffell 11y ago
Does it bother anyone else that the three customer reviews on the product page all give five stars, and all three reviewers received the product for free in exchange for an 'unbiased' review? (And that fact is only visible if you click each 'see more' link at the end of the truncated review). I just have a hard time believing this practice doesn't create bias, even if unintentional. I'm finding I have to work harder to parse meaning out of Amazon reviews than I did a few years ago. I don't see how this benefits Amazon, but I also don't see them doing much to fix it.
- ck2 11y ago
  Completely ignore amazon reviews. They are mostly bogus these days. Unless you can find 3 star reviews, I usually read those.
  - mulmen 11y ago
    If you think a review is bogus you could always click the "no" button to indicate that the review is not helpful. You can also report the review and tell Amazon that you think the review is bogus. Do you have any data to back up the claim that most of the recent reviews are bogus?
    - ck2 11y ago
      Yeah, all the ones that start with "I received the complimentary product" in some form. That's a bogus review, it's paid. You might argue free product is not payment but the IRS would then like to have a word with you (ask the people who got "free" cars from Oprah).
      - tass 11y ago
        This is fairly anecdotal, but I've read some people's experiences with free products for reviews. They received products while they were giving good reviews. The products stopped once a bad review was posted. Amazon also gives free products for review (Amazon Vine) but these are made very clear with a banner above the review, and will remain part of the program so long as they continue to receive a high number of 'helpful' votes on their reviews.

au contraire: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TQ5TDLC http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TQ5TDLC

by wf 11y ago

au contraire: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TQ5TDLC http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TQ5TDLC

Note that the most helpful review is someone who did not buy one. Same with the second. And the third. > Sample provided for review. > Got this at no cost for unbiased review. > *I received a sample product from Ivation. Reviews are much more scattered if you filter by "Verified purchase only". It's interesting that this drops the number of reviews from 165 to 104 for a product which is designed for and presumably sold only on Amazon. I'm not necessarily suggesting these reviews are shady, but given the other aspects of Amazon that this company tracks, it would seem reasonable to suggest they've figured out a way to track influential reviewers likely to give them a positive review.

themartorana 11y ago
This type of review has ruined any tentative faith I used to have in Amazon reviews.
guelo 11y ago
I like how their super-duper religion doesn't prevent them from scamming people. EDIT: downvoters, care to explain what's wrong with this comment?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- sciguy77 11y ago
  Since you asked, I'd say you're probably being downvoted because the fact that the creator is Jewish is irrelevant to the comment you replied to. OP was having a balanced discussion about the ethics of providing review products whereas your comment declares the creator a scammer without any explanation or supporting evidence. IMO I don't think religion, even if its "super-duper" is really on topic in a discussion about the quality and ethics of Amazon reviews. I hope this doesn't come off as critical, I'm just trying to explain where your donvoters may be coming from.
  - guelo 11y ago
    Thank you. Maybe the problem is I replied in this specific thread after reading the other threads were the religion is discussed. And also where the scamminess of Amazon reviews is discussed.
ashmud 11y ago
From what I can remember, Amazon has always been full of mostly useless reviews. Disclosing that products were provided for free does little to change that. About the only thing that does is let the parties involved "white wash" their hands of ethical issues. Occasionally, there will be a shining star. Recently I ordered an AIO printer and a reviewer had a fairly comprehensive reviews on multiple models, almost at a short article length. Music seems to be one category where I sometimes find value in the reviews. It seems like people are more forthcoming about their music tastes, even though subjective, than what they think about utilitarian products.

tomsaffell 11y ago

Does it bother anyone else that the three customer reviews on the product page all give five stars, and all three reviewers received the product for free in exchange for an 'unbiased' review? (And that fact is only visible if you click each 'see more' link at the end of the truncated review). I just have a hard time believing this practice doesn't create bias, even if unintentional. I'm finding I have to work harder to parse meaning out of Amazon reviews than I did a few years ago. I don't see how this benefits Amazon, but I also don't see them doing much to fix it.

ck2 11y ago
Completely ignore amazon reviews. They are mostly bogus these days. Unless you can find 3 star reviews, I usually read those.
- mulmen 11y ago
  If you think a review is bogus you could always click the "no" button to indicate that the review is not helpful. You can also report the review and tell Amazon that you think the review is bogus. Do you have any data to back up the claim that most of the recent reviews are bogus?
  - ck2 11y ago
    Yeah, all the ones that start with "I received the complimentary product" in some form. That's a bogus review, it's paid. You might argue free product is not payment but the IRS would then like to have a word with you (ask the people who got "free" cars from Oprah).
    - tass 11y ago
      This is fairly anecdotal, but I've read some people's experiences with free products for reviews. They received products while they were giving good reviews. The products stopped once a bad review was posted. Amazon also gives free products for review (Amazon Vine) but these are made very clear with a banner above the review, and will remain part of the program so long as they continue to receive a high number of 'helpful' votes on their reviews.