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I actually write more positive reviews than negative, especially in regard to a business, but nothing is ever totally great...if a review has only good things and no negatives at all, I don't believe it. I tend to disregard the really gushing reviews and the really negative ones Sometimes, especially with businesses, the really negative ones are actually written by competitors.
If I see it's the only review that person has posted, I avoid it altogether. Not credible in my view.
It happens everywhere. Just try writing a review about a bad real estate agent. They will try to get that censored with a quickness, and if not they will come after you.
Apartment complexes? Those are the worst to try to get accurate reviews on. Back when I lived in them you'd see several glowing reviews posted by management. The key is to spot the same writing/typing style (and we all have a style) over and over again. It's especially obvious when you have 4 reviews in a row, say, on a Monday through a Thursday.
In general, whether it's books or cookware, or vacation spots, or anything, I tend to read the 2, 3, and 4, star reviews (assuming 5 point scale here) before I'll read the 1's and the 5's. The gushy overflowing stuff could easily be plugs, and the super negs could easily just be people with an axe to grind or even a political agenda.
Great tips. I do the same -- read the 3s first before proceeding to the 2s and 4s.
It happens everywhere. Just try writing a review about a bad real estate agent. They will try to get that censored with a quickness, and if not they will come after you.
That doesn't scare me.
I rely heavily on reviews, so I'm glad Amazon is suing the crap out of those people.
Internet reviews are now totally unreliable. If there is a way of making money, people will do it. I don't know if there are any reviews that would work anymore on the Internet. I think people need to realize the Internet is such a joke now that EVERYTHING is just entertainment.
Internet reviews are now totally unreliable. If there is a way of making money, people will do it. I don't know if there are any reviews that would work anymore on the Internet. I think people need to realize the Internet is such a joke now that EVERYTHING is just entertainment.
Internet reviews are now totally unreliable. If there is a way of making money, people will do it. I don't know if there are any reviews that would work anymore on the Internet. I think people need to realize the Internet is such a joke now that EVERYTHING is just entertainment.
I don't find that to be true, I still find them very helpful. I just ordered a play kitchen for my little niece, and went largely by reviews. Several people took photos and even a few had video reviews of the putting it together process, which was nice. It is not IMO that difficult to tell the helpful and real ones. There were no 5-star glowing reviews and no awful reviews but most seemed well-balanced, that is the key. It also depends on the company. I highly doubt a company like Little Tikes or KidKraft is paying people for product reviews, I'd wager that's more small businesses and overseas businesses.
That isn't true, I still find them very helpful. I just ordered a play kitchen for my little niece, and went largely by reviews. Several people took photos and even a few had video reviews of the putting it together process, which was nice. It is not IMO that difficult to tell the helpful and real ones. There were no 5-star glowing reviews and no awful reviews but most seemed well-balanced, that is the key. It also depends on the company. I highly doubt a company like Little Tikes or KidKraft is paying people for product reviews, I'd wager that's more small businesses and overseas businesses.
I agree, I'm not sure where this idea that 'all reviews' are bad because there are bad ones comes from. I post reviews - both on Amazon and Yelp. I can also usually tell fake reviews from real ones. The places where reviews have no value are stores like Kohl's which do everything they can to avoid posting bad reviews.
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