11 ms·

The fake review problem on Amazon is much bigger than people think. Here are my two anecdotes: 1. I got bluetooth headphones on amazon (~$65). They had great r

by jacek 9y ago

The fake review problem on Amazon is much bigger than people think. Here are my two anecdotes: 1. I got bluetooth headphones on amazon (~$65). They had great reviews, but were very disappointing. I returned them and gave 2 star review. Representative from the manufacturer contacted me and offered me a pair for free. After I got them, they asked for positive review. I refused. That manipulation technique wasn't enough for them though. They might have merged the listing with some other item. Even though the item was released this year, it has reviews from 2014. 2. When I need a cable or something similar, I go to a page like vipon.com . They offer huge discounts on some items on amazon (sometimes even -80%). They of course "suggest" leaving a review. The more I look at reviews, the less I trust them. I see similar patterns for most products on amazon.

rconti 9y ago
Huh. I've never really had an issue because I chalked it up more to people buying cheap crap and expecting it to be good. But $65 for a pair of headphones isn't exactly cheap. Was it a familiar brand but maybe a counterfeit? Or was it a brand you've never heard of, but the price is justified by very positive reviews? I'm curious.
- catdog 9y ago
  Headphones seem to be a very strange category in general. You can get exceptional good value for money if you know what to buy and on the other hand pay a lot for utter crap.
  - DanielleMolloy 9y ago
    Listening is extremely subjective though. Headphone types can be better / worse for certain listening habits (there are people out there who don't think great bass makes great music, folks), and for different ears. Music taste itself is extremely subjective. Best thing is still to get to a trusted hifi store nearby with your own, known music in best quality and your current best headphone model and test through candidate models yourself. (Admittedly, I'd still read some reviews before investing a few hundred dollars into headphones.)
    - ethbro 9y ago
      My current earbud benchmark is the Panasonic ErgoFit line. [1] To be fair, I don't use an external DAC or source high quality sound on the road. But for $10 and tolerable, good enough for travel. [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E4LGVUO/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E4LGVUO/
      - TsomArp 9y ago
        I use the same. After trying many options, is the one that fits the best.
      - DanielleMolloy 9y ago
        Can confirm - for everyday in-ears, these Panasonic in-ears are indeed good and durable. Cheap but surprisingly good end: Superlux HD668B (20-40$, as they got popular you may need to watch out for counterfeits). IMHO they are on par with some popular 200$ - 300$ Beyerdynamic / Sennheiser / AKG models. You may want to follow one of the online guides to replace the ear cup plastic with velour. Fakespot: A (90%) Expensive end: AudioQuest Nighthawk, 1st model. Their sound is unique and "purist audiophiles" may not like it, but they work pretty well with my listening habits; the experience has been pure joy so far and they are very comfortable. Fakespot: A (90%) Listening habits: Metal (symphonic-, power-, progressive-, i.e. complex and with classical music elements; e.g. Blind Guardian) and some Depeche Mode
      - vetinari 9y ago
        I swwear by Creative EP-630: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EL4MXY https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EL4MXY I don't even bother with any other earbuds.
    - derefr 9y ago
      > Headphone types can be better / worse for certain listening habits No they can't. Loudspeakers (of all kinds) can either faithfully convert electrical signals into the vibrations they represent, or they can't. Equalizer presets can be better / worse for certain listening habits. There is no reason, when even a $5 MP3 player has EQ presets, that headphones shouldn't be aiming for a flat frequency-response curve. Now, admittedly, there might be some preference axis between being able to faithfully replicate high amplitude signals, vs. having low impedance and therefore being kinder to the batteries of portable devices (and/or not requiring an extra in-line portable headphone amp.) But other than that one distinction, headphones can really only be "better" or "worse" at doing their one job.
  - RickS 9y ago
    My secret weapon for headphones is to buy pro audio/studio headphones. Their market just won't let them get away with gimmicks. If you want closed back (recommended for office listening - keeps noise in an out) get AKG k550/k553 (negligibly different editions of the same thing) If you want open back (scary accurate but bleeds sound like crazy) get a pair of Grados, the lower end ones like the 65 will do fine. I say this with love, but those headphones ruined some records for me. You can tell where they cut vocal takes on major label records because the noise floor drops. Crazy stuff.
