Human beings never used to write reviews. They were either repeat customers or they weren’t. I have never felt writing a review. So what if you have a good product, or something I may like. Why should I tell the whole world? I’d rather do word to mouth. Your product - good or bad - will adjust based on demand and supply on its own.

Amazon’s reviews are like old Yahoo’s news comment streams (same as YouTube today). I’d like to think average/sane human beings do not spend their time compulsively hanging out at such joints.

The best sensible thing Amazon could do is list the number of repeat customers against the number of sell. That would be honest and fair.

I find it amusing how my attitude toward writing reviews changed. Early on I used to feel that we, the little people, can use the Internet for good, band together, and share information about products to "stick it to the man." Nowadays, I feel writing reviews is ironically only helping the richest man in the world and now actively avoid it.

Sites like Amazon need the review layer to substitute the physical contact of brick and mortar that they removed. Pretty common story by now - instead of paying employees in stores, they crowd source the value for free, and we're happy to go along since we get lower prices in the bargain.

> Pretty common story by now - instead of paying employees in stores, they crowd source the value for free, and we're happy to go along since we get lower prices in the bargain.

That's a win-win eliminating a bullshit job.

>Why should I tell the whole world?

I can get useful insights from reviews so I also like to contribute back if I find something worth mentioning.

Reading reviews without contributing them is a form of freeloading.

But economically freeloading is the only correct behavior.

cite?

There's a very thick line indeed between not writing any reviews and being 'compulsive' as you put it. Why do you have to phrase it such an extreme way?

I write a few reviews because if something is particularly good or useful, or very bad, I want others to benefit from that.

I think the QA section should serve that purpose. Say that you got something bad and has negative review to tell. First of all, you have to eliminate your subjectivity (whether it is just you and your one specific product out of the lot, or is it everyone and everything out of the lot). Only the vendor can help you here first, and not the whole world. If the vendor is bad, then it is the platform’s fault (they didn’t help themselves by helping host the vendor). The best you can do is ask a ‘why’ question (why it is broken, or why it is not as advertised). Enough people asking the same, would naturally help everyone.

Now say you got something good. Again, you have to first eliminate your subjectivity. Why should the world care if you like something? But you want to help others make a good decision. Fine. Let them ask questions genuinely and then you can answer. Platform should let that happen because otherwise vendor would never let others answer on their behalf. QA should be the only place for interaction. Question should only be posed by potential customers. Answers, only by known customers.

Crowd sourced reviews are first and foremost subjective. They spawn either a fan boy syndrome or ‘I’m going to get’ you syndrome. If not either of them then they have spawned a whole new underground market of their own. Indeed, they have not proven to naturally balance the real and legitimate market; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been gamed. But Amazon does have QA alongside reviews. This makes it obvious that reviews are their cash cows using/abusing human psychology - of greed and gratification.

Hey! Marketers are people too. Haha. I worked in retail. Worked in marketing/graphic design. Worked as a cook for a few years. We called everything products.

So how do you tell? IMHO, it’s not the word phrase, but the word count. If you’re saying too many ‘just nice’ things —repetitive — you prolly want something.

Also, Amazon is frigging annoying about how much they ask you to comment. When And if I do it’s usually terse.

> Marketers are people too.

Yeah. People who should kill themselves – according to the late, great Bill Hicks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUd6ARKcPS0

Upvoted in any case.

OH! You mean MBAs. Yeah. They suck. haha

> Marketers are people too

Sometimes.... :)