Rant of the day: People that review transactions instead of content!

line6man · #1 12-23-2012, 01:19 PM

[Rant]
It seems that every time I check out a book or CD or movie on Amazon, a bunch of people ruin the product's rating by giving it a one star review, simply because they had issues with the merchant that sold the product, or shipping damage, or something else that had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the content of the media. Some people will type out several paragraphs talking about how pissed they are with a third-party merchant that sold them a two-cent DVD. I just don't get it. Why is it so difficult to understand that product reviews are meant to reflect CONTENT, not your transaction?

I checked out a book this morning, and a bunch of people said "This book sucks! It's not available for Kindle!" What on earth does that mean? There isn't even any logic in the statement! Other people should be wary of wanting to buy the book in print form because you couldn't read it on your Kindle? Does that make it an awful book that shouldn't be read at all?

I saw a number of reviews for a DVD not long ago, which encouraged as many people as possible to rate the product one star, until the producer of the DVD agreed to release the rest of the series on DVD. Brilliant! Make the series as unappealing as possible for the average consumer that's not reading all of the reviews...

I understand that most user reviews are rather useless anyway, and should be taken with a grain of salt, but it's still very irritating and confusing. Why can't people just review content, like they are supposed to?
[/Rant]

LiquidMidnight · #2 12-23-2012, 01:27 PM

When I read the reviews on Amazon, I almost always sample the extreme scores first to get those types of reviews out of the way.

I've learned that the Internet makes it a lot easier for stupidity to get published. I guess that's the trade-off we deal with to have such a useful tool as the Internet.

I do admit that I often blow off completing the vendor ratings after I purchase a product on Amazon...but I always complete the seller rating when I buy something on TB.

tplyons · #3 12-23-2012, 01:42 PM

Agreed, there are a ton of instances that I'm reading something and a user will give it a one-star review because a) they didn't read the instructions and used it for something it wasn't designed to do, b) they didn't get it fast enough or it showed up damaged, or c) they misinterpreted what the product is.

The reviews are meant to be of the product, nothing else. And what I'll do is generally start at the one-star reviews. If most of them are due to service or misreading, I'm usually pretty content buying that product. And I very seldom give out five star reviews as well. I save those for something that is above and beyond what is expected for the value of the product.

**bassybill** · #4 12-23-2012, 01:43 PM

I stopped using Amazon for a whole bunch of reasons. They'll never get another order out of me. Evil.

jmattbassplaya · #5 12-23-2012, 01:47 PM

Eh, I see your point, but I personally like knowing things like that as well. If a certain store is notorious for shipping orders late or for sending the wrong product then I want to know that before I make my purchase.

line6man · #6 12-23-2012, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

Eh, I see your point, but I personally like knowing things like that as well. If a certain store is notorious for shipping orders late or for sending the wrong product then I want to know that before I make my purchase.

People often buy from third-party merchants through Amazon, so you never know what merchant is being reviewed if you look at the product reviews that reference transactions. If you are curious about a particular merchant, you can check their seller feedback to get all of the information you need. That's where these sort of negative reviews belong, anyway.

jmattbassplaya · #7 12-23-2012, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

People often buy from third-party merchants through Amazon, so you never know what merchant is being reviewed if you look at the product reviews that reference transactions. If you are curious about a particular merchant, you can check their seller feedback to get all of the information you need. That's where these sort of negative reviews belong, anyway.

That's actually exactly what I was talking about

Lonesomedave · #8 12-23-2012, 02:52 PM

well...i think you all are missing the point...and i have an easy way to fix it.

when i look at a product review, on Amazon, or feedback on Ebay, they tell me different things. if Amazon says the product was good, so be it...if Ebay feedback is good or bad it tells me whether i want to do business with a particular guy.

why not have 2 potential reviews...one for the product itself and one for the transaction. that way, you get the person's entire opinion....good or bad product...good or bad seller.

tplyons · #9 12-23-2012, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonesomedave

well...i think you all are missing the point...and i have an easy way to fix it.

when i look at a product review, on Amazon, or feedback on Ebay, they tell me different things. if Amazon says the product was good, so be it...if Ebay feedback is good or bad it tells me whether i want to do business with a particular guy.

why not have 2 potential reviews...one for the product itself and one for the transaction. that way, you get the person's entire opinion....good or bad product...good or bad seller.

Places like Amazon do this, except people just don't fill them out properly. The item review is for the item, and vendor review is for orders that are fulfilled by places other than Amazon.

Amazon even has reviews for their own packaging! So there's absolutely a place to review everything.

Simo98 · #10 12-23-2012, 03:40 PM

People are pissed and disappointed with something, be it the product, the service, or some other reason. They want to voice their opinion and "get back" at Amazon, and they figure a negative rant review is the best way to do so.