- jacek 9y ago
  The brand is Bluedio. They have pretty good reviews considering the price. I have used Xiaomi before and was amazed by quality/price. I was hoping Bluedio, which is another Chinese brand would be also good. I was wrong. EDIT: Here's the fake review analysis for the headphones: https://www.fakespot.com/product/bluedio-f2-faith-active-noise-cancelling-over-ear-business-wireless-bluetooth-headphones-with-mic-black https://www.fakespot.com/product/bluedio-f2-faith-active-noi...
  - nasredin 9y ago
    >Bluedio Sorry to be a bit of an asshole. Do not buy Chinese crap. It's a lottery. My Sennheisers (made of plastic BTW) have been in use since 2014. My previous Sennheisers broke (just the headband) after a couple of years. Bought $30 Taiwanese headphones, good Amazon reviews, but the headband is too small. And the microphonics is terrible. Sigh. Recently bought boots, Made in China. Size is about 1.5 units off. For a certain class of goods and for reasonable price points, you do get what you pay for.
    - jacek 9y ago
      That's true. Buying Chinese electronics is a lottery (usually). I would, however, recommend some Xiaomi products. They are really excellent considering the price. BTW I actually ended up buying Sennheiser headphones after I returned the crappy ones.
      - nasredin 9y ago
        Well the actual driver inside should last you a lifetime, the plasticky headband on the other hand... --- Also related: The Sennheisers branded ear pads or Brainwavz (IIRC) ear pads are a bit expensive ($20+). You can get generic "memory" foam ones on AliExpress for $4. It's not actually memory foam and they might send you the wrong type, and it's a tight fit (just remember to breathe !?) but they work.
    - slantyyz 9y ago
      >> Do not buy Chinese crap. It's a lottery. Most of the problematic products as they relate to reviews on Amazon are Chinese products. When I used to do incentivized reviews, all but one single company who approached me for a product review (this does not include eBook authors) was not Chinese. >> For a certain class of goods and for reasonable price points, you do get what you pay for. This is 100% true, but I find a lot of Chinese products punched above their weight. During my time reviewing, I turned down the cheap sketchy products and focused mainly on stuff that I wanted that looked like they were well made. And you know what, a lot of the products I got were actually fantastic relative to their selling price.
- JonoBB 9y ago
  Happens all the time. Last few times I've purchased electronics on Amazon that have been relatively recently listed (i.e 20 reviews or less), I've made a point of looking at the reviews. Click on first reviewer's name, and that reviewer has just happened to review 5 items all on the same day, and those are the only 5 items they have ever reviewed. And all 5 items are completely random (electronics, bed linen, garden equipment, clothing, etc). Rinse and repeat with second, third, fourth reviewer and a similar pattern arises. Majority of recently listed electronic items that I've been looking to purchase follow the same pattern.
  - jonnycomputer 9y ago
    You just described my reviewing behavior, and mine are legitimate reviews. I buy a variety of products. My purchase history is listed in my account, and every once in a while I go and review a bunch of them at the same time, in reverse order of purchase because that's the order in which they appear.
- dogruck 9y ago
  Yeah, where I’m reading online reviews and sold statistics, I always have to mentally normalize for the fact that most people just buy the cheapest item. I wish sites like Amazon had a feature such as “people who buy similar quality items to you, also bought this...”
- JonasJSchreiber 9y ago
  >> $65 for a pair of headphones isn't exactly cheap For a headphone geek such as myself it is ;)
bduerst 9y ago
I've been using Fakespot when buying anything I don't trust on Amazon now. It's amazing how many highly-rated items with 300+ reviews get an F grade.
- jacek 9y ago
  That's brilliant. Here's Fakespot page for the headphones I wrote about: https://www.fakespot.com/product/bluedio-f2-faith-active-noise-cancelling-over-ear-business-wireless-bluetooth-headphones-with-mic-black https://www.fakespot.com/product/bluedio-f2-faith-active-noi...
  - lightwin 9y ago
    If Fakespot is able to spot the fake reviews, Amazon could have also utilized the similar tech. What stops them?
    - jen729w 9y ago
      Er. Profit?
    - Larrikin 9y ago
      Why waste engineers times when you're on top with hardly any competition? Google and Facebook only started caring about fake information under congressional pressure.
      - golemiprague 9y ago
        They started to care when their favourite candidate lost. They still don't care whether something is fake or not but rather if it supports their agenda or not. That's assuming we can even define what is fake information and what not.
