Amazon UK reviewer racket exposed

[ik9000]

I don't really care enough to go looking. I'm sure it was hilarious to you, but it still makes no sense in the context of my post - Cracker nail clippers are cheap crap and there are better 'prizes' from better crackers, hence people buying them... It wasn't me who asked the question, you know.

fine, but this sentence makes about much sense as Rowley Burkin to me:

I kept the Tiny Whisk, because Binging With Babish

At least he had the excuse of being very, very drunk.

[Output]

fine, but this sentence makes about much sense as Rowley Burkin to me:


At least he had the excuse of being very, very drunk.

I myself am familiar with Binging With Babish (he's a cookery YouTuber), but I either missed or don't recall any use of a tiny whisk. It wouldn't surprise me if there was one usage of it though.

He did make the Imaginary Pie from Hook after all.

[Ttaskmaster]

I myself am familiar with Binging With Babish (he's a cookery YouTuber), but I either missed or don't recall any use of a tiny whisk. It wouldn't surprise me if there was one usage of it though.

Huh??!!
He uses it in just about every episode I've ever seen over the past two years. Heck, he even has it tattooed on his forearm, so I understood 'Tiny Whisk' was one of his signature 'things', no.......?

[Output]

Huh??!!
He uses it in just about every episode I've ever seen over the past two years. Heck, he even has it tattooed on his forearm, so I understood 'Tiny Whisk' was one of his signature 'things', no.......?

Oh.

Hmm, I guess I've just never paid enough attention to notice that then. I've mostly just paid attention to the start and end result, so any whisk I did notice was the regular-sized one.

So my level of familiarity in this case then is apparently only that I'm aware of him being popular for making real life versions of food items from various TV shows (both live action and animated, making his own guesses of the ingredients for the least-detailed or to improve upon the originals, however fictional they may be).

[jimbouk]

Wowsers this went off topic in a bizarre way!

Now people are complaining about the 1 star reviews as well: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54063039

As a shopping experience Amazon is a pita, random cheap tat I now head to eBay as I assume the cost of doing business on Amazon is too high for low value goods (and you do pay for prime delivery with the mark-up on small things). At least eBay's search box is vaguely honest, Amazon's is best at finding the thing you didn't want presumably at a cost to the people trying to sell you the thing you don't want.

[ik9000]

Wowsers this went off topic in a bizarre way!

I came to this thread on a recommendation from a friend whose great great great aunt's gerbil had just died and she found transcendental nirvana by using this, and she thought it might help. Well, having paid it promptly arrived and I'm pleased to say it delivered. Well worth the <insert price> and this will give me years of use I'm sure, plus they threw in a free mini whisk to use on some badly spelt cabbage. 5* thread. Top dollar. But it anyone asks...

[Output]

Wowsers this went off topic in a bizarre way!

My apologies to everyone for my part in helping that happen.

Now people are complaining about the 1 star reviews as well: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54063039

I can't say that surprises me very much, there's always bound to be someone willing to do underhanded things even (or some might say 'especially') in the business setting.

I would have thought it more prominent on the seller feedback side than the reviews of an item itself in affecting them in most cases, but I guess if third-party sellers are the main or only ones selling the items, and particularly if any positive reviews for the product are minimal, then it could indeed point someone towards similar products being sold by rivals.

As a shopping experience Amazon is a pita, random cheap tat I now head to eBay as I assume the cost of doing business on Amazon is too high for low value goods (and you do pay for prime delivery with the mark-up on small things). At least eBay's search box is vaguely honest, Amazon's is best at finding the thing you didn't want presumably at a cost to the people trying to sell you the thing you don't want.

I have to admit that it can be annoying when at times to filter out items (such as accessories rather than the main thing you are looking for) at times, especially if you are trying to sort by price - which isn't always an option that is available for some reason, but eBay isn't always the best for that filtering either - especially as on both sites, you might still find sellers have listed something in teh wrong category (I've seen a few listings of DVDs [with it saying '[DVD]' in the title] in the CD category before too when searching for a soundtrack album, despite knowing that it is a film on disc rather than a concert by a band/artist which could potentially be excusable in that category).

[Ttaskmaster]

Hmm, I guess I've just never paid enough attention to notice that then. I've mostly just paid attention to the start and end result, so any whisk I did notice was the regular-sized one.

