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Re:Amazon Posts Another Blockbuster Profit by hourislate on Thursday July 28, 2016 @06:22PM (#12183646)
There is always YouTube for reviews. It's a good place to check if the Amazon reviews seem sketchy. I understand not everything will be on YouTube but you would be surprised at the amount of items that are there.
Re:Amazon Posts Another Blockbuster Profit by superuser2 on Thursday July 28, 2016 @09:17PM (#12184478)
In my experience YouTubers who review things are running little lifestyle businesses, getting free products (or possibly kickbacks) in exchange for positive PR.

I would consider a YouTube channel that primarily reviews things less trustworthy than a rando on the internet, not more.

Even if the YouTuber is totally trustworthy, "professional" reviewers are only going to give short term impressions, how its features and cost stack up in the market, etc. which I can research for myself. What I want to know about is long term experience, failure modes, etc.

Pretty much only Consumer Reports is in that business, and only for big ticket items like cars.

Re:Amazon Posts Another Blockbuster Profit by FT_intern on Thursday July 28, 2016 @06:45PM (#12183760)
The point of Amazon reviews is to quickly evaluate an item. Watching a youtube review is a much larger time commitment
Re:Amazon Posts Another Blockbuster Profit by XJOKOLAT on Thursday July 28, 2016 @07:52PM (#12184089)
I wonder. I'd argue that watching an unboxing gives me a much quicker idea of what's really going on than trying to tease out what's the truth from the reviews. ("20 positive reviews. How many are fakes? Let me read the 3 stars, maybe they're better. I'll read the 1 stars and try to assign weight).

Maybe I'm just picky but I find reading/judging Amazon reviews a pain in the ass.

Re:Amazon Posts Another Blockbuster Profit by nibnib on Friday July 29, 2016 @08:53AM (#12186479)
I don't think I can tell much of anything from an unboxing video. I have no idea why they are so popular.