    - olegious 9y ago
      Likely because it isn't actually costing them much in lost sales?
zeep 9y ago
I haven't used them for a couple of years, but https://www.monoprice.com https://www.monoprice.com used to be really cheap for quality cables and similar stuff.
- jacek 9y ago
  That's true. But with a coupon I could get a cable for ~$2 and prime shipping.
yoodenvranx 9y ago
> When I need a cable or something similar, I resorted to buy only Amazon Basic cables for the PC/monitor/TV and Anker cables/charger for the mobile phones. It is not the cheapest option but you still get high quality for a low price and you don't have to deal with any shady shops.
- bradlys 9y ago
  Eh. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FA4Y7N2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FA4Y7N2/ref=oh_aui_sear... I bought that 3 years ago. I think mine is doing okay but you can tell from the reviews that it wasn't a quality cable. I doubt Amazon has really up'd their game since then.
  - ajross 9y ago
    Doesn't the fact that this this product (and presumably Amazon Basics stuff generally) is well-described by its reviews refute the whole point of the linked article and... support the grandparent point that you should stick with them where possible?
- pogue 9y ago
  Amazon Basic makes quality stuff, and after I started buying Anker I fell in love with them.
- xbkingx 9y ago
  Monoprice also sells through Amazon and most, if not all, of their items qualify for Prime (something like 1000' cable spools might not qualify, but the everyday consumer stuff generally does). Never had a problem with any of their wires.
bradlys 9y ago
Wow. Thanks for #2. Of course now I'm going to be using that website all the time for the junk items I buy. Fantastic.
crickshinks 9y ago
Plenty of genuine reviews are rubbish though. A good review explains what's good about the product or content. You can then judge according to that explanation and disregard the source.
icebraining 9y ago
Frankly, those don't bother me because nobody will write a decent review just because they were prodded a bit. It makes the average useless, of course, but you can still read them. Paid reviews from professionals are more dangerous. I just have to hope the companies' greed prevents them from paying enough for a good review.
pogue 9y ago
Vipon looks like an interesting site. Do you know if they have a Twitter listing their deals? I don't have an iOS device (which seems to be the only place that they have an app for). A Twitter account would be a perfect in between. Incidentally, I started a deals & promos list of accounts on Twitter that provide the latest sales on a variety of sites. Feel free to check it out. I have no affiliation with any of the companies listed (Well, I have an Amazon associates account - but it wouldn't benefit me here, since it's other accounts posting their affiliate links) I find @kinjadeals to have a lot of good deals, but unless it's name brand stuff, it often breaks or wears down after a few months. Check out Deals and Discounts by @pogue25: https://twitter.com/pogue25/lists/deals-and-discounts?s=09 https://twitter.com/pogue25/lists/deals-and-discounts?s=09
postila 9y ago
Here is an example of ~$65 item merged with others https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076RS1WRZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076RS1WRZ/ref=oh_aui_deta... – a lot of five-star reviews (marked as verified), but very bad quality.
- Theodores 9y ago
  Fakespot: Our engine has profiled the reviewer patterns and has determined that there is high deception involved. D - Our analysis detected 42.1% low quality reviews https://www.fakespot.com/product/true-wireless-earbuds-langsdom-x7-mini-bluetooth-4-2-headphones-in-ear-noise-isolating-earphones-with-mic-smart-touch-control-and-portable-charging-box-for-iphone-samsung-and-more https://www.fakespot.com/product/true-wireless-earbuds-langs...
lightwin 9y ago
Just today I was trying to find some earphones on amazon and came across following seller page. https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=MXditect https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dap... Almost all of their products have 500-600 reviews and all are 5 star, not even a single one is less than 5 stars. Moreover, most of reviews are created in November 2017 and each reviewer has left couple of 5-star reviews only for same seller's product within a week. These fake reviews could have been detected by even a basic detection system. Not sure why Amazon has not already detected and removed them.
- mistermann 9y ago
  Money. Nothing else matters.
wpietri 9y ago
Yeah, fake reviews have been a problem for years and are only getting more sophisticated. The latest scam is "brushing": https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/11/27/americans-are-receiving-unordered-parcels-from-chinese-e-criminals-and-cant-do-anything-about-it/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/11/27/american...