FilterFunk · #11 12-24-2012, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

[Rant]
It seems that every time I check out a book or CD or movie on Amazon, a bunch of people ruin the product's rating by giving it a one star review, simply because they had issues with the merchant that sold the product, or shipping damage, or something else that had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the content of the media. Some people will type out several paragraphs talking about how pissed they are with a third-party merchant that sold them a two-cent DVD. I just don't get it. Why is it so difficult to understand that product reviews are meant to reflect CONTENT, not your transaction?

I checked out a book this morning, and a bunch of people said "This book sucks! It's not available for Kindle!" What on earth does that mean? There isn't even any logic in the statement! Other people should be wary of wanting to buy the book in print form because you couldn't read it on your Kindle? Does that make it an awful book that shouldn't be read at all?

I saw a number of reviews for a DVD not long ago, which encouraged as many people as possible to rate the product one star, until the producer of the DVD agreed to release the rest of the series on DVD. Brilliant! Make the series as unappealing as possible for the average consumer that's not reading all of the reviews...

I understand that most user reviews are rather useless anyway, and should be taken with a grain of salt, but it's still very irritating and confusing. Why can't people just review content, like they are supposed to?
[/Rant]

I am SO with you on this! Review the PRODUCT, not the merchant, shipping, errors, etc.

MatticusMania · #12 12-26-2012, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassybill

I stopped using Amazon for a whole bunch of reasons. They'll never get another order out of me. Evil.

Why is that Bill?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

Eh, I see your point, but I personally like knowing things like that as well. If a certain store is notorious for shipping orders late or for sending the wrong product then I want to know that before I make my purchase.

There is a place to do that, though. Amazon always asks me to "leave seller feedback". Thats not the same as writing a review of the product itself.

Personally, I do most of my product research outside of Amazon, and if I do use Amazon reviews, well its not too hard to skim through the useless ones mentioned in the OP and find others with useful info. You should use the button at the end of a review that asks "Was this review useful" and click "No".

pacojas · #13 12-26-2012, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassybill

I stopped using Amazon for a whole bunch of reasons. They'll never get another order out of me. Evil.

i love Amazon! my son & i do 90% of our miscellaneous shopping there. if something goes amiss, it's settled in mere seconds. we were recently overly-compensated by CS for a product that was delivered damaged. they not only sent a replacement over-night, they also let us keep the damaged large-ticket item!!!!! UNREAL!!!!! manager approved!

(best Xmas gift from a stranger, EVER!

)

Pilgrim · #14 12-26-2012, 12:33 PM

Most of the time if you actually read the reviews, the moron factor becomes clear.

I share your distaste for those who rant about irrelevant factors having nothing to do with the product, but I just rate their review as f'n useless and disregard it.

line6man · #15 12-26-2012, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Most of the time if you actually read the reviews, the moron factor becomes clear.

I share your distaste for those who rant about irrelevant factors having nothing to do with the product, but I just rate their review as f'n useless and disregard it.

Right, but it's just irritating to waste my time wading through the crap. I know that Amazon is not the best place for movie/book reviews, but I shop there a lot, and I'm not always in the mood for a "big research project" when I'm looking at movies.

LiquidMidnight · #16 12-26-2012, 01:26 PM

Nonfiction book reviews are the best. Sometimes you'll have some very interesting debate about the book's subject matter. Often, you'll have a bunch of belligerent idiots flinging poo at each other.

MatticusMania · #17 12-26-2012, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

Right, but it's just irritating to waste my time wading through the crap. I know that Amazon is not the best place for movie/book reviews, but I shop there a lot, and I'm not always in the mood for a "big research project" when I'm looking at movies.

What is it that youre looking to get out of the online reviews? Are you just browsing titles and reading reviews to see what movies catch your interest?

I ask because a review to me, without knowing the reviewer and their subjjective tastes, can be pretty worthless.

Pilgrim · #18 12-26-2012, 03:23 PM

I'm usually looking for something about the technical aspects or performance of a device. In that regard, the ignorant reviews are pretty easy to pick out and ignore. The technically sharp ones are also easy to identify.

MatticusMania · #19 12-26-2012, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

I'm usually looking for something about the technical aspects or performance of a device. In that regard, the ignorant reviews are pretty easy to pick out and ignore. The technically sharp ones are also easy to identify.

Thats why I asked the question above. If Im buying a device I want to see that it'll do what its supposed to do, and that it'll last without falling apart a month down the line. For instance, I was looking for an ice cream maker for my nieces... lots of what was available had poor reviews, things breaking, etc. Or the bird bath I bought for my parents... not so great for putting water in (unless you want it to rust).
If Im buying a movie or a book from Amazon (something I do very often) then I usually have a reason for wanting to buy it other than "Reviews said this was a good book". There are a few friends I have that I might ask if such and such was any good, who's opinions I would take into consideration, but not people whom I have no correspondance with.

Simo98 · #20 12-26-2012, 03:34 PM

The main thing I find annoying about amazon reviews is that they group reviews of like products together or something weird like that.

So I'm reading a bunch of reviews about how this product was not as advertised, or that it's not the edition they claim it to be, only to find that all the reviews are not even talking about the product I'm looking at.