5 Stars – Headphones were great!

You may have heard in the news recently, that Which? Review found Amazon to be flooded with fake ‘five star reviews’.

Let’s be honest – are we really surprised?

You may recall – TripAdvisor, and the ‘fake top restaurant’. It’s happening around us – and it’s all too common.

Sellers want to be the best. And there’s easy ways to become one of the top – one of the best – one of the trusted. By reviews.

And anyone – can go online, and share a review. Which? Report found thousands of unverified reviews. Many where sent in a short space of time (meaning they most probably are computer generated).

They said – we should take reviews with a ‘pinch of salt’.

I appreciate it’s going to be harder to realize – what’s fake and what’s real.

They also said – ‘Look to independent and trustworthy sources when researching a product’.

Bal, what do you suggest?

Well…. couple of things;

1. Use the old traditional method of talking to friends and family – or your social network (and listen to those whom you trust).
2. When researching, look at a variety of reviews – not just a few. Look for reviews from other sites, other places – and see if they’re exactly the same – or there is variation.
3. Take your time – often we think, it’s a good deal… don’t want to miss out. Obviously depends on how much money you’re spending but take your time – investigate properly on what you’re buying and then make a well educated decision.

There’s more and more fake reviews, videos, etc… appearing and they don’t help us when we’re buying or looking at something.

Yes, some platforms are tackling this – but it’ll take time.

So when you come to buy something on Amazon and are reading the reviews – make sure you read all the reviews, look at known or reputable brands, and finally- read the returns policy!