- codedokode 9y ago
  Receiving an empty parcel looks like an opening scene from a horror movie.
- mistermann 9y ago
  "Due to the unbalanced pricing policies of the United Postal Union and subsidies from the U.S. Postal Service, it costs people in China virtually nothing to ship small packages to the U.S. That, combined with the super cheap price they pay for the junk they ship, makes brushing a quick and cost effective way to move up the sales rankings -- which means everything for e-commerce merchants." I simply can't fathom why Western companies aren't freaking out abut this.
  - dizzystar 9y ago
    Everyone US seller is, sort of, and Amazon is as well. Customers still expect their stuff in 2 days, expect easy returns, and expect QC at the warehouse, and that's something China cannot replicate. Fake reviews have been an easy exploit for sellers for a long time, and sellers will often buy from competitors just to leave verified bad reviews. It's an ugly game I don't have an answer to. Amazon recently introduced Vine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/vine/help https://www.amazon.com/gp/vine/help
    - arien 9y ago
      It's not recent, Vine has been around for years. While it's a good program, there are millions of items, unlikely to have them all covered by Vine users. They would have to extend the program greatly for this to be an effective counter.
LV-426 9y ago
> offered me a pair for free. After I got them, they asked for positive review. I refused. So they were "very disappointing", but not "very disappointing" enough to refuse a free pair, at their expense? > That manipulation technique Perhaps, since you were happy to accept the headphones, they believed your original negative review was not sincere, but itself a manipulation technique to get a freebie or special offer in return for a more positive review. (Which I suspect is not unheard-of for some buyers on Amazon.) To be clear: Although I don't know you I don't believe that is what you did (most people don't do that), what I mean is the company may be used to some people trying that kind of thing, and accepting the product for free may be a hint that you're willing to do what they asked. However, what kind of "positive review" did they want? A review where you pretend not to be disappointed, or simply an update to your review stating something like: "while I don't believe these are worth $65, and returned them, I can't fault the customer service in trying to make up for my disappointment"? Because I don't see anything at all wrong with the latter; and it's certainly more reasonable than leaving a negative review of a product which you were happy to accept at the 'right price'.
- szemet 9y ago
  I do not consider buying positive reviews with free items an ethical marketing strategy: it deceives people expecting unaffiliated opinions there... Why should anyone take part in this? If a company decides to give away free items, and gets nothing in reply that's their problem... I am happy when people do not sell their kidney for pennies: and as a single costumer you usually don't have the power to fight back large corporations: then sometimes the most convenient reaction is to keep both the free gifts and your kidney ;) And if many people do this, it may eventually get them out from business, win-win edit: Thinking over, I partly agree with the previous comment. If they expect you to update your review, honesty may be the most ethical, so e.g. one can start it with: "They have sent me a free item after I returned mine and gave them a 2 star review..." ;)
  - _0ffh 9y ago
    Actually, I'm happy for every person who accepts such a freebie but doens't let themselves be bribed. They disincentivise such manipulative behaviour.
lightwin 9y ago
So looks like this product is now marked #1 New Release by Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077N5LCP3/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077N5LCP3/ F rating on fakespot, and 1500 visibly fake 5-star reviews. Innocent customers have already started falling in trap and you can notice that from recently created 1 star reviews. How many customers will be burned before the overall rating will go down due to real reviews?
martin_andrino 9y ago
I bet you received a counterfeit item and you did not realize this. This post suggests that you may be suffering a textbook example of confirmation bias [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
pmoriarty 9y ago
I was once greatly disappointed by an item and left a very, very detailed review which reported the exact reasons for my dissatisfaction and all the various tests I made of the product that led me to my conclusion. All my effort was for nothing. The vendor just delisted that item and re-listed it again, so no one would even read my review unless they bothered to read reviews for a delisted product. I guess I could have re-posted my review in the new listing, but it was too much trouble, so I never bothered to do so.

