Are Product Review Sites a Dying Trend?

The internet, as we all are aware, is a wealth of information.  With the simple click of a mouse, one is delivered thousands of bits of information and wisdom, news and gossip and countless opportunities to spend money.  The downside of this, sadly, is that much of this bountiful data is pure, unrelenting garbage.  This is an unfortunate side effect of the ease with which pretty much anyone can access, create and distribute information over the web.

Sometimes, product reviews are merely fun, offering unbiased commentary on products both useful and useless.

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Faced with such a myriad of swindlers, con artists, hustlers and outright thieves, finding quality research on any given topic can be a challenge.  This rings especially true for any website offering product reviews or recommendations.  From the onset, even finding such a site can be difficult.  Many searches will lead you to manufacturer’s websites or mass-market online stores, where the only reviews that can be found are generally those offered by random purchasers.  More often than not (unfortunately for the consumer), those customers that choose to provide feedback on a product are generally those that are dissatisfied, resulting in an overall lack of solid information about a product.  Many ratings systems are also based on the “five star” scale, which can lead to confusion when a product is rated well by a buyer, but the comments provided say otherwise.

Consumers must also beware of websites claiming to offer product reviews which end up leading to sales pitches or attempts to discredit competing products.  A reliable, quality review website will offer consumers the opportunity to read sincere, unbiased opinions of products.  These reviews should include both the pros and cons of the items in question, as well as comparisons and alternatives, thus providing the potential buyer with the information necessary to make an educated, well-informed choice.