More and more pissed about reviews and threads

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

I love Roger Zelazny's Amber series but my brother finds it just ok. Who's right? Me of course! Just kidding. The difference is a matter of taste.

But some tastes are better than others. In this case, yours.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Harmon

Overall, I usually can find a useful review for any book or other product I'm thinking to buy. This is especially true of one star reviews of kindle books, which sometimes identify objectively wrong things, such as bad formating.

Actually, I can't remember, having seen any nonsense reviews (like the ones mentioned before) for Kindle or Kobo and the likes.
I guess, those readers being specialised on a single task, only attract "real" users. Whereas tablets are for "everyone".
If you read Kindle (or Kobo or whatever) books, you already have made your decision. Prices and the technology per se seem to be fine for you.
But in ecosystems, such as Google Play or iTunes, everyone can stumble around. And suddenly people, not having read a single book in their life, seem to be compelled to give their statements - about a topic they simply don't understand...

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Rich_D

If you'd like to restore your faith in the review system, go on to Amazon, search Bic Pens for Her and read the reviews.

Okay. Now I have to turn off my computer, or I'll spend the rest of the day reading those reviews...

[mgmueller]

Unbelievable...
A friend of mine sold her iPhone 4S via my Amazon account.
It's like new, no signs of usage, no problems whatsoever.

The first buyer, after 1 week, wrote:
"I'd like to back down from the purchase, as defined in the Amazon regulations (14 days)".
I'm not even sure, whether this (being able to back down) applies to used goods.
In the past, regulations of Amazon said "if the seller is a professional trader". This definition is gone from the Amazon regulations, maybe they've changed it.
We didn't want to bother, so she took it back.

Being an iPhone 4S, it was sold again within a day.
Just now, the second buyer wrote:
"I've got problems with the payment. Please don't send it yet. Can I back down? I can't log into my account anymore.".

I really ask myself:
Is iPhone mainly attracting losers?
Or is the number of losers in general increasing drastically?

I'm using the word "loser" deliberately.
I know: Lots of you will protest:
"They are allowed to back down".
"Problems with payments can happen".

But quite frankly, I see this issue entirely differently.
In my whole life, I've sent 4 products back to Amazon.
2 had been defect, the 3rd one had been different than the product photo. The 4th one had been replaced by a successor product the very same day I had ordered the "outdated one".
That's totally okay.
But that's not "backing down from a purchase".
It's exchanging a defective product. Or terminating a void contract.

But here, in the 2 cases described, it's totally different.
The iPhone is in perfect condition, my friend even took pictures of the housing before sending it.
And the first guy didn't say: "I've got this and that problem". He just wanted to back down.
My only explanation:
"It's sooooo expensive. I'd like to try it and then I decide, whether I can afford it and keep it".

And the second guy is even worse.
How can there be problems with payment?
The price is fixed. And Amazon requests the money instantly, as always.
Some might say:" Shit happens. Maybe he expected some commission or anything like that and the money isn't there yet".
But: If you pay by credit card, you don't have to pay instantly. If you pay via bank debit, you can overdraw your account.
So, what can be the problem?
Only explanation: They guy simply can't afford it.

I really don't get it.
And this really pisses me off...
"If you can't afford it, don't buy it". Simple as that...

And:
A recent statistic from Vodafone states:
On average, smartphone users spend between € 30 and € 70 per month.
This equals to € 720 respectively € 1.680 over a 2 years period (the typical contract duration for a sponsored smartphone).
Meaning: If one already can't afford the € 400 for a used iPhone: What does he want a smartphone for? The monthly rates obviously will kill him (financially).
Why don't they just buy an iPod touch instead? Or forget about it altogether?

[mgmueller]

I've just read the reviews for the Sony Xperia Tablet S (replacing the former Sony Ericsson Tablet S) on Amazon Germany.
One of the buyers stated the old problem: You can't save/move apps to the SD card.
Strange enough, this can be done on Sony Tablet P. It can be done on most Android tablets. But not on (at least) Sony Tablet S and Samsung Galaxy Note.

Now the friendly and helpful responses from other reviewers:

"I don't understand, why this is an issue. 16GB should be plenty. Android apps aren't that big".