by jacek 9y ago

rconti 9y ago

Huh. I've never really had an issue because I chalked it up more to people buying cheap crap and expecting it to be good. But $65 for a pair of headphones isn't exactly cheap. Was it a familiar brand but maybe a counterfeit? Or was it a brand you've never heard of, but the price is justified by very positive reviews? I'm curious.

catdog 9y ago
Headphones seem to be a very strange category in general. You can get exceptional good value for money if you know what to buy and on the other hand pay a lot for utter crap.
- DanielleMolloy 9y ago
  Listening is extremely subjective though. Headphone types can be better / worse for certain listening habits (there are people out there who don't think great bass makes great music, folks), and for different ears. Music taste itself is extremely subjective. Best thing is still to get to a trusted hifi store nearby with your own, known music in best quality and your current best headphone model and test through candidate models yourself. (Admittedly, I'd still read some reviews before investing a few hundred dollars into headphones.)
  - ethbro 9y ago
    My current earbud benchmark is the Panasonic ErgoFit line. [1] To be fair, I don't use an external DAC or source high quality sound on the road. But for $10 and tolerable, good enough for travel. [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E4LGVUO/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E4LGVUO/
    - TsomArp 9y ago
      I use the same. After trying many options, is the one that fits the best.
    - DanielleMolloy 9y ago
      Can confirm - for everyday in-ears, these Panasonic in-ears are indeed good and durable. Cheap but surprisingly good end: Superlux HD668B (20-40$, as they got popular you may need to watch out for counterfeits). IMHO they are on par with some popular 200$ - 300$ Beyerdynamic / Sennheiser / AKG models. You may want to follow one of the online guides to replace the ear cup plastic with velour. Fakespot: A (90%) Expensive end: AudioQuest Nighthawk, 1st model. Their sound is unique and "purist audiophiles" may not like it, but they work pretty well with my listening habits; the experience has been pure joy so far and they are very comfortable. Fakespot: A (90%) Listening habits: Metal (symphonic-, power-, progressive-, i.e. complex and with classical music elements; e.g. Blind Guardian) and some Depeche Mode
    - vetinari 9y ago
      I swwear by Creative EP-630: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EL4MXY https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EL4MXY I don't even bother with any other earbuds.
  - derefr 9y ago
    > Headphone types can be better / worse for certain listening habits No they can't. Loudspeakers (of all kinds) can either faithfully convert electrical signals into the vibrations they represent, or they can't. Equalizer presets can be better / worse for certain listening habits. There is no reason, when even a $5 MP3 player has EQ presets, that headphones shouldn't be aiming for a flat frequency-response curve. Now, admittedly, there might be some preference axis between being able to faithfully replicate high amplitude signals, vs. having low impedance and therefore being kinder to the batteries of portable devices (and/or not requiring an extra in-line portable headphone amp.) But other than that one distinction, headphones can really only be "better" or "worse" at doing their one job.
- RickS 9y ago
  My secret weapon for headphones is to buy pro audio/studio headphones. Their market just won't let them get away with gimmicks. If you want closed back (recommended for office listening - keeps noise in an out) get AKG k550/k553 (negligibly different editions of the same thing) If you want open back (scary accurate but bleeds sound like crazy) get a pair of Grados, the lower end ones like the 65 will do fine. I say this with love, but those headphones ruined some records for me. You can tell where they cut vocal takes on major label records because the noise floor drops. Crazy stuff.
