Just heard a guy at the hardware store say he never reads reviews before buying

I was in line at the local hardware place yesterday, and the guy in front of me was talking to the cashier. He said, and I quote, 'I just grab what looks good, reviews are all fake anyway.' It really made me stop and think about how many people might feel that way. I used to be a bit like that, until I bought a $40 paint sprayer last year based on the box art alone. It broke after two uses, and every single review online said the motor was junk. If I'd spent five minutes reading, I would have saved my money and a lot of frustration. Now I check at least a dozen reviews for anything over twenty bucks, looking for the ones that mention using the item for more than a week. How do you sort out the real reviews from the ones that seem paid for?

2 comments

2 Comments

grayl6526d ago

Honestly, I get where that guy is coming from, but he's missing a key step. You can't just ignore reviews. The trick is to look for the MIDDLE reviews, the three star ones. Those people usually give the real pros and cons. I bought a garden hose last month and all the five star ones just said "Great hose!" but the three star guy wrote a book about how the connector leaks after six weeks if you leave it in the sun. That's the gold. Skip the gushing praise and the one star rage, find the calm, detailed middle.

the_tara25d ago

Always check the two-star reviews first.