Posting Phoney Reviews: A guy who posted a lot of bogus negative reviews of restaurant in Blackpool, England was fined almost $10,000. For no apparent reason, this stupid guy posted a...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

A guy who posted a lot of bogus negative reviews of restaurant in Blackpool, England was fined almost $10,000.

For no apparent reason, this stupid guy posted a lot of negative reviews of a restaurant. Fortunately, the owner was a lawyer, so he knew what to do - take him to court. He said the process is complicated and expensive, so a non-lawyer would be stuck with the reviews. The comments were posted in TripAdvisor, located in Massachusetts, so the case had to filed there. It was worth the effort.

If someone asks you to print a retraction, and you refuse, your penalty will be considerably greater if you lose the case.

We all know that Amazon has posted phony reviews, both pro and con. Theys ay they try to catch phony reviewers, but they still get through. The only reviews I rely on are those done by "professional" reviewers online, and I look for several reviews. When I post links to camera reviews here, hopefully, the reader see will similarities among the reviews. If ten reviewers hate a product, and one loves it, you should be suspicious.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Then there are people who are super hyper-critical about things. One thing out of wack and the whole product is bad.

My favorites are the ones that rip service when reviewing a product. Who cares if the sales person was lousy, is the product itself good?

I take many reviews with a grain of salt, unless they explain WHY.

uhaas2009

You can buy reviews.....google it

lreisner Loc: Union,NJ

jerryc41 wrote:

A guy who posted a lot of bogus negative reviews o... (show quote)

Reviews are like all information on the internet when you do not know the source. You have to question the information. I often find reviews helpful if there are enough of them. Most people review items before they even use them. Star ratings by themselves mean little to me.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

lreisner wrote:

Reviews are like all information on the internet when you do not know the source. You have to question the information. I often find reviews helpful if there are enough of them. Most people review items before they even use them. Star ratings by themselves mean little to me.

YES!

I've seen one star reviews where the product worked just fine, but the sales people were lousy.
WTF - REALLY?????????

RiJoRi Loc: Sandy Ridge, NC

I sometimes post a review of a camera app on Google Play. I find "ooh, wonderful!" and "it's carp!" comments to be less than useless, so I explain what I like /don't like about it. Now if only I could get everyone to use my perfect system! 🙄😜😂

--Rich

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

RiJoRi wrote:

I sometimes post a review of a camera app on Google Play. I find "ooh, wonderful!" and "it's carp!" comments to be less than useless, so I explain what I like /don't like about it. Now if only I could get everyone to use my perfect system! 🙄😜😂

--Rich

What a concept!

lreisner Loc: Union,NJ

RiJoRi wrote:

I sometimes post a review of a camera app on Google Play. I find "ooh, wonderful!" and "it's carp!" comments to be less than useless, so I explain what I like /don't like about it. Now if only I could get everyone to use my perfect system! 🙄😜😂

--Rich

💯 Exactly

Canonuser Loc: UK and South Africa

I hate poor reviews where the writer claims to be upset merely by damaged packaging or late arrival, but says next to nothing about the quality of the product.

St.Mary's

Canonuser: Roger that.

Canisdirus

When it comes to restaurants... the only reviews I consider is from Michelin.
Otherwise it's all hit and miss out there.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Longshadow wrote:

Then there are people who are super hyper-critical about things. One thing out of wack and the whole product is bad.

My favorites are the ones that rip service when reviewing a product. Who cares if the sales person was lousy, is the product itself good?

I take many reviews with a grain of salt, unless they explain WHY.

I'll glance at Amazon reviews, but I certainly wouldn't rely on them. I've seen people erroneously give a product one star when they loved it. I've also seen one star given because the box arrived ripped. I've gotten in the habit of spending time looking for reviews of just about everything before buying.

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

jerryc41 wrote:

I'll glance at Amazon reviews, but I certainly wouldn't rely on them. I've seen people erroneously give a product one star when they loved it. I've also seen one star given because the box arrived ripped. I've gotten in the habit of spending time looking for reviews of just about everything before buying.

It's been my practice to tend toward items with a number of reviews. I always go to the 1 or 2 star (negative) reviews, and analyze their content. If there is a pattern of product deficiency, and if it is an attribute of concern to me, I will not make that purchase. Those which claim frivolous problems I ignore. If the negative reviews are in a high percent, I will look very critically toward purchase. Whenever available, I will seek out "professional" reviews, though taking into account possible bias and/or compensated reviews!

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

Greg from Romeoville illinois Loc: Romeoville illinois

jerryc41 wrote:

The only reviews I rely on are those done by "professional" reviewers online, and I look for several reviews.

The main problem that I have with "professional" reviewers is that they have links to the reviewed item and receive a kickback for that review. I notice that different reviewers will have different items that they consider the best. Even Consumers Report has a click thru for rebate.

gpc

RiJoRi wrote:

I sometimes post a review of a camera app on Google Play. I find "ooh, wonderful!" and "it's carp!" comments to be less than useless, so I explain what I like /don't like about it. Now if only I could get everyone to use my perfect system! 🙄😜😂

--Rich

Hmm, sounds fishy...