jacek 9y ago
The brand is Bluedio. They have pretty good reviews considering the price. I have used Xiaomi before and was amazed by quality/price. I was hoping Bluedio, which is another Chinese brand would be also good. I was wrong. EDIT: Here's the fake review analysis for the headphones: https://www.fakespot.com/product/bluedio-f2-faith-active-noise-cancelling-over-ear-business-wireless-bluetooth-headphones-with-mic-black https://www.fakespot.com/product/bluedio-f2-faith-active-noi...
- nasredin 9y ago
  >Bluedio Sorry to be a bit of an asshole. Do not buy Chinese crap. It's a lottery. My Sennheisers (made of plastic BTW) have been in use since 2014. My previous Sennheisers broke (just the headband) after a couple of years. Bought $30 Taiwanese headphones, good Amazon reviews, but the headband is too small. And the microphonics is terrible. Sigh. Recently bought boots, Made in China. Size is about 1.5 units off. For a certain class of goods and for reasonable price points, you do get what you pay for.
  - jacek 9y ago
    That's true. Buying Chinese electronics is a lottery (usually). I would, however, recommend some Xiaomi products. They are really excellent considering the price. BTW I actually ended up buying Sennheiser headphones after I returned the crappy ones.
    - nasredin 9y ago
      Well the actual driver inside should last you a lifetime, the plasticky headband on the other hand... --- Also related: The Sennheisers branded ear pads or Brainwavz (IIRC) ear pads are a bit expensive ($20+). You can get generic "memory" foam ones on AliExpress for $4. It's not actually memory foam and they might send you the wrong type, and it's a tight fit (just remember to breathe !?) but they work.
  - slantyyz 9y ago
    >> Do not buy Chinese crap. It's a lottery. Most of the problematic products as they relate to reviews on Amazon are Chinese products. When I used to do incentivized reviews, all but one single company who approached me for a product review (this does not include eBook authors) was not Chinese. >> For a certain class of goods and for reasonable price points, you do get what you pay for. This is 100% true, but I find a lot of Chinese products punched above their weight. During my time reviewing, I turned down the cheap sketchy products and focused mainly on stuff that I wanted that looked like they were well made. And you know what, a lot of the products I got were actually fantastic relative to their selling price.
JonoBB 9y ago
Happens all the time. Last few times I've purchased electronics on Amazon that have been relatively recently listed (i.e 20 reviews or less), I've made a point of looking at the reviews. Click on first reviewer's name, and that reviewer has just happened to review 5 items all on the same day, and those are the only 5 items they have ever reviewed. And all 5 items are completely random (electronics, bed linen, garden equipment, clothing, etc). Rinse and repeat with second, third, fourth reviewer and a similar pattern arises. Majority of recently listed electronic items that I've been looking to purchase follow the same pattern.
- jonnycomputer 9y ago
  You just described my reviewing behavior, and mine are legitimate reviews. I buy a variety of products. My purchase history is listed in my account, and every once in a while I go and review a bunch of them at the same time, in reverse order of purchase because that's the order in which they appear.
dogruck 9y ago
Yeah, where I’m reading online reviews and sold statistics, I always have to mentally normalize for the fact that most people just buy the cheapest item. I wish sites like Amazon had a feature such as “people who buy similar quality items to you, also bought this...”
JonasJSchreiber 9y ago
>> $65 for a pair of headphones isn't exactly cheap For a headphone geek such as myself it is ;)