"Who needs more than 16GB? Buy Apple, If you don't have a clue".

Again: Aggressive, incompetent and pointless.
a.) The buyer claims, he misses the App2SD functionality. So do I! Stating "16GB is enough" is someones personal opinion. I don't agree. And it's not even the issue. Even if it would be enough, the App2SD option still is missing, although it's standard on most other Android tablets.
b.) Someone stating, 16GB would be enough, obviously only plays "Angry Birds". If that's your thing, you certainly can install 100 casual games in 16GB. But what about my 2.5GB of Kindle books? My 3GB of Kobo books (less books in total than in Kindle, but some huge Dilbert and Garfield comics)? My 2GB of world maps in Navigon? My 12GB of Zinio magazines? My 5GB of German "Spiegel" magazine issues 2010 to 2012? You manually can copy your MP3s to the SD card. But you can't download them in "7Digital" for example, they would be saved to the limited internal memory instead of the SD card. That's another 12GB for me.
Meaning: On a tablet, it's obviously not all about the apps. It's about the content. And if you read (or even worse: Watch movies), 16GB isn't much. Again: You manually could save movies or MP3s to the SD card. But you can't download to the SD card...

What I -again- really don't get:
Someone states his problem.
Compared to other Android tablets even a valid problem.
But the other reviewers tell him:
- Your problem doesn't exist.
- I don't see this as a problem, so you shouldn't either.
- I don't get your problem, so you must be an idiot.

In this specific case:
German Telekom told me, the 32GB version of iPhone by far is their bestseller.
64GB seems to be too expensive, 16GB seems to be too limited.
If on a smartphone 16GB isn't enough, it's way more critical on a tablet of course.
You have more options on the bigger display, leading to more apps, content and GB.
So the statements aren't only aggressive and harsh and unhelpful, they aren't very smart either.

And again: This really pisses me off.
Why don't they just ignore the review?
Why do they have to post aggressive nonsense and personal attacks?

[Dragoro]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

What is the incentive to post thoughtful and honest reviews? Any time you post a review, it is for the benefit of the people creating and selling the product. You are rarely receiving monetary benefits. You rarely have a sense of responsibility to other consumers. Heck, you can't even count on recognition.

In other words, any intelligent person would just skip writing a review and do something more productive with their time.

Yeah, cause intelligent people only do things for money or recognition. ::rolls eyes::

[mgmueller]

The reviews are roughly split in half.
One half is, what I'd actually call "reviews".
The other half is highly aggressive and plain stupid nonsense:

"I don't want to see ads. That's totally unprofessional."
Great. Why did you buy the sponsored version then? For a tiny uplift of 15 Euro you get a version without advertising.

"Amazon limits to their content."
Why did you buy a gadget, that wasn't advertised as a full blown tablet? Kindle Fire HD clearly advertises as consumption platform for Amazon content. Like it or hate it. Juts don't buy it if you're not into Amazon.

There are dozens of reviews like that.
To be a bit harsh:
I feel, the lower the level of education, the worse the grammar and wording, the more negative and aggressive the reviews tend to be.

Are those people not able to read a product description?
What do those people expect for 200 Euro? (vs. 2 or 3 times the amount for having an iPad).
And again: Why that aggression?
Just send it back. Or order the "right" product in the first place. It's not Amazon's fault, if you don't read the product description and expect something else.

I guess, I have to watch the movie "Idiocracy" again. Fiction 5 years ago, harsh reality nowadays...

[4691mls]

mgmueller is right about a lot of the "reviews" not being real product reviews.

I especially hate the ones where somebody says "it was much bigger (smaller) than I expected" when the measurements are clearly posted in the product description. Also the ones where the person is ranting about slow shipping or something else that has nothing to do with the quality of the product they're supposed to be reviewing.

And then there are the ones who write a glowing review but give only one star....

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I especially hate the ones where somebody says "it was much bigger (smaller) than I expected" when the measurements are clearly posted in the product description.

Classic!

