# Why does amazon.com allow review from people who didn't buy the product? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 22, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013 "2013-01-22T16:35:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/21 "2013-01-23T10:52:34Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > If outsiders couldn’t post reviews, you’d never get things like this hilarious [banana slicer](http://www.amazon.com/Hutzler-5717-571-Banana-Slicer/product-reviews/B0047E0EII). This is my all time favorite. Steering Wheel Desk > **[Amazon.com: AutoExec AUE13000 Wheelmate Car Desk Grey Steering Wheel Tray for...](https://www.amazon.com/AutoExec-Wheelmate-Steering-Attachable-Surface/dp/B00E1D1GY6)** > > Being comfortable is one of the biggest challenges when on the road. Specifically designed with safety in mind, the AutoExec Wheelmate fits with the steering wheel completely upside down. This allows you to make your steering one of the most... Check out both the comments and the user images. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/22 "2013-01-23T12:40:29Z")
My big complaint is DVD/Bluray Reviews that review _the movie_. Look, if I’m about to buy _The Big Sleep_ I already know I like the movie- that’s why I want it in my personal movie library. You’re reviewing the DVD, so _review the DVD_. How is the transfer? How is the audio? How are the special features? I used an older movie as an example because this is when it bothers me the most. For some older movies there have been multiple releases and some of the releases are good and some are not. For some releases it’s a terrible transfer of an old print, for other releases it’s a digitally remastered edition. There are movies that have three or four different DVD releases, each of the different releases has its own product page. I have, when looking for old movies on DVD, gone to each product page for multiple different releases specifically because I want to determine _which_ of the releases is the best one. On each of the product pages there are _the same exact word for word reviews by the same users_! It is a different product- why does it get the exact same review!? And why does that review tell me _nothing_ about the product!? ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/23 "2013-01-23T13:06:38Z")
😛 oh, my. Steering Wheel Desk > **[Amazon.com: AutoExec AUE13000 Wheelmate Car Desk Grey Steering Wheel Tray for...](https://www.amazon.com/AutoExec-Wheelmate-Steering-Attachable-Surface/dp/B00E1D1GY6)** > > Being comfortable is one of the biggest challenges when on the road. Specifically designed with safety in mind, the AutoExec Wheelmate fits with the steering wheel completely upside down. This allows you to make your steering one of the most... \*My copilot and I both used these during our “daily grind” transcontinental flights from San Diego to Minneapolis. We had to modify them a bit to fit snug against the instrument panels (when we bought them we didn’t realize the planes we fly don’t have steering wheels!), but in the end it did the job. With our laptops firmly in place we were able to focus our attention on what really mattered, participating in raids with our WoW clan. During our last flight we were so immersed in trying to take down Eranikus that we overshot Minneapolis by a full hour and a half \* ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/24 "2013-01-23T14:23:04Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > If outsiders couldn’t post reviews, you’d never get things like this hilarious [banana slicer](http://www.amazon.com/Hutzler-5717-571-Banana-Slicer/product-reviews/B0047E0EII). The customer image with the x-ray is perfect. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/25 "2013-01-23T14:23:04Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > Yeah, my biggest peeve is people who use the Amazon review to complain about billing or shipping issues. I don’t care that FedEx left your Dyson vacuum on the porch without getting a signature, I care how it vacuums! I wonder why Amazon doesn’t remove them. I’ve seen comments on reviews that are hidden due to sniping back and forth. Seems like they could do the same thing with a review. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/26 "2013-01-23T16:13:24Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > My most hated Amazon reviews are those left by someone who buys something on Amazon, gets shafted by the seller, then writes a negative review about the seller, so the author or designer of the product receives a poor rating even though they had no involvement with packing the peanuts for the sale. My most hated reviews are those left by someone who has no intention of buying/using the item but leaves a negative review anyway explaining why they feel the product is deficient. I can read the specs myself and decide if the product is lacking what I need; what I want to know is does the product work as designed and how well. I _like_ negative reviews that are based on actually usage. What is a deal-breaker to one person might be fine for me, so I like knowing what people find lacking. But if you haven’t actually gotten your hands on the item and used/read/eaten/whatever it, then how can you review it?! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/27 "2013-01-23T16:25:02Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Look, if I’m about to buy _The Big Sleep_ I already know I like the movie- that’s why I want it in my personal movie library. You’re reviewing the DVD, so _review the DVD_. How is the transfer? How is the audio? How are the special features? I don’t mind people reviewing the movie (although it’s always nice when they include technical information about the disk as well), but it never fails to amaze me how you can go into the reviews of **Citizen Kane** or **Stagecoach** or **The Wizard of Oz** and find someone who’s written a one-star review because the DVD wasn’t in widescreen. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/28 "2013-01-23T16:39:50Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > My big complaint is DVD/Bluray Reviews that review _the movie_. > > Look, if I’m about to buy _The Big Sleep_ I already know I like the movie- that’s why I want it in my personal movie library. You’re reviewing the DVD, so _review the DVD_. How is the transfer? How is the audio? How are the special features? > > I used an older movie as an example because this is when it bothers me the most. For some older movies there have been multiple releases and some of the releases are good and some are not. For some releases it’s a terrible transfer of an old print, for other releases it’s a digitally remastered edition. > > There are movies that have three or four different DVD releases, each of the different releases has its own product page. I have, when looking for old movies on DVD, gone to each product page for multiple different releases specifically because I want to determine _which_ of the releases is the best one. On each of the product pages there are _the same exact word for word reviews by the same users_! It is a different product- why does it get the exact same review!? And why does that review tell me _nothing_ about the product!? Actually, when I buy a movie, quite often it’s a movie that I’ve heard about but not seen. Yes, I want the technical aspects, especially if there are big problems. But I want a review of the movie itself more than a review of the release. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/29 "2013-01-23T16:59:36Z")
[Someone’s collecting Least Helpful reviews](http://leasthelpful.com/). These are hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/30 "2013-01-23T17:05:24Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > But I want a review of the movie itself more than a review of the release. From random people on Amazon? Not from a Cafe Society Thread, or a reviewer whose tastes you’ve learned to compare against your own, or Rotten Tomatoes? There are plenty of sources with which I have enough familiarity to reasonable gauge whether or not the opinion being offered is coming from someone whose tastes are likely to match my own. Even if I were buying a movie I’d never seen, I’d have evaluated informed opinions before arriving at Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013/31 "2013-01-23T17:18:36Z")
Oh, I usually hear about movies first in Cafe Society. However, a lot of times the movie discussions contain spoilers, so I don’t read them in depth. And I can tell a lot about the quality of review just by the writing style. Cafe Society gives me a starting point. Hell, movies are so cheap nowadays that they are practically disposable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-amazon-com-allow-review-from-people-who-didnt-buy-the-product/648013.md?page=1)