bduerst 9y ago

I've been using Fakespot when buying anything I don't trust on Amazon now. It's amazing how many highly-rated items with 300+ reviews get an F grade.

jacek 9y ago
That's brilliant. Here's Fakespot page for the headphones I wrote about: https://www.fakespot.com/product/bluedio-f2-faith-active-noise-cancelling-over-ear-business-wireless-bluetooth-headphones-with-mic-black https://www.fakespot.com/product/bluedio-f2-faith-active-noi...
- lightwin 9y ago
  If Fakespot is able to spot the fake reviews, Amazon could have also utilized the similar tech. What stops them?
  - jen729w 9y ago
    Er. Profit?
  - Larrikin 9y ago
    Why waste engineers times when you're on top with hardly any competition? Google and Facebook only started caring about fake information under congressional pressure.
    - golemiprague 9y ago
      They started to care when their favourite candidate lost. They still don't care whether something is fake or not but rather if it supports their agenda or not. That's assuming we can even define what is fake information and what not.
  - olegious 9y ago
    Likely because it isn't actually costing them much in lost sales?

zeep 9y ago

I haven't used them for a couple of years, but https://www.monoprice.com https://www.monoprice.com used to be really cheap for quality cables and similar stuff.

jacek 9y ago
That's true. But with a coupon I could get a cable for ~$2 and prime shipping.

yoodenvranx 9y ago

> When I need a cable or something similar, I resorted to buy only Amazon Basic cables for the PC/monitor/TV and Anker cables/charger for the mobile phones. It is not the cheapest option but you still get high quality for a low price and you don't have to deal with any shady shops.

bradlys 9y ago
Eh. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FA4Y7N2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FA4Y7N2/ref=oh_aui_sear... I bought that 3 years ago. I think mine is doing okay but you can tell from the reviews that it wasn't a quality cable. I doubt Amazon has really up'd their game since then.
- ajross 9y ago
  Doesn't the fact that this this product (and presumably Amazon Basics stuff generally) is well-described by its reviews refute the whole point of the linked article and... support the grandparent point that you should stick with them where possible?
pogue 9y ago
Amazon Basic makes quality stuff, and after I started buying Anker I fell in love with them.
xbkingx 9y ago
Monoprice also sells through Amazon and most, if not all, of their items qualify for Prime (something like 1000' cable spools might not qualify, but the everyday consumer stuff generally does). Never had a problem with any of their wires.

bradlys 9y ago

Wow. Thanks for #2. Of course now I'm going to be using that website all the time for the junk items I buy. Fantastic.

crickshinks 9y ago

Plenty of genuine reviews are rubbish though. A good review explains what's good about the product or content. You can then judge according to that explanation and disregard the source.

icebraining 9y ago

Frankly, those don't bother me because nobody will write a decent review just because they were prodded a bit. It makes the average useless, of course, but you can still read them. Paid reviews from professionals are more dangerous. I just have to hope the companies' greed prevents them from paying enough for a good review.

pogue 9y ago

Vipon looks like an interesting site. Do you know if they have a Twitter listing their deals? I don't have an iOS device (which seems to be the only place that they have an app for). A Twitter account would be a perfect in between. Incidentally, I started a deals & promos list of accounts on Twitter that provide the latest sales on a variety of sites. Feel free to check it out. I have no affiliation with any of the companies listed (Well, I have an Amazon associates account - but it wouldn't benefit me here, since it's other accounts posting their affiliate links) I find @kinjadeals to have a lot of good deals, but unless it's name brand stuff, it often breaks or wears down after a few months. Check out Deals and Discounts by @pogue25: https://twitter.com/pogue25/lists/deals-and-discounts?s=09 https://twitter.com/pogue25/lists/deals-and-discounts?s=09

postila 9y ago

Here is an example of ~$65 item merged with others https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076RS1WRZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076RS1WRZ/ref=oh_aui_deta... – a lot of five-star reviews (marked as verified), but very bad quality.

Theodores 9y ago
Fakespot: Our engine has profiled the reviewer patterns and has determined that there is high deception involved. D - Our analysis detected 42.1% low quality reviews https://www.fakespot.com/product/true-wireless-earbuds-langsdom-x7-mini-bluetooth-4-2-headphones-in-ear-noise-isolating-earphones-with-mic-smart-touch-control-and-portable-charging-box-for-iphone-samsung-and-more https://www.fakespot.com/product/true-wireless-earbuds-langs...

lightwin 9y ago

Just today I was trying to find some earphones on amazon and came across following seller page. https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=MXditect https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dap... Almost all of their products have 500-600 reviews and all are 5 star, not even a single one is less than 5 stars. Moreover, most of reviews are created in November 2017 and each reviewer has left couple of 5-star reviews only for same seller's product within a week. These fake reviews could have been detected by even a basic detection system. Not sure why Amazon has not already detected and removed them.

mistermann 9y ago
Money. Nothing else matters.

