Do you read the reviews before purchasing an item on Amazon.com?
By autismfamily
@autismfamily (190)
United States
November 3, 2006 6:10pm CST
I just bought a bunch of items on Amazon with my affiliate gift certificate. These were products on the wish lists I have for myself and my kids.
Prior to putting these items onto the wish lists I do read and rate the reviews on the site.
Sometimes they sway me into not getting the item. When shopping on ebay for autism related books I always go first to amazon to see if the reviews are favorable and to check the actual price and compare it to what it is being sold on at ebay.
Do you utilize the reviews for books and products on amazon before making purchases? Do these sway you one way or another from making that purchase?
I have written many reviews on amazon and at one point was working toward becoming a top 1000 reviewer.
Last time I checked I was in the 2,000 range, but I found it too time consuming with no incentive to continue that pursuit.
Do you write reviews on amazon?
5 people like this
18 responses
@mellbrb (250)
• United States
19 Nov 06
Oh yes I do read the reviews before I buy. But no I have not ever written one.
I was actually thinking of doing one for the last thing I bought. It was an electric fly swatter~ lol It is not very good for in the house at all! But now outside, those lil gnats will throw a spark! ahahaaa And it is a little heavy. It's like a tennis racket, with 2 D size batteries.
~*~ Happy Holidays ~*~
2 people like this
@albert2412 (1782)
• United States
28 Mar 07
I have never writen a review but maybe someday I would lke to write a book. We have bought autism related books, but normally we buy supplements and things of that king to help our son. We normally find autism information from autism groups on Yahoo or the Autism research Institute. How do you go about writing reviews on Amazon? It sounds like a neat part time job.
@rebelann (111254)
• El Paso, Texas
20 Apr 20
They don't pay you to write reviews but boy do they love it when you do.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
27 Mar 07
I often read reviews, even if I am only browsing and notice something of casual interest. It is very useful to be able to read the opinions of others that have purchased and used a particular product, although I do not always allow myself to be swayed by their opinion.
I was interested in a Buffalo Terrastation, and considered buying one last year. Amazon had them o sale and there were several highly glowing reports posted by others. However, after reading some of the reviews by various computer magazines I realised that it would not suit the purpose I had in mind because I was using a wireless network and the transfer rate would not support the playing of DVD media smoothly.
1 person likes this
@alexdiazgranados (678)
• United States
18 Mar 07
I'm an odd bird as far as Amazon goes. First, I rarely read product reviews of stuff I'm going to purchase because I tend to buy things I really like already. The exception is when I am buying a new, never heard-of book or movie, such as (for me) Boogie Nights. I do read my friends' Amazon reviews, but that's more of a reading/rating thing than it is "comparison shopping" issue.
I used to write reviews at Amazon. In fact, I only wrote reviews at Amazon for over a year, not knowing that Epinions existed. I too aimed for a Top Reviewer badge and not only got to be a top 1000 reviewer, but for a while I was a top 500 reviewer, too. I tried to stick with Ammy even after joining Eps, but the lack of financial incentive at the former site kind of made me lose interest in writing reviews for free.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111254)
• El Paso, Texas
20 Apr 20
Yeah, reviews are simply other people opinions and who knows if those people have your same standards. Often a review is written because someone got mad and not because a product is actually bad or good for that matter.
@nufoundglory (1353)
• Serbia And Montenegro
27 Mar 07
For your original question, yes, i DO read reviews before purchasing anything on Amazon. That's very important to me. Those reviews usually guide me for making further decision.
Though, i've learnt that sometimes the reviews made are written by people of the opposite interests than mine, so the review actually don't apply much to me. Like when i bought Hanson's Underneath cd, most people gave the album a good review, so i bought the cd. But when i listen to the album myself, it's not really living up to my expectation. It's pretty good, but it's not very much my taste now (it would have been if i bought that cd back in my high school days).
So from then on, i still do read reviews, of course. That is still important to me, but i would not take it 100%.
And as for writng reviews myself, i have so far only written one review for one item that i purchased on there.
@rebelann (111254)
• El Paso, Texas
20 Apr 20
The only time I'll write a review is if I want to warn people about the product.
@hcromer (2710)
• United States
27 Mar 07
I've always been really stubborn about making my own mistakes so I very rarely read reviews before I buy anything. The only exception to this rule is on a digital camera or something like that that I would be spending a few hundred dollars or more on.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111254)
• El Paso, Texas
20 Apr 20
That makes sense but reviews are usually only someone elses opinion and we all have them.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
18 Dec 06
I have only bought a couple of items from Amazon, although I have comtemplated a lot more purchases.
