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Do you trust Amazon reviews?
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Sep 14, 2018 17:48:53   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
GrandmaG wrote:
I need a spare memory card for my Sony a7iii and wanted one large enough for video. Currently, I have a 32 GB Lexar SD II U3 150MB/s. I was considering another Lexar card, but twice the size. EVERY review on EVERY card has a reviewer that says something like, "Don't buy this card" or "It's a fake" or " the card failed in the middle of a shoot". etc. Also, hardly any of them show the back of the card, except for the Transcend card (TS64GSD2U3). Both cards are on the Sony recommended list. What say you?
I need a spare memory card for my Sony a7iii and w... (show quote)


I do, but only the 1 and 2 star reviews. These indicate to me how average (or below) people deal with instructions, assembly, use, etc, and what problems they encounter - I want to know about what problems - and then make a judgement call as to whether the person writing it is reliable or a flake.

I also look at the distribution of ratings - a product with as many 5 star reviews as there are 1 star reviews is something to avoid. Either quality control issues, or usability issues, or longevity issues are likely.

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Sep 14, 2018 17:51:54   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
DanielB wrote:
I do not trust all the reviews on Amazon but I do trust the known sellers. If your card is being shipped by B&H, Adorama or other and fulfilled by Amazon your pretty safe. But if the item is being sold by Jimmy Joe's Camera Barn I'd be careful. I'm pretty sure that there are unscrupulous sellers that pay people to post bad reviews on competitors items. You will not find anything on Amazon that doesn't have a few bad reviews. I look at the good and bad reviews and the percentage of both then before buying will do some off site research.
I do not trust all the reviews on Amazon but I do ... (show quote)


I didn’t know Amazon could fulfill an item shipped from B&H or Adorama. I will look for that. I have a $50 gift card, so I thought I would get a memory card with it (plus a little cash).

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Sep 14, 2018 17:54:36   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
gwilliams6 wrote:
Sandisk is the #1 brand with professional photographers overwhelmingly. Their record of reliability and quality is superb. Sony has entered this retail field after being behind the scenes of much memory card technology and advances. The fast and durable Sony cards pair nicely with my Sony cameras. Lexar was widely sold to pros also with reduced price incentives, but had intermittent quality control issues at times. Otherwise Lexar was very good. I do not know if anyone has reviewed Lexar quality now that they are made by huge Chinese flash memory company. Cheers

If I was to make one single recommendation, yes Sandisk is the best choice IMHO. I have never had a card failure with any Sandisk card or Sony card. David Oastler did have a Sony card fail on him when they first came out, but not since. I did have two card failures with Lexar cards in the past. Fortunately I was using a dual card setup in both cases and had redundancy. Cheers
Sandisk is the #1 brand with professional photogra... (show quote)


It looks like Sandisk is the winner

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Sep 14, 2018 18:01:43   #
gwilliams6
 
GrandmaG wrote:
It looks like Sandisk is the winner


Yes they are the winner IMHO. Never had even a single failure or problem in many years of professional use.

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Sep 14, 2018 18:21:47   #
joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois
 
GrandmaG wrote:
I need a spare memory card for my Sony a7iii and wanted one large enough for video. Currently, I have a 32 GB Lexar SD II U3 150MB/s. I was considering another Lexar card, but twice the size. EVERY review on EVERY card has a reviewer that says something like, "Don't buy this card" or "It's a fake" or " the card failed in the middle of a shoot". etc. Also, hardly any of them show the back of the card, except for the Transcend card (TS64GSD2U3). Both cards are on the Sony recommended list. What say you?
I need a spare memory card for my Sony a7iii and w... (show quote)


I look at all reviews with a jaundiced eye. There is usually not enough known about the reviewer that would make them reliable to me.

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Sep 14, 2018 20:30:44   #
Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.
 
GrandmaG wrote:
I need a spare memory card for my Sony a7iii and wanted one large enough for video. Currently, I have a 32 GB Lexar SD II U3 150MB/s. I was considering another Lexar card, but twice the size. EVERY review on EVERY card has a reviewer that says something like, "Don't buy this card" or "It's a fake" or " the card failed in the middle of a shoot". etc. Also, hardly any of them show the back of the card, except for the Transcend card (TS64GSD2U3). Both cards are on the Sony recommended list. What say you?
I need a spare memory card for my Sony a7iii and w... (show quote)


I don't use SD cards but I used to and never had a problem with Lexar, currently I shoot with 3 CF cards, 2 64 gb and 1 128 gb all of which are Lexar and have never had a problem with any of them. I think that the Transcend cards are probably good also.

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Sep 14, 2018 21:54:01   #
aubreybogle Loc: Albuquerque, NM
 
Amazon only markets products from other vendors if they have chosen to list them with Amazon, and have entered into a contract to do so for that product. I think it highly unlikely you will see B&H or Adorama doig this. They are large enough to market their products for themselves.

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Sep 14, 2018 22:10:57   #
LA Loc: Little Rock, AR
 
I have a simple method of using the reviews, some would say even simplistic. I look at the NUMBER of reviews for each of the competing brands/models. The idea is that the one with the most reviews is the one that most people buy, and that says a lot. Sure I will look at some of the 1713 reviews to see if I might learn something that matters to me, but if there are 4 items with 10, 100, 1000 and 5,000 reviews, I am certain to select the last one unless it lacks some feature that is a deal killer for me.