wpietri 9y ago

Yeah, fake reviews have been a problem for years and are only getting more sophisticated. The latest scam is "brushing": https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/11/27/americans-are-receiving-unordered-parcels-from-chinese-e-criminals-and-cant-do-anything-about-it/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/11/27/american...

codedokode 9y ago
Receiving an empty parcel looks like an opening scene from a horror movie.
mistermann 9y ago
"Due to the unbalanced pricing policies of the United Postal Union and subsidies from the U.S. Postal Service, it costs people in China virtually nothing to ship small packages to the U.S. That, combined with the super cheap price they pay for the junk they ship, makes brushing a quick and cost effective way to move up the sales rankings -- which means everything for e-commerce merchants." I simply can't fathom why Western companies aren't freaking out abut this.
- dizzystar 9y ago
  Everyone US seller is, sort of, and Amazon is as well. Customers still expect their stuff in 2 days, expect easy returns, and expect QC at the warehouse, and that's something China cannot replicate. Fake reviews have been an easy exploit for sellers for a long time, and sellers will often buy from competitors just to leave verified bad reviews. It's an ugly game I don't have an answer to. Amazon recently introduced Vine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/vine/help https://www.amazon.com/gp/vine/help
  - arien 9y ago
    It's not recent, Vine has been around for years. While it's a good program, there are millions of items, unlikely to have them all covered by Vine users. They would have to extend the program greatly for this to be an effective counter.

LV-426 9y ago

> offered me a pair for free. After I got them, they asked for positive review. I refused. So they were "very disappointing", but not "very disappointing" enough to refuse a free pair, at their expense? > That manipulation technique Perhaps, since you were happy to accept the headphones, they believed your original negative review was not sincere, but itself a manipulation technique to get a freebie or special offer in return for a more positive review. (Which I suspect is not unheard-of for some buyers on Amazon.) To be clear: Although I don't know you I don't believe that is what you did (most people don't do that), what I mean is the company may be used to some people trying that kind of thing, and accepting the product for free may be a hint that you're willing to do what they asked. However, what kind of "positive review" did they want? A review where you pretend not to be disappointed, or simply an update to your review stating something like: "while I don't believe these are worth $65, and returned them, I can't fault the customer service in trying to make up for my disappointment"? Because I don't see anything at all wrong with the latter; and it's certainly more reasonable than leaving a negative review of a product which you were happy to accept at the 'right price'.

szemet 9y ago
I do not consider buying positive reviews with free items an ethical marketing strategy: it deceives people expecting unaffiliated opinions there... Why should anyone take part in this? If a company decides to give away free items, and gets nothing in reply that's their problem... I am happy when people do not sell their kidney for pennies: and as a single costumer you usually don't have the power to fight back large corporations: then sometimes the most convenient reaction is to keep both the free gifts and your kidney ;) And if many people do this, it may eventually get them out from business, win-win edit: Thinking over, I partly agree with the previous comment. If they expect you to update your review, honesty may be the most ethical, so e.g. one can start it with: "They have sent me a free item after I returned mine and gave them a 2 star review..." ;)
- _0ffh 9y ago
  Actually, I'm happy for every person who accepts such a freebie but doens't let themselves be bribed. They disincentivise such manipulative behaviour.

lightwin 9y ago

So looks like this product is now marked #1 New Release by Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077N5LCP3/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077N5LCP3/ F rating on fakespot, and 1500 visibly fake 5-star reviews. Innocent customers have already started falling in trap and you can notice that from recently created 1 star reviews. How many customers will be burned before the overall rating will go down due to real reviews?

martin_andrino 9y ago

I bet you received a counterfeit item and you did not realize this. This post suggests that you may be suffering a textbook example of confirmation bias [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

pmoriarty 9y ago

I was once greatly disappointed by an item and left a very, very detailed review which reported the exact reasons for my dissatisfaction and all the various tests I made of the product that led me to my conclusion. All my effort was for nothing. The vendor just delisted that item and re-listed it again, so no one would even read my review unless they bothered to read reviews for a delisted product. I guess I could have re-posted my review in the new listing, but it was too much trouble, so I never bothered to do so.