Online Reviews for Products

[alabamagal]

How much do you trust them?  Do they factor into your decision?  Does reality match the reviews?

I just ordered a mattress topper from Walmart.  Not one of the memory foam or expensive gel ones, but 3" foam egg-crate type from a major bedding manufacturer, price is $35.  On Walmart it has over 400 reviews, average rating 4.3 out of 5.  I decided to check amazon and it is a few dollars more (but free shipping, I am not Prime) but the rating is average 2.3 out of 5 but only 11 reviews.  Reviews on Amazon say that it is thinner than it looks in the picture. On Walmart the picture doesn't show the side view so the only clue as to thickness is that is says 3".  Will see when it gets here.  The difference in rating is pretty high.

When I bought refrigerator I had a model picked out based on size, price and features, but when I looked at the reviews about half of them complained about the inside light being slow to turn on since it is LED.  When it arrived, the light was definitely slower than my old one to turn on, but by the time you get the door open, it is pretty much fully lit.  Maybe you have to wait another 1 second.  Actually now I hardly notice it.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I don't totally depend upon them, but use them to factor into my decision.

I remember looking at a new washer and had narrowed it down to one.  I was just about ready to pull the trigger and buy it, but decided to do some more research on it.  It got fairly good reviews from CR, but when I went into (I think it was Lowe's) web site and read the reviews, it got very poor reviews.  Apparently the water sensor in this model was bad and clothes would go through a wash cycle and never even get wet!  If one person had said this, I might have blown it off but just about every other review said the same thing.

When we went to South Africa, I depended highly on reviews of hotels we stayed at.  I used both Expedia's reviews and Trip Advisor's, and was able to get a good idea as to what was a disgruntled review for a circumstance beyond the hotel's control vs shoddy customer service.

For the hotels, the reviews were definitely on point.  

[Tiny]

I tend to give more credibility to the reviews with actual information or comparisons in them. I use the reviews to try to determine the things the 'official marketing information' doesn't say.

In the example about the product being thinner than expected... I'd probably not be too concerned since that's kind of subjective --what they were expecting was probably based on the photo verses whipping out a ruler and measuring just how thick 3 inches was. I'd probably scan the reviews for further information on to see if someone has articulated if the 'thinnest' effected the over all comfort of the product. OR if someone did state that it was only 1 inch (made that up) when the product description sez 3 inches.

I bought a large area run from Home Depot and relied on the reviews to determine the actual size of the rug (8 by 10 isn't always 8 feet by 10 feet), to determine if the rug pilled, or wouldn't lie flat (eventually), or had a bad chemical smell, and if the colors in the rug varied a lot from the photo or the description (if the description said 'red' was red like a crayon or more maroon?). I also based on the advice to buy a rug pad -- from many reviews of the larger rugs that were being used on hardwood floors. the many reviews that recommended a certain type of pad for hard wood floors were also spot on. the reviews stated WHY the certain type of pad was better (it didn't become one with the floor).    I have been very happy with the rug (and pad - worth EVERY penny!!) I purchased.  The only thing I was surprised by was that the rug has a sheen so the background is a darker brown versus a more silvery brown depending on which side of the room you are on.  It wasn't a deal breaker though (I added that info to my review).   Other than that the rug lived up to the reviews (and somewhat to the description). 

So, yeah, I do read the reviews but with a quite a bit of skepticism which gets a bit less the more times I see a similar sentiment (conclusion or 'fact' like size) stated but in different ways.

[wvugurl26]

I read them to see what people dislike. Some people are just cranky. And usually happy people rarely take the time to write a review.

[Deleted]

Not that much on products- major purchases such as mattresses, we just trust Costco. I do use TripAdvisor for hotels a lot and have 200+ reviews of my own. I look for specifics. Vague statements (Dinner was fabulous!" "Service was lousy.") are meaningless. In my own reviews I am very specific. We're in a hotel right now with swimming pool water so warm it was uncomfortable to swim laps. If you never go near the pool you may not care. Same for any criticism of room service, available restaurants nearby, etc. I look for the same level of detail in reviews I trust.

[Anne_in_VA]

I use them when making on-line purchases or a major purchase mostly.  Since I can't always see or be able to check out the item, I find it helpful to look at what others have liked or disliked about the item.  I do give more credence to reviews that are more specific though.  The ones that say they love it or hate it with no specifics aren't helpful and I generally disregard them.  

