Reading reviews could, and actually does, save those who take the time to read them, time and money. Take for example someone who wants to buy something from a site and you find out that some of the sellers on the site have lots of negative feedback. There are lots of complaints on the net about them. If you take a look at that feedback you may be less willing to buy anything from the who sellers or sites which got negative ratings/feedback. Want to avoid getting scammed? Read reviews. All the time.
I do think to be fair you need to read the dates too. I find some reviews going back a few years and things will have changed or a company may have changed ownership. Negative reviews rarely stay up too long. I wrote a bad one about a domain provider and they called me several times and emailed me to 'resolve' things in a bad for me to take it down or make it more favorable. As my landline was disconnected as I moved, they went to great measures to contact me. They didn't do this when I emailed my complaint, only when I made my review public and they gathered it was me. (I did it anonymously, but the speed of their response was fast!)
The one great thing about my habit of buying makeup for comfort is that it really trained me to check out reviews for EVERYTHING. Sites, products, you name it. It’s always good to know what you may be getting into, especially when ordering online. Sometimes I still neglect to do this, particularly if I plan to make an in-person purchase, but it really does save a lot of trouble.
I agree that reading up on buyers before actually purchasing something does indeed save you money. For one, you won't be buying something that could possibly break down a few days later. I recommend going for trust worthy brands all the time that have a good reputation, just so that you can avoid any issues that may come.
I agree that reviews should be read before you purchase a product but when you read those reviews you want to keep in mind that all people are not fair and will not leave a fair accurate review just to be different. I weigh the reviews when I read them, if there are alot of negative reviews it think I will not purchase that item. If there are mostly positive reviews and a few negative reviews I will consider purchasing the product.
I don't just buy from an online shop even if the good look good and cheap. What I always do is to ask around for their experience with that particular shop. And when there is no review, I search the internet. Normally, the search yields forums which have comments (that may or may not be true at all). Nevertheless, those comments can serve as basis before I purchase from that untested online shop.
On websites like Fiverr, people offer reviewing services. I mean, I was already always wary of taking online reviews into consideration, because you never know who actually wrote those reviews. Seeing those gigs on Fiverr only served to strengthen that untrustworthiness. But then again, online reviews are sometimes the only thing that we have to make our choice off of.
Of course... reading reviews are always a must for me. I never buy anything before reading all the negative reviews. Why is this? You don't need to know why the item is praised, you need to know why the item didn't suffice to the buyers needs. You need to know if the seller is a legit seller and if he will ship it after you pay. Since I'm very strict when it comes to buying things online, I normally stick to websites I've used or trust like Amazon and eBay. If it's an unfamiliar website, I always look them up on the web for reviews other then the ones posted on the website because who knows if their reviews are real or not? If they control their website then what's stopping them from writing fake reviews to take in buyers? So for this reason I look up every unfamiliar site to make sure they're legit before putting in my card.
I always read the reviews. But I also know that some reviews are paid to review! So you have to use common sense too. A lot of times I will look on Reddit for some information there, I find their users to be very objective (for some things, lol)
What would you do if you saw a new business with almost no reviews offering good prices? Would you buy something off them, or let other people take the risk and rate them first?
If I saw a new business that had very little online presence, and was devoid of online reviews, but they were offering great prices, I might consider still doing business with them. I'd have to think about it for a while though, before making the choice. I wouldn't rule it out , but I'd be very cautious.
@purplepaint @DreekLass I might take a chance on that new business offering wonderful prices, but I also might use their prices at a better known shop that offered price matching, in order to get a lower price from a trusted source. Another thing to take into consideration is that many companies with so many bad reviews that it's affecting their profits, simply change their name to obtain a fresh start. We had some apartment complexes in the area that had issues and were having trouble obtaining tenants, so they changed their names. As @Theo mentioned, it's also important to look at the dates, and also use a discerning eye, because the company might have changed policies, employees, management, etc., in order to rectify past issues, and could be a better one to deal with now.
I don't know. If the prices are better on a website that I don't know much about, and the prices are more expensive on a website that I trust and am more familiar with, then I would be more likely to pay more and go with the website that I have built up trust with.
Being able to do your research before you buy is a good idea. Your reputation is valuable and any good business that wants to stay in business will do what it takes to make a good reputation. Those that don't care will receive bad reviews. It is true that a business can change ownership but it will take a while before customers regain trust. I hope businesses use bad reviews as form of constructive criticism to make positive changes.
I also tend to look at reviews first before considering on buying something. If I see more negative reviews than positive ones I most probably won't buy from that site although sometimes I'm also trying to figure out whether the reviews are true or not.
I never buy anything online without looking up at a lot of reviews first! I actually tend to look more at the negative reviews and how the company has responded. Ever since I realised that reviews can be doctored and some sites buy positive reviews, I'm even more cautious!
I agree, I tend to read reviews of sites that I am not familiar with before purchasing, because I might end up buying from a scam site. I remember that I almost bought from dinodirect.com, and good thing that I was able to remember to google the site first before I purchase, because I found out that there were many people who were complaining about that site!
I always look for reviews especially when anything tech. When I was researching smartphones, I checked online reviews. There will always be negative reviews, but I look for consistency in the reviews. I also add reviews since I use them for my own purchases. I provide my feedback in hopes that it will others n their buying decisions.
Another good sign that a website is not the kind of website that you should be giving your time, attention, nor money to is a complete lack of reviews. I have come across many offers in the past that seemed interesting, and so naturally I took to google to find out more information about the site, and there has been next to nothing about the site, which is iffy to me, especially if the site is making ostentatious claims.
Yes, I think it is important to read reviews, and I tend to avoid sites where all the reviews are glowing, because I think they are made up. Also, I think that people saying the same critcisms of the product are probably legitimate and something to be wary of. I guess that it is always a risk buying something online, but you can try to reduce it.