Ah..... see, I'm not a good cook, so I watch how it's all made and learn from that. It's where I learned about things like Aglio e Olio and 'buttered noodles', both of which have since amazed my dinner guests.

Tiny whisk is sort-of an in-joke I guess, that he can just chuck in for a quick 5-second giggle, but with a genuine and serious basis - The little thing is bloody useful!
He uses them this often: https://www.reddit.com/r/bingingwith...ne_tiny_whisk/
In fact, Reddit (which is where Babish began) probably makes it seem far more widespread.


To bring things back on topic, though...
A quick look for 'mini whisk' on Amazon even yields reviews like this:

5.0 out of 5 stars
Binging with Babish brought me here
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
Love his Youtube channel, wanted a tiny whisk, bought this one. Perfect thing for tiny whisking whatever you need to tiny whisk.



And that's the long story of why I once bought some nail clippers off Amazon....

[Madnessx9]

I stick to 1/2 stars mainly to see the faults and issues people have with a product before I make a decision. I also apply the fact the human race are stupid into my thought process, I can then determine if a product is a pile of cheap crap from China.

I do find myself sometimes reading any 5 stars with images, although given the amount of users on ffiver willing to fake reviews it is very tricky to believe anything these days but the 1 stars don't lie.

[Ttaskmaster]

but the 1 stars don't lie.

They don't often lie... but they are usually disgruntled idiots who did not read the product description and cannot work out how to open packaging without using a chainsaw, or who say nothing about the product but rant about the dodgy seller that they failed to check the feedback on and ended up getting shafted. Heck, a notable number of them are one star reviews, yet genuinely say things like, "Awesome product, love it to bits, would buy another in a heartbeat".

[Saracen999]

... but the 1 stars don't lie.

Well, allegedly, sometimes they actually do. Take the stories of small-scale sellers with very strong reputations based on 5-star reviews targeted by, allegedly, competitors posting utterly fake 1-star reviews simply to damage that reputation.

Bear in mind, members of a forum like this tend to be a lot more computer and internet savvy than a very large part of the general buying public, and more likely to see through actual fake 1-star reviews.

I don't mean idiot-based 1-star comments blaming the product for something not it's fault, but actual made-up and deliberately damaging sabotage-type fake reviews.

[Spreadie]

nice post...

Corr, not 'alf!

[virtuo]

Well since someone is resurrecting an old-ish post, I was MIA at the time, here's something that annoyed me

I was looking for a DAS enclosure to plonk my old NAS drives in to. Scrolled through Amazon as I had some gift cards froimn Quidco (Ended up with a Terramaster 5 bay, it's pretty good, I'd give it 4 stars). I saw a couple of Yottamaster devices and did some digging on them, if you go the their website they blatantly offer cash rebates in exchange for positive Amazon reviews:

www .yottamaster.com/?route=information/get_off

Needless to say, all of their positive reviews were rendered useless once I saw that, and they went on the blacklist.


Problem I find with 1 star reviews is they often aren't a review of the product, just the poor packaging or damage in transit. 3-4 stars is the sweet spot. And never trust a "top 100 reviewer"

[BobF64]

Problem I find with 1 star reviews is they often aren't a review of the product, just the poor packaging or damage in transit. 3-4 stars is the sweet spot. And never trust a "top 100 reviewer"

I've noticed that too, non-product "reviews" also deserve to be culled along with paid/fake ones.

That said, there are a few exceptions, like where the item isnt fulfilled by Amazon, but rather comes direct from the seller, sadly theres often no way to tell because of the "composite" product listings.

[Essexboy]

I try to look elsewhere for reviews also to make sure they match up to amazon ones.

Unless items come from amazon directly be it them\fulfilled it can likely be cheaper on ebay.

[ik9000]

Well a big database of paid reviewers has been leaked. Let's hope they ban the sellers and users doing these reviews for breaching their T&Cs. It's the only way to start getting some credibility back

https://uk.pcmag.com/shopping/133267...iews-on-amazon
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.co...k-fake-amazon/

And as if you couldn't see it coming: "potential security and ID fraud issues for those on the database..."

I currently have four emails offering payment for reviews in my junk folder. Who the heck thinks "So I give a stranger in China my paypal and ID details for a bit of cash and/or a free (likely substandard) product? Yeah good idea." ? If they have to pay for reviews odds are it's not worth buying in its own right. Hopefully both sides lose their accounts altogether. It would serve them right.