Amazon Reviews

[Jim Koepke]

I ordered a switch from Amazon that arrived today. When reviewing my order I noticed a "Report any Issues" link (it may have been worded differently).

I noted how the description did not mention the current rating. It also didn't mention the connectors were made for a particular gauge of solid wire (I forgot to mention that in my report). I also mentioned that the description listed it as a single position switch. This is different than a switch to be found in most homes. It is designed to not need a junction box to mount in.

The switch has three circuits inside, one for ground, one for neutral and one for the line. The switch that needed replacing only had the line being switched. The ground and neutral were hard wired through.

The replacement switch had both the line and the neutral switched. The problem was they worked opposite of each other. When the neutral contact was closed the line would be open and vice versa. It was either not described properly or there was a defect in the manufacturing process. I'm thinking this could maybe work for a two-way circuit.

The shipping tracking was also kind of screwy.

jtk

[Dave Lehnert]

I purchased a security video camera because it received mostly 5 star reviews, The camera was only $45 and no monthly fee to view online. Very much a 5 star review in my book. I had it a very short time and received a letter in the mail from the seller offering me a $30 refund if I gave a 5 star review on Amazon.

[mike stenson]

I purchased a security video camera because it received mostly 5 star reviews, The camera was only $45 and no monthly fee to view online. Very much a 5 star review in my book. I had it a very short time and received a letter in the mail from the seller offering me a $30 refund if I gave a 5 star review on Amazon.

Yea, there are marketing companies that pay people to buy products from Amazon and give them reviews as well.

[Bill Howatt]

Not perfect by any means but better than nothing. When I read the reviews, the ones I hate are those that give it 5 stars because it arrived on time, nothing said about the product.
Alexa asks me for ratings but sometimes I don't catch the product she(it) is asking about. I say "repeat" and just get the "how many stars" question, does anybody know how to get a repeat of the product name?

[George Yetka]

I dont bother with amazon review most are paid for. For example I just typed battery jump pack and NOCO is the leader in reviews and the #1 is 95,000 reviews. My assumption is that they offered a $20 coupon for a positive review at some point

[Mark Wedel]

Whenever looking at reviews, I tend to focus on the 1 and 2 star reviews, since they might be useful. Most reviews are 4 or 5 star because people bought the product and it works, but the 1 and 2 stars review will be about failures of the product (eg, it broke, not well made, etc).

That said, sometimes even 1 and 2 star reviews are useless and not actually reviewing the product. A complaint like it was too costly - well, I don't know what you paid, but I can see what I'm paying and make that decision. Or complaints about lack of features - look at the specs for what features it has - don't complain that the TV set doesn't have 4 HDMI ports if the specs clearly says it only has 2.

I generally only leave negative reviews - I sort of feel that if I'm leaving reviews, I'm adding value to that site (usually amazon), and I'm not going to bother to do that for free.

[Lee Schierer]

Whenever looking at reviews, I tend to focus on the 1 and 2 star reviews, since they might be useful. Most reviews are 4 or 5 star because people bought the product and it works, but the 1 and 2 stars review will be about failures of the product (eg, it broke, not well made, etc).

That said, sometimes even 1 and 2 star reviews are useless and not actually reviewing the product. A complaint like it was too costly - well, I don't know what you paid, but I can see what I'm paying and make that decision. Or complaints about lack of features - look at the specs for what features it has - don't complain that the TV set doesn't have 4 HDMI ports if the specs clearly says it only has 2.

I generally only leave negative reviews - I sort of feel that if I'm leaving reviews, I'm adding value to that site (usually amazon), and I'm not going to bother to do that for free.

I also look at the 1 and 2 star reviews. I also look at the percentage of low reviews as compared to the total number of reviews. I've also noted that many of the poor reviews are made by people that either can't read the product instructions or didn't pay attention to what they were actually buying. When in doubt, ask a question....though Amazon has eliminated the seller giving answers. Now you only get answers from previous buyers of the item, which may or may not be correct.

[Larry Frank]

I look at the reviews and check the negative ones. Some of the negative ones are for ridiculous reasons.

I have NOCO jump starter and it is very well made. I have used it a couple of times especially to start some yard equipment. When I got mine, it did not have any incentive for doing a review. I did a review and rated it 5 stars. I think a poster on this thread just made a wild statement about them

[Mark Wedel]

Time to vent, but my next annoyance is those that answer a question but provide nothing useful. For example, someone asks if the widget can do this, and someone responds that they don't know. Contributes absolutely nothing of value. Just think how useless the Q&A would be if everyone who bought an item responded to questions even if they don't know the answer to what is being asked.

[Doug Garson]

Time to vent, but my next annoyance is those that answer a question but provide nothing useful. For example, someone asks if the widget can do this, and someone responds that they don't know. Contributes absolutely nothing of value. Just think how useless the Q&A would be if everyone who bought an item responded to questions even if they don't know the answer to what is being asked.

What you are overlooking is that if you have purchased an item, you may get an email from Amazon asking a question from a potential buyer. If you don't know the answer you can chose to ignore the email or respond "I don't know". I have answered "I don't know" rather than ignore it. If I recall Amazon may publish your response, you don't. Lee posted earlier that Amazon doesn't allow the seller to answer question, that, to me, seems dumb. I've often seen listings where, for example, it is unclear how many units are included. The listing may say one number in one place and another number elsewhere, who better than the seller to clarify it.
My pet peeve is people who give an item 5 stars because it arrived quickly and undamaged and then go on to say they haven't used it yet. They distort the rating for the product by rating the purchasing experience, two completely separate things.

[Mel Fulks]

I like Amazon. I won’t be doing any commercials for them . Never had a problem with Amazon. Nice hardworking people bring our
new supplies right up to the door ,then ring the doorbell and leave. Once we got some stuff we did not order, sent message to them ,they
thanked us and told us to keep it. Yes , a rich guy owns it , that’s fine with me.

[Stephen Tashiro]

That said, sometimes even 1 and 2 star reviews are useless and not actually reviewing the product.

As well as paying for reviews that tout their own product, companies (in countries that don't enforce libel laws) can also pay for reviews that blast their competitors.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Yea, there are marketing companies that pay people to buy products from Amazon and give them reviews as well.

That's how Amazon Vine works. They give you the product free, and you have to write reviews on a certain percentage of items received. Your reviews can be good, bad, or ugly, just honest. At the end of the year, reviewer (Vine) receives a 1099 for value of items gotten.

[mike stenson]

That's how Amazon Vine works. They give you the product free, and you have to write reviews on a certain percentage of items received. Your reviews can be good, bad, or ugly, just honest. At the end of the year, reviewer (Vine) receives a 1099 for value of items gotten.

yea, I'm referring specifically to marketing companies. Separate from Vine. Since it's the seller (not amazon) hiring the marketing companies, I'm not sure that there isn't bias. Intentional or inherent.

[Mel Fulks]

I never read the reviews. And I never buy a new brand of beer because a paid model sitting at a fake bar says , “ This is great beer !”