Do you read consumer written reviews before buying things?

No I have never read anything like before we nomally ask about our friends to see if they have heard anything bad.

If I'm buying something rather small I tend to not worry too much about reviews. However, if I'm worried that I'll end up spending money on anything that may go to waste, then regardless of the price I'll make it a point to check out reviews because I hate, hate, hate wasting money and wasting a product. Anytime I buy a large item I always read product reviews. There is no point in buying a rather expensive item and then hating it so you've just wasted a whole bunch of money.

Some of these sites do influence me. I also do my own research. For really large purchases I still like Consumer Reports.

nope! but I sure remember the good old days when we got .30 per view on the things we wrote on epinions!! then it was .10, which was still great. I belonged to a few yahoo email groups where we posted and viewed each others stuff and were really earning. I've not done anything there in years...in fact, I think the last time I tried to log in it told me my account had been closed. Now that you have my thinking about it, I may just email them to have it reactivated. I can put in all my book reviews there too! (the reviews don't have to be exclusive there do they?) Marsha

Yes, I always do. After all real people are going to be honest about the product, you can usually find out from them what the benifits and features of the product are, and how it worked for them, and a lot of time there is advice on how to use the item properly or how to trouble shoot if something is not right about it. You can learn from their experience what is good and what is bad about a product, why not use someone else's experienc about such things especially if buying something expensive.

I absolutely read reviews on things that are a bit more expensive, like travel and electronics. I see if the reviews say the same things good or bad. I know you can't please all the people all the time but if an item has 5 good reviews and 5 bad reviews and all the bad reviews say pretty much the same thing then I know it is true. One bad review doesn't necessarily wash out several good reviews. I jut look for consistency.

I do sometimes read and when i do not have enough time i then buy it through the recommendation of my friends since the word of mouth is more effective relying solely on the consumer first hand experiences much better than print review.

hi ladym33, Yes I do. It helped me to better understand the product that I'm about to purchase and decide if it is worth buying or not. Getting opinions from people who know the product and have tried using it will help me to spend my money wisely. Because I believe that those sites gives honest opinions and views about different types of products and services.

I tend to check out a few. After all, if something has been negatively panned by a lot of people, then it might not be the best idea to buy it. I try not to let the reviews shape my purchase too much. Unless something is so overly the top given negative feedback, then I pretty much use my best judgment. Many times my best judgment tends to be good, but I think on some subconscious level, reading consumer reviews helps this. Its always smart to be well informed at any rate.

Not really, I rely more on trial and error made by myself. I'ld like to buy small package of the products when it comes to cosmetic, food and etc. so I can try it myself without spending too much money. When it comes to cosmetics, even if you reviewed written surveys there would always be a big difference since not all consumers have the same skin type. The other product can be good to one but not to all. When it comes to electronics and appliances I would like to read reviews before buying an item because the cost is much higher and more risky.