I find the review section very useful and would not miss the opportunity of taking advantage of it. As far as I can remember, I have read numerous reviews every time that I have visited Amazon, but I have not had cause to write one yet.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111254)
• El Paso, Texas
20 Apr 20
I only buy from Amazon if I can't find what I want elsewhere, Amazon products aren't always reliable.
@kylesmiles (1910)
• United States
21 Nov 06
I am definitely the one to read the reviews when I buy something on amazon. Months ago I bought this baby sign language kit on amazon but I was sure to read all the reviews I could on it. Those reviews usually help me make a decision. One time my mom emailed me that she wanted to get this product she saw on an info-mercial. Well I type in the product at yahoo.com and sure enough, most of the reviews that came up were negative! So she didn't buy it.
@ChewySpree (1832)
• United States
21 Nov 06
I do use the reviews on Amazon - I'm a big fan of them. However, I have not yet written a review myself. When I'm bored, sometimes I look for the funny reviews. Here is an example of a very funny reviewer:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A9Y5S2BKV7SYV?_encoding=UTF8&display=public&page=1
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111254)
• El Paso, Texas
20 Apr 20
I usually know exactly what I want and it's quality so I rarely need to read reviews.
@ElusiveButterfly (45939)
• United States
15 Nov 06
I rarely buy on Amazon. When I do I haven't made a review.
@alexdiazgranados (678)
• United States
17 Dec 06
Aha! An Amazon-related question!
Actually, I hardly ever read reviews before I make a purchase unless it's for a computer game or movie I've never heard of. Most of the time, I already have some idea of how I feel about, say, a Tom Clancy novel or a Steven Spielberg movie. If I do see a customer review worth reading, I will take a look at it and rate.
Most of my Amazon review-reading was done when that was my only site to write reviews in. I had not heard of Epinions in 2003, and at least once a day I'd write one or two reviews at Amazon...I have 304 or 305, most of which became the basis for a third of my Epinions reviews. So when I became a community member at Amland, I'd read my friends' reviews and rate them, especially Bruce Kendall's, whose insights and style are much more erudite than mine.
@rebelann (111254)
• El Paso, Texas
20 Apr 20
Those kinds of reviews tend to be useless for products that involve how an item performs such as a vacuum cleaner or toaster oven.
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
4 Mar 07
While I don't write reviews on Amazon, I read them religiously before buying products! I shop on Amazon frequently. I remember one time in particular I was wanting an alarm clock. I liked a particular clock just because of its appearance. After reading reviews on the product, I decided that although it might look very cool and 'retro'...it seemed to have several really bad features! (many reviewers had mentioned the same bad features over and over). I like the tip about going to amazon reviews before making an ebay purchase! I will remember that!
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111254)
• El Paso, Texas
20 Apr 20
That's a good idea, maybe I'll do that from now on too.
@villageanne (8553)
• United States
4 Mar 07
I have only written a few reviews. Like you, I found it too time consuming when I was not getting any benefit from them. I do, however always read the reviews before i purchase a product. I have purchased alot of things from amazon because i do get many gift certificates for doing suveys. If I cant find a review on the site, I research it elsewhere.
@rebelann (111254)
• El Paso, Texas
20 Apr 20
Hmmm, now I need to find those surveys to see if I can finally qualify for some and earn a few bucks
@krebstar5 (1266)
• United States
8 Mar 07
I don't write reviews on amazon unless you include seller feedback from non-amazon purchases made through the site. I do very regularly use the reviews when I want to buy something that I'm not that familiar with. This is especially true for electronics. When I went to buy my toaster, I chose the one in my price range with both the specs I wanted, but also had the highest review. I'm happy to say that toaster is perfect.
I don't pay attention to movie and book reviews too much because I feel likea lot of it is a matter of taste, but if it comes to "how well does this item" work, I rely heavily on the reviews.
1 person likes this
@Lovely_Lady (1523)
• United States
19 Nov 06
I always review something before purchasing them. It's nice to the more about the item and know what exactly I'm getting. I always have to make sure sure that I'm not going to return it. I hate returning stuff and most of the time, they just sit there and my man would tell me that I like to waste money.
@twilight021 (2059)
• United States
9 Mar 07
I don't write reviews on amazon, but I used to on epinions (they pay for reviews...but in my experience, not very well, so it became too much of a chore).
I do however, buy many things from amazon.com and often read the reviews there. I especially like checkingout the reviews on technology related products. These are often bigger ticket items to I like to hear about other peoples experiences before I make a commitment. For Books, and movies I don't really look at the the reviews mostly because if I am buying a book or movie on Amazon, I already have an interest in it, or am going off a referal from a friend who tastes I know are closer to mine.
