Internet shopping reviews can be a scam.

This is in the "other stuff" forum because it is not related to the usual skeptiko topics.

I just realized that internet shopping reviews can be misleading. For example if 90% of reviews are 5 stars and 10% of reviews are 0 stars, the average rating will be 4.5 stars (5 x 90 / 100 = 4.5). That's a good rating but would you want to shop at a site where you had a 10% chance of getting scammed so badly you would give them 0 stars?

Also, some surveys are taken immediately after the customer makes a purchase but long before the product is shipped. When you see the ratings you are not really made aware of that and it is natural to think the ratings are based on satisfied customers who got what they purchased.
 
Also, some surveys are taken immediately after the customer makes a purchase but long before the product is shipped. When you see the ratings you are not really made aware of that and it is natural to think the ratings are based on satisfied customers who got what they purchased.

Interesting. I notice there are times where people's reviews don't indicate they had opened even one page of the book but it says verified purchase. I've tried to report some of these as it's annoying to see a one-star review for a book the person hasn't read but not sure Amazon does anything.

I wonder if the reviewers are hachet-men - do they return the book after the review? Apparently that's something you can do via the Kindle for a full refund.
 
Another problem with internet shopping is grey market items. Those sellers that are undercutting everyone else in price may be selling items that do not have a warranty, and or are labeled as new when they used or refurbished.

And even if you go to a "trusted" vendor like amazon or walmart.com, they have affiliates so you have to check who is really fulfilling the order.

Also, there is the problem of counterfeit products for items such as data cards, replacement batteries, and many other types of goods.
 
internet shopping reviews can be misleading.

I have a friend who works for a tech company that does nothing other than try to keep fake reviews out of retailers' websites. Retailers actually pay them to keep fake reviews off their sites because it makes them look bad.

It's a huge problem because because people get so accustom to positive reviews that companies like Yelp and http://resellerratings.com can then extort business owners with threats to allow or not-allow bad reviews in their listings.
 
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