We asked our writers, “Do you trust ratings and reviews at online stores?”
Our Opinion
Ada admits she does trust the ratings and reviews but not blindly. She reports that she skips the reviews that feature wording such as “Great!” “Awesome,” or “The Best!!!!!!!” She looks for more in-depth feedback, while keeping in mind that even the items with the best reviews aren’t necessarily great and vice versa. “A strong positive/negative review can influence” her on something she’s interested in, but it doesn’t hold true the other way around.
Miguel appreciates when the stores let him know whether or not a reviewer is a verified buyer. “Most of the time I would still read reviews on a particular product on other sites from people who know what they’re supposed to test for,” as sometimes he comes across a great product with poor reviews because the reviewers don’t know how to use the products properly. He finds this especially true for power tools, stovetops, and fermentation vessels. Andrew trusts online reviews “to the extent that they seem balanced and accurate in a qualitative sense, which is often more than a matter of experience and intuition than anything else.” He mentions the indicators of reviews written by bots or review mills, such as non-specific language, poor grammar, and lack of personal detail/tone. He also feels it’s important to look at the distribution of the stores. If there is mostly five-star and one-star reviews and not much in the middle, it’s a red flag to him. That’s why he prefers to read just the three-star and four-star reviews from people who’ve had only minor issues with a product. Ernes notes that when he’s had prior knowledge of a product, 90% of the time he receives exactly what he’s ordered, so he trusts those reviews. But if he’s trying something for the first time, he won’t take those reviews at face value. Instead, he takes other reviews into account or watches unboxing videos. Depending on the product, he might consult a friend with more experience in the product or vendor as well. “I can usually verify whether a vendor is legitimate by checking whether they are BBB-accredited.”
With regards to mobile apps, he approaches them the same way, “although I’m usually not as thorough unless I have to pay for them.” If the only available reviews are on the product’s website, he takes positive and negative reviews into account, even when the percentage split is 80% positive and 20% negative. Alex explains that if there are many reviews all saying the same thing, be it positive or negative, he’ll trust it. What he’s wary of are “solitary, extravagant reviews that sound like Dr. John’s Cure-All Serum advertisements.” He filters out the reviews that are fake or purchased with ReviewMeta on Firefox. Alex doesn’t trust App Store reviews at all, as they seem to be “primarily people complaining that the software doesn’t do everything under the sun” or complaining about the development process.
Your Opinion
Certainly this is something you have opinions on as well. Most people today buy at least one thing online. How do you feel about the opinions from reviewers? Do you agree with our writers who themselves are sometimes paid reviewers on this site? Do you trust ratings and reviews at online stores? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