In the beginning of eReaders, one review in Amazon Germany stated:
"Cybook Opus is great. But it's too small for me, so I give it 1 star. How anyone can produce such a small unit is beyond me. What bullshit".

That's just great.
Basically the review says:
"I proactively chose the smallest reader in the market. Unfortunately it's small so I hate it."
I understand, if someone after testing decides, 5" isn't working for his specific books.
But why is the reader bullshit then?
And why rate it 1 star?
And again: Why that aggression?

[Mhtsos]

All I can say is that public reviews helped me alot in recent years.

Because there isn't a true unbiased "professional" reviewer I tend to value far more the users'/buyers' opinion.
More than once a "professional" messed big time in reviewing a product and I felt quite bad for trusting one person's opinion(pre internet era).

I agree that in many cases the reviews are useless, but almost always you can find some posts/reviews that can enlighten you about the product.

I don't really have a problem with the "spam reviews",as far as the trully helpful reviews can be posted.I can always ignore the stupid remarks.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Mhtsos

All I can say is that public reviews helped me alot in recent years.

Because there isn't a true unbiased "professional" reviewer I tend to value far more the users'/buyers' opinion.
More than once a "professional" messed big time in reviewing a product and I felt quite bad for trusting one person's opinion(pre internet era).

I agree that in many cases the reviews are useless, but almost always you can find some posts/reviews that can enlighten you about the product.

I don't really have a problem with the "spam reviews",as far as the trully helpful reviews can be posted.I can always ignore the stupid remarks.

Of course you can (try to) ignore the idiotic reviews and bashing.

But quite frankly, I still find them kind of depressing.

First of all, you can't decide about a product in a glance.
If 40% of the reviews give 1 star due to dubious reasons, the average isn't valid anymore.
3.5 out of 5 stars: Is it a mediocre product then? Or do I have to scratch the bottom third of the reviews/ratings?

Second of all, I find the negative tone, bad grammar and lazy use of language kind of corruptive.
On mobileread, I often scroll through the reviews. Without specific target, just looking for some inspirations and ideas for my next gadget.
In many other forums, the negativity and aggression often kills the whole fun.

[haydnfan]

I wouldn't call reviews that are critical of the lack of apps in Amazon's app store or the intrusive ads in the KF "plain stupid nonsense." Knowing about these things a priori doesn't make them off topic for reviews, that's just plain silly! You're just talking sour grapes.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by haydnfan

I wouldn't call reviews that are critical of the lack of apps in Amazon's app store or the intrusive ads in the KF "plain stupid nonsense." Knowing about these things a priori doesn't make them off topic for reviews, that's just plain silly! You're just talking sour grapes.

For one, it's the tone of the reviews.
Stating, Kindle Fire HD is total crap because lack of apps, doesn't make sense.
That's like saying, a Fiat is crap because of lack of horsepower. Yes, it's no Porsche. But it never was advertised as such. And it's way cheaper than the Porsche you may lust for...

And re. the ads and other criticism: They may not like it. But that's what they've ordered. It's really simple to choose between the 2 models. A review could state: "I find the ads annoying and wouldn't buy the sponsored Kindle ever again". But stating, Amazon would be criminal and Kindle is crap because of the ads doesn't make any sense at all.

And again: What do those people expect for 200 Euros?

[usuallee]

I've kind of developed a personal system for looking at user reviews. You can sift through them and sort of tell if it is a legit review (as opposed to a paid advertisement in the guise of a review), and if the review is intelligent and thoughtful, and if the reviewer has similar tastes. Also, I seek reviews that mention at least one good and bad thing about the product. If a review does not meet the criteria, I don't take it into consideration. There are people that take the time to provide thoughtful reviews, you just have to find them amidst all the detritus.

Generally, I put more stock in mainstream media reviews, but you have to be careful there too. For example, Publisher's Weekly gushes about almost every new release it seems, including some truly bad ones. Then, inexplicably, they will trash a book that I found to be excellent & so did most other reviewers. Go figure.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

That's like saying, a Fiat is crap because of lack of horsepower. Yes, it's no Porsche. But it never was advertised as such. And it's way cheaper than the Porsche you may lust for...

Hey, I like the Barchetta

But you're right, of course.