I always find these helpful when buying online. I usually read a few of the five-star reviews, and then some of the one-star ones to find out if there are any flaws. Both have been helpful.
Then I began to realize that a large proportion of one-star reviews were really ridiculous. Some from people who never actually bought the product, some who broke it themselves and were angry because the company would not replace it, and other silly things.
I especially noted the silliness in book reviews. No matter how fine a book was, there were always some cranky people who hated it.
Being bemused by this, I looked up a few great classics by Dickens, London, Shakespeare, etc. Every single on had some one-star negative reviews. I guess some people can never be satisfied.
And you need to watch out for paid reviewers.
So, it’s important to use your own filters and stick to the statements of fact you can pull out of all the review hyperbole. One users stated reason why they don’t like something is often another’s plus point, and so on.
My favorite is folks who leave 1-star ratings because the shipping was screwed up. Oh yeah, that’s helpful to know when deciding whether or not to buy something.
I can’t find it now, but a few weeks back I ran across a book review that was so off-the-wall, I had to look at the person’s other reviews. They were funny as hell. She gave a one-star review for a bedspread because couldn’t get it clean after her dog puked on it. Her reviews were like a shopping diary and a bit on the manic side.
There used to be this movies and books critic in the local newspaper that I really miss. Anything he loved, I hated; anything he hated, I loved. Once I realized that, I’d run to the theater whenever he hated a movie! My favorite living Spnish writer? That critic can’t stand his writing at all.
Sometimes I am given books to review for my column and they don’t come with press releases that say how much the books cost. So I have to look around to find the information, and Amazon often is where I start. Every once in a while, I will find a book that has one review – written by the author.
Or because they had “bad” customer service when ordering. (or not ordering) “I wrote Amazon to ask if this product came in red - I was told it came in taupe and brown. I did not ask if it came in taupe or brown I ASKED IF IT CAME IN RED! ONE STAR!!!”
I’m on pretty firm ground perusing reviews for “concrete” goods (electronic equipment, toys, etc.). The reviews are pretty worthless however for anything involving subjective impressions (books, video games, and CDs/movies)-just too many trolls, fanboys, antifanboys, and payolaheads of all persuasions ranting back and forth. A finer scale than the “1/2 star” system wouldn’t help much because of that.
On a side note, another thing I hate about 1 star reviews is when people give negative reivews just based on the subject matter which they have some kind of vendetta against. I was recently looking for the right book that explained where babies come from and the like for my daughter, and the book I ended up getting had a couple sentences about abortion, nothing about the morality of it or anything at ALL specific, but just that it was a medical way to end a pregnancy. There were several reviews going on and on about how horrible it was to teach kids that it was okay to murder precious babies. Not to mention that the book acknowledged the existence of gay people!
Actually I guess those reviews did end up being kind of helpful though because I figured if people like that were appalled by the book, I’d probably approve of it. And it turned out to be true; I found it really appropriate and inclusive.