Unscrupulous manufacturers manipulate you to buy their products. It’s much more serious than you can imagine. With Black Friday fast approaching, there are things we should know before buying a camera.
Like many others, I used to rely on magazine reviews. But I have lost faith in them. The reason behind that is that I saw the same camera reviewed in two magazines. The review was glowing the first time and damn the second. The manufacturer spent a page advertising the camera in the first magazine, while the other magazine was dominated by ads from its main competitor. If I couldn’t trust the reviews of these two old journals, both of them would no longer exist. Can I trust any?
Why I believe Fstoppers reviews can be trusted
Here at Fstoppers, there is no financial incentive to add bias to our reviews, so there’s no reason not to give us a balanced view. In most cases, we writers bought the product ourselves or lent it to try it out.
I reviewed the products and was so impressed I bought them, putting my money in my mouth. We will get a free license with some software because we need to use it to review it. But usually, those apps are not what we will use in our workflow. I know that we are here trying to be honest and balanced about a product.
I’m sure many other review sites do, too, even if they sometimes splash on small, relatively unimportant features. However, some reviewers elsewhere create hype about the device’s minor positive and negative attributes. That sensationalism makes a potential buyer a disservice, distracting them from the features they need.
I only consider things that I would happily use myself. Furthermore, no product is perfect, so Fstoppers insists that we include what we like and what we will improve in all reviews. It’s not like that anywhere.
Customer reviews and the art of avoiding deception
A few years ago, like many people, I started looking at customer reviews to understand what users think of a product. It’s well known now that fake reviews are rampant, but back then, I thought they were more believable than the magazine reviews I’d ever read.
Spotting fake reviews is difficult. However, there are significant signs. They are generally general and do not include specific details about the product. Sometimes an incentive (bribery) to write a positive review is given, and they often ask for a photo or video in the review.
Products promoted in this way will also have a very high number of five-star reviews, often posted within a short time frame. Also, repeated phrases appear in different reviews because the same person wrote them.
The people who write such reviews know how to use them, so their reviews will appear in “Top Reviews” or “Most Helpful”. Therefore, try changing the order of the list to “Most Recent”. New reviews may also include tests from satisfied or disgruntled customers.
Fight against cheaters
Amazon is taking legal action against the administrators of Facebook groups that are promoting fake reviews. One such group, since being taken down by Meta, has about 43,000 members who will get refunds on product purchases and writing positive reviews. That includes the camera tripod. Amazon is also pursuing action against four companies it accuses of flooding its website with fake reviews. This is no small undertaking, as three of the companies have 350,000 people writing for them. One such company, Matronex, has ceased trading.
Once the big players have been punished, it is expected that Amazon and others will start targeting individuals who place fake reviews. Fakers be careful.
Negative attacks on reputable businesses and products
Negative reviews are also faked. They are weaponized and are intended to discredit competing manufacturers. Common characteristics of fake bad reviews include exaggerated, inflammatory and offensive language, inaccurate details, and non-specific claims. One-star reviews should always be viewed with caution, as a competitor may have written them to spoil the product. So sad, Bad reviews affect the purchase and even destroy the business.
It’s a pity that this happens, because some of the genuine new companies with excellent products are fading away. They will not cheat the system and are at the same time the target of unscrupulous competitors who have no such apprehension. Let’s hope the law is strengthened to punish cheaters.
One might expect that established brands with established and respected products are less likely to seek to bolster their reputation with fake reviews. However, a darker side shows that even big brands are embroiled in making bogus reviews of their products.
Fake identification of fraudsters
There is a useful tool called Fakespot that identifies fake reviews. This is a free browser plugin that analyzes product reviews on Amazon and elsewhere. It then re-scored the product review with the false positive reviews removed. Fakespot not only notices fake positive reviews, but also negative ones. Placing a lot of negative reviews is known as bombarding reviews. Cameras and other devices may receive higher scores if reviewers perform a sponsored bogus attack on a product.
I hope that companies like Amazon, Google, eBay, Walmart and others work closely with Fakespot to stop their actions and prevent this behavior. They do so for the benefit of everyone.
In the UK, the government’s competition regulator is looking into whether Amazon and Google are breaking consumer law by not taking enough action on fake reviews. It is illegal to pay someone to write fake reviews or host those reviews. The fine would be 10% of a company’s worldwide sales. The Federal Trade Commission is looking to come up with rules to combat them in the United States.
Fake reviews of camera brands
Right, as reported in a recent article by Michelle VanTine it’s well worth reading, it’s happening in the camera industry. Reading it, I was surprised by how some popular cameras that seemed to have a glowing 4.5-star rating dropped to two stars after the fake reviews were removed.
Negative attacks in online forums
It is not only considered in stores where photographic products are falsely praised or attacked. You will also see it happening in online communities. I’m a member of several photography groups across different backgrounds. It is not uncommon to see people who have never commented before asking a question or making a comment that will cast doubt on a product.
Is anyone else having problems with XXXX’s focus?
My camera is off and I have to remove the battery to put it back in.
I’m fed up with this system and will sell it and go back to using XXXX.
I had high hopes for it. Now I’m really rejected in XXXX
If it’s on Facebook, the user account is locked, so you can’t easily tell that they’re not the original user.
Where will this lead in the future?
A few years ago, carmaker VW reprogrammed their cars’ computers to detect when they were being tested for emissions. The vehicle then changes the level of harmful gases from the exhaust. They have faced hefty fines and class action lawsuits against them.
One can anticipate that if camera manufacturers are found to be deceiving their customers by falsifying their reviews, they will also face criminal and civil actions and cause harm. damage their reputation.
Hopefully photographic equipment manufacturers will be smarter about their behaviors. It’s also entirely possible that the “fanboys” of some brands are damaging the reputations of their favorite manufacturers because of overzealous reviews of products they haven’t even purchased.
Seven ways to help fight cheaters, liars, and cheaters
- If you are offered a bribe to give you a positive review online, write an honest review and include the fact that they tried to bribe you.
- Report bribes to retailers.
- Install Fakespot plugin on your browser.
- When you see online comments praising or criticizing a product, check the person’s comment history. Consider mentioning that in an answer if it’s their first or second comment. “Thank you for signing up to make that comment” and similar replies advise others of the commenter’s reputation.
- Write a complete and honest review.
- Read three- and four-star balanced reviews including both positive and negative.
- Buy another brand instead.