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Sep 14, 2018 22:17:20   #
aubreybogle Loc: Albuquerque, NM
 
LA wrote:
I have a simple method of using the reviews, some would say even simplistic. I look at the NUMBER of reviews for each of the competing brands/models. The idea is that the one with the most reviews is the one that most people buy, and that says a lot. Sure I will look at some of the 1713 reviews to see if I might learn something that matters to me, but if there are 4 items with 10, 100, 1000 and 5,000 reviews, I am certain to select the last one unless it lacks some feature that is a deal killer for me.
I have a simple method of using the reviews, some ... (show quote)


I take this same approach, while looking at a cross section of positive and negative reviews and incorporating what I already know about the company and product.

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Sep 14, 2018 22:25:45   #
mgoldfield
 
aubreybogle wrote:
Amazon only markets products from other vendors if they have chosen to list them with Amazon, and have entered into a contract to do so for that product. I think it highly unlikely you will see B&H or Adorama doig this. They are large enough to market their products for themselves.


Not quite so! I bought my 77d through Amazon in July; the seller and shipper was Adorama.
Even better: free Prime shipping and no tax.

I paid $649 (body only)

Many reputable sellers list and sell through Amazon. Sometimes the seller does the shipping,
other times Amazon fulfills (ships) for the seller.

On top of it all, I use an Amazon Prime Store card which gives me 5% cash back on all purchases:
sold by Amazon, sold by 3rd party and fulfilled by Amazon; sold and shipped by 3rd party.

Amazon stands by all sales 100%!

M. Goldfield

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Sep 14, 2018 23:54:12   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
mgoldfield wrote:
Not quite so! I bought my 77d through Amazon in July; the seller and shipper was Adorama.
Even better: free Prime shipping and no tax.

I paid $649 (body only)

Many reputable sellers list and sell through Amazon. Sometimes the seller does the shipping,
other times Amazon fulfills (ships) for the seller.

On top of it all, I use an Amazon Prime Store card which gives me 5% cash back on all purchases:
sold by Amazon, sold by 3rd party and fulfilled by Amazon; sold and shipped by 3rd party.

Amazon stands by all sales 100%!

M. Goldfield
Not quite so! I bought my 77d through Amazon in Ju... (show quote)


That’s true, now that I think about it. I have seen items from Adorama listed on Amazon. I love the free shipping with Amazon Prime, too. B&H also offers free shipping.

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Sep 14, 2018 23:55:23   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
LA wrote:
I have a simple method of using the reviews, some would say even simplistic. I look at the NUMBER of reviews for each of the competing brands/models. The idea is that the one with the most reviews is the one that most people buy, and that says a lot. Sure I will look at some of the 1713 reviews to see if I might learn something that matters to me, but if there are 4 items with 10, 100, 1000 and 5,000 reviews, I am certain to select the last one unless it lacks some feature that is a deal killer for me.
I have a simple method of using the reviews, some ... (show quote)


I never thought about it that way, but you may be on to something!

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Sep 15, 2018 01:58:14   #
zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas
 
The question here is not just if we can trust Amazon reviews. The big question is whether we can trust Amazon.

Amazon has been selling knockoff products, that is counterfeit products for years. It is not that they necessarily do so knowingly, but they found it almost impossible to verify the authenticity of the zillions of products they offer and the trustworthiness of the large number of vendors they deal with.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/apr/27/amazon-site-awash-with-counterfeit-goods-despite-crackdown

As a result, I have become a lot more careful about what I buy at Amazon, particularly big-ticket items. I buy lenses and Cameras at B&H or at the local camera store because I trust that they sell authentic products. I often read Amazon reviews but don't buy there as often as I used to. Too many times I have bought stuff on Amazon Prime and then cheap s**t arrives from China or the Czech Republic or wherever.

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Sep 15, 2018 05:09:58   #
R.G. Loc: Scotland
 
zug55 wrote:
.....Amazon has been selling (edit) counterfeit products for years...... they found it almost impossible to verify the authenticity of the zillions of products they offer and the trustworthiness of the large number of vendors they deal with.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/apr/27/amazon-site-awash-with-counterfeit-goods-despite-crackdown


This post says just about everything that needs to be said.

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Sep 15, 2018 08:37:52   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
zug55 wrote:
The question here is not just if we can trust Amazon reviews. The big question is whether we can trust Amazon.

Amazon has been selling knockoff products, that is counterfeit products for years. It is not that they necessarily do so knowingly, but they found it almost impossible to verify the authenticity of the zillions of products they offer and the trustworthiness of the large number of vendors they deal with.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/apr/27/amazon-site-awash-with-counterfeit-goods-despite-crackdown

As a result, I have become a lot more careful about what I buy at Amazon, particularly big-ticket items. I buy lenses and Cameras at B&H or at the local camera store because I trust that they sell authentic products. I often read Amazon reviews but don't buy there as often as I used to. Too many times I have bought stuff on Amazon Prime and then cheap s**t arrives from China or the Czech Republic or wherever.
The question here is not just if we can trust Amaz... (show quote)


I guess I’ve been lucky then. I always get exactly what I order; but, then, I make careful choices. I use B&H or Adorama or my local camera store to buy those big ticket items you mentioned. I have bought Canon all-in-one printers through Amazon though (for $59, that’s not really big ticket and the shipping is free). Also, I get points on my credit card and I hook up my points to use on Amazon. We have a fire stick and stream movies through Amazon Prime. I tried their photo site for sharing pics but quit because it was impossible to enlarge the picture to see what you wanted to have them print. Prints were decent as I recall.

I do pay attention to the reviews and there has been a lot of interesting answers to their validity.

Thank you all so much!

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