When Should You Trust Online Consumer Reviews for Tech Purchases?
Purchasing anything tech-related online requires some degree of investment, so knowing that the product is trustworthy before clicking the ‘buy’ button is important. Take a minute to read through this guide to know when to take online reviews for tech purchases seriously and when to know if they are fabrications.
Check the Volume and Consistency of Reviews
When looking at a product page, the amount of reviews matters. If the product you want only has one glowing review and nothing else, that is not as reliable as a variety of good reviews from customers all over the world. Try to look at products that have lots of reviews with consistently good ratings throughout.
Identify Detailed and Balanced Reviews
Seek out reviews that look more like paragraphs over ones that are just single sentences. These longer and more detailed reviews can be found in places like a Digital Products website or the reviews section on retail websites. The more detail about the features of the tech product the better so that you will know exactly what you will be getting if you purchase it. A reliable review will also offer a balanced view of the product, listing the good things about the product as well as what it lacks. These are the types of reviews that will give you the best insight into the quality of the product.
Look for Verified Purchases
Certain retail websites have a feature that shows whether or not a reviewer is a verified purchaser of the product they are reviewing. Look for this indicator to distinguish people who have actually purchased and used the product from those who might have just written a fake review.
Analyze Multiple Sources
If you are not satisfied with the reviews you see on one website, check other websites that are selling the tech product you want and read through the reviews there as well. Having as much information as possible about the product will help you make the most informed decision and keep you from purchasing something that does not actually work for your needs.
Watch for Red Flags
Many websites will try to track fake reviews, but a lot of times they fall through the cracks. When looking through a list of reviews under a tech product, it is important to look for certain red flags that indicate that the review is no good. One sign of a bad review is that is it overly generic. Many of these kinds of reviews will only be one sentence and will use promotional language. This is why it is important to always look for reviews that have more detail than just a few words.
Another red flag to look out for is a surge in positive reviews. If there are several reviews in a row that are too enthusiastic, then that might be an indicator that the reviews were incentivized by the provider of the product. Vendors will often give discounts to buyers if they promise to write a good review, meaning that those reviews are not authentic and are often untrustworthy.
It takes a practiced eye to spot trustworthy consumer reviews but if you follow this guide, you will be able to find a tech product online that is reliable.