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How do amazon reviews impact your purchasing decisions?


Slartibartfast
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I have found that the manner in which I utilize the reviews for book purchasing decisions may be a bit weird.

 

I have realized that I always read the one star reviews first and then if the chief complaint is that a non-fiction book is "boring!" I will nearly always purchase it. :lol: Those one star reviewers really know what I like.

 

I don't usually read the five star reviews since those can be purchased.

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Guest inoubliable

The reviews for the Three Wolf Moon shirt made me require my husband to purchase that shirt.

 

I am so glad that I'm not the only one who did that.

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Guest inoubliable

I almost never look at reviews for books. But then again, I never just browse for books, either. I always know exactly what I want - I saw it reviewed elsewhere, or it came up on a search that I did on a specific topic, or it was recommended by a friend who knows me well. I do look at Amazon reviews for everything else I buy there. I buy everything from rechargeable batteries to Brita filters to groceries on Amazon. I won't even consider a product if it doesn't have a review at all.

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Depends on what I'm buying. They have a huge effect on me in some circumstances. For books, I only read them to try to figure out if they are "clean" or not, but for random stuff, I look at 5 star ones for general information and then 3 and 1 star ones for things to think about.

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I utilize the reviews for buying everything except books. I don't read the book reviews because they usually give away the farm about the story. I do use the book reviews after I read a book to help me write my book reviews when I can't remember details about the stories. :) I'd rather rely on bloggers reviews of books they've read - find a more honest answer that way.

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It depends on the review. Sometimes those 1 star reviews have nothing to do with the item purchased. Other times they save me money. Just today I decided against a dog toy after several people said their dogs had it in pieces in minutes. Mine is a chewer so I know now that the name Kong doesn't always mean indestructable.

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I always look at reviews for anything I've not previously purchased. I do start with the 1 star reviews. It's amazing how many of those are "the audio version of this (print) book is poor quality" or "I thought shipping took too long" so I would never just glance at the review score to make my decision. I read them. I often find the 3/4 reviews most helpful. But I typically read most of the other reviews too.

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I hardly ever buy fiction books so my Amazon buys are everything but that. I do read reviews on a number of things I buy like electronics. I do look at reviews of books since I am normally buying non fiction books and there may be better options out there in whatever field I am looking at. But I do also do what others have mentioned and start a lot of times at the one ratings and see if concerns are legitimate or not. I do that with all ratings- hotels, restaurants, appliances, etc. Most aren't on Amazon. I sometimes find the one ratings are anomalies due to shipping, odd requests, etc. With restaurants, it often is that someone is expecting something the restaurant isn't. With hotels, the one ratings I ignore are ones where the people didn't like the town or the country, not a complaint about the hotel.

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I do the same thing—start with the one star reviews. I find the three and four star reviews are the most reliable. I received a gift from my daughter's Amazon wishlist today that I let her put on there despite its bad reviews. We unpackaged it and it was broken within the hour, and not due to rough use.

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I read the reviews on just about anything I purchase, and I am religious about it. I consider Amazon my "go to" source for info on just everything I purchase, even if it is not from Amazon! I will hop on and read comments to see if I should go ahead with my local purchase, etc. I agree with the posts here that talk about some of the negative posts being issues that, to me, are unrelated to the product itself. Some folks don't get that the reviews are about the product itself, not the seller. Also, many things that are deemed an issue by one buyer are not an issue for me. On the other hand, I have been saved from poor decisions more times than I can count by reading every review about something. Often there will be a single comment about an item that gives me an "Aha" moment and is just what I needed to know before making a buying decision.

 

Cindy

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Most fiction I "buy" is free on the Kindle. I read the synopsis and if I think I'll enjoy the book, I'll get it as long as it has at least 4 stars and plenty of reviews. So far, the duds have been less than 1% of the 800 free books I've got in my Kindle library.

 

I hardly ever buy a fiction book by an author I'm not familiar with because I don't have to ... I've discovered many new and wonderful authors since I've gotten my Kindle, and I already had a stable of trusted authors because I've read so many books over the years.

 

I read all the reviews of nonfiction books, and make sure they aren't available at the library before I buy them.

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Individual reviews do not, but a whole bunch of then saying the same thing will.

 

Ditto. Except for Christian-themed movies. I just watched an almost 5 star movie that was just plain bad, but when I took a closer look at the reviews people were gushing over how there was no swearing or sex.

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For non-fiction books, especially kids' books and text books I keep reading reviews until one 'speaks to me'. Sometimes it's in line with the majority, sometimes it's the only positive or negative review, but I'll recognize that that one reviewer sees things the same way I do. Then I buy the book from Book Depository, where it's cheaper!

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Reviews on Amazon profoundly impact my purchases, and not just of books. I always read all the one star reviews, too. If what people complain about are things I can live with - or even like - then I'm a go.
I read the reviews on just about anything I purchase, and I am religious about it. I consider Amazon my "go to" source for info on just everything I purchase, even if it is not from Amazon! I will hop on and read comments to see if I should go ahead with my local purchase, etc. I agree with the posts here that talk about some of the negative posts being issues that, to me, are unrelated to the product itself. Some folks don't get that the reviews are about the product itself, not the seller. Also, many things that are deemed an issue by one buyer are not an issue for me. On the other hand, I have been saved from poor decisions more times than I can count by reading every review about something. Often there will be a single comment about an item that gives me an "Aha" moment and is just what I needed to know before making a buying decision. Cindy

:iagree:

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I start with the bad reviews, and ponder them.

 

Kindle free books need to average 5 stars, plus have reviews that sound as though the reviewers aren't total nitwits. Life is too short for poorly written books, even if they're free. Plus Hugh Howey has spoiled me for most independent authors -- I read the Wool Omnibus for free (Prime lending), and it was absolutely amazing. Not only could he spell, punctuate, and maintain subject-verb agreement, he told an interesting story that didn't feature a boatload of gratuitous sex.

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