When deciding to buy a product, a lot of people will look at reviews from other consumers for their input. How do you know that you can trust their reviews though? Some people will put reviews just to receive money or gift cards from that company, while others actually leave an honest review. Some companies will even create fake accounts and buy their own product, just to leave a review. Below are some of the ways you can tell if a review is legitimate or not.
- Look at the Company
If you see a product made by a company that you’ve never heard of has thousands of positive reviews in a short amount of time, chances are they aren’t honest reviews. New companies typically aren’t able to sell thousands of a product in a short amount of time, let alone get that many people to leave a review for them as well. Sometimes, these companies won’t even have a legitimate website for you to do research on them either.
If it is a company you know and trust that has a lot of reviews, the chances are their products are tried and true. Companies like outdoor gear and apparel provider Montem, for instance, has made a name for themselves in the outdoor industry because so many consumers have used and reported favorably on their products. If the company is newer and has a website, you might want to look at the company itself to see if there is any feedback on them as a company, not an individual product. There are some companies out there that are new and quickly selling new products, it just isn’t very common.
Of course, there are some instances where looking at the company tells you right off the bat that they don’t need product reviews to attest to their services. Outsourcing Insight’s digital marketing services, or Laguna Hills Real Estate’s realty services can’t compete in the market by being disreputable. But for companies where you don’t know if they could get away with scamming you, you should also consider the next point: the review quality.
- Look at the Reviews
Sometimes you can tell if the reviews are false by looking at just the reviews. If there are a lot of reviews posted around the same time, there’s a high chance that they weren’t posted by actual consumers. You can also look at the wording on the positive reviews as well. Most people have a unique writing style, and some even use certain words or slang while typing. Looking for these common factors in reviews can help you see if they weren’t most likely written by the same person instead of multiple people.
There are some companies that specialize in writing unbiased reviews, such as Review.org for mattresses, the Beard Care Shop for beard and men’s grooming, or the Affluent Gentleman for watches. These companies are committed solely to providing unbiased and well-researched reviews to better help their readers. Best of all, they are third-party reviewers, so you can trust that they aren’t giving reviews made by the manufacturer.
Also, if this specific product was launched recently, there shouldn’t be reviews on the same day that it started being sold. Most people will wait a few days after a purchase to write a review. Updated reviews are a good way to tell if they are honest. Some people will post a negative review, and then update it if the company handled the problem properly and refunded them or replaced the item. This could be a good way to tell if the company actually honors their warranties or not.
- See If There is a Compensation Program
Some websites will have some sort of compensation program. A person can receive an item at little to no cost to try it out and leave a review on it. While you are supposed to be honest during this review, most people are more likely to leave a positive review since they paid little to no money for it. If someone paid $100 for an item that broke within two weeks, they are more than likely going to leave an honest critical review on the item, unless the company was excellent with customer service and returns. If someone else received the same item for free, just to leave a review and it broke within a few weeks, their review might not seem as harsh.
With this type of program, some people will quickly leave a positive review just because they received a free item from it.
These reviews are typically short and to the point. People who have actually tried a product and enjoy it, they typically leave a longer review stating why they love the item so much. They may also state how it is useful and any other information that might be helpful for you in your decision. If you see a lot of reviews that are along the lines of “This is a great product, worth the money.”, they probably aren’t valid. Someone who is actually leaving an honest review will want to use more than a simple sentence to either persuade you or steer you away from buying that specific product.
Of course, depending on the product, it might be totally unnecessary to have a warranty or compensation program. Sites that provide free services, like online game platform Friv, aren’t making money off you, so they don’t need to give it back. Recognizing which products or services are reliable and trustworthy requires a discerning eye.
Conclusion
When looking at product reviews, it can be difficult to know if they are honest or not. Sometimes a lot of reviews have been posted by the company, or the company has paid someone (in money or product) to post the reviews for them. These types of programs can make it more difficult to tell if the reviews are honest.
You can typically look at the reviews to know if they are true or not. Remember, the reviews should be more than a few words stating how good the product is. The review shouldn’t be too vague either, like a sentence that can be copy and pasted to be used on any other product. Trust your gut when you’re reading reviews. It should be easy to tell if they are honest or not using the tips above.
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