[Deleted]

I look at them.  Sometimes people bury nuggets of information within four/five-star reviews.

[973beachbum]

I read them mostly to find out more about a product.  Sometimes what I think a product will do isn't actually what it will do IRL.  The reviews normally let me know that before I buy it.  I have used them many times to figure out what cell phone I should buy.  And for the most part they have been spot on.

As for the mattress egg shell I think we bought the same one.  Is it an Ashley whatever from BB&B that cost over $100, of course not.  But we did put it on a cheapie futon that we bought for DD that is hard as a rock and once covered with a sheet it does make the futon really comfortable.  We originally bought it for her dorm bed her freshman year.  She was happy with it that year and three years later it is still fine.  So I guess it depends on what you want from it.

[alabamagal]

Oct 14, 2016 7:56:00 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

Trip advisor is one of my favorite places to read reviews.  I generally skip the good ones and go straight to the bitchy ones.   I figure it's a good way to figure out if there's a real problem.   I figure if the problems being reported are minor or just stupid,  then it's probably a good place to stay.   

I looked at TripAdvisor when I was trying to decide on a mid-priced business hotel for a recent trip.  One of the hotels had pretty good reviews, but the one that showed up first was a one-star.  I read the review and the person went to the hotel bar and was served "chilled red wine" - Oh the horror.  I did chose a different place, but due to location, not bar service issues.

[Deleted]

I like to read the reviews before purchasing something. Sometimes they help me decide what size to order.

[tskeeter]

Oct 13, 2016 16:33:12 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

How much do you trust them?  Do they factor into your decision?  Does reality match the reviews?

I just ordered a mattress topper from Walmart.  Not one of the memory foam or expensive gel ones, but 3" foam egg-crate type from a major bedding manufacturer, price is $35.  On Walmart it has over 400 reviews, average rating 4.3 out of 5.  I decided to check amazon and it is a few dollars more (but free shipping, I am not Prime) but the rating is average 2.3 out of 5 but only 11 reviews.  Reviews on Amazon say that it is thinner than it looks in the picture. On Walmart the picture doesn't show the side view so the only clue as to thickness is that is says 3".  Will see when it gets here.  The difference in rating is pretty high.

When I bought refrigerator I had a model picked out based on size, price and features, but when I looked at the reviews about half of them complained about the inside light being slow to turn on since it is LED.  When it arrived, the light was definitely slower than my old one to turn on, but by the time you get the door open, it is pretty much fully lit.  Maybe you have to wait another 1 second.  Actually now I hardly notice it.

The weight I give to online reviews depends on the source.  If I'm looking at shop tools on a wood working web site, I think they are very credible.  If I'm looking at shop tools reviews on Amazon, I consider them above average in credibility.  Shop tool reviews on Home Depot's web site are less credible than the other two sources.  Why these distinctions?  The frequency of use and sophistication of the reviewers regarding the use and performance of the tools.  (Wood workers often have two, three, or four cordless drills, so they have more expertise than a Home Depot buyer who is buying one copy of the cheapest tool they can find.)

Another factor is the number of reviews.  In statistics class I learned that the larger the sample, the more reliable the results.  So I give more weight to the reviews that have several hundred reviewers than those that have three or eight reviewers.

[alabamagal]

Oct 13, 2016 16:33:12 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

I just ordered a mattress topper from Walmart.  Not one of the memory foam or expensive gel ones, but 3" foam egg-crate type from a major bedding manufacturer, price is $35.  On Walmart it has over 400 reviews, average rating 4.3 out of 5.  I decided to check amazon and it is a few dollars more (but free shipping, I am not Prime) but the rating is average 2.3 out of 5 but only 11 reviews.  Reviews on Amazon say that it is thinner than it looks in the picture. On Walmart the picture doesn't show the side view so the only clue as to thickness is that is says 3".  Will see when it gets here.  The difference in rating is pretty high.

BTW I received the mattress topper over the weekend.  I think the Walmart reviews were pretty accurate.  I would give it a 5 for comfort but a 4 because it is a little smaller than the bed.  It works great, but it makes the bed look a little odd.  And since I don't care about other people looking at my mattress I am good with it.

Not sure about the Amazon reviews saying it looks thin.  One side has the "egg-crate" look and it is easily 3" to the top of the crate portion.