The root of the lack of trust in some ’reviews’ on forums stems from the way marketing now works on the internet. It is now accepted that most reviews for many products on Amazon are not genuine. Trip Advisor is similarly affected. The British Consumer Association called "Which?" (a non-profit organisation) has proved this and is running a campaign to try to force the affected companies to address it. With Amazon, reviewers are recruited from eBay and Facebook and paid or supplied with goods in return for positive reviews (this is not alleged, but a known fact as FB and eBay try and close down the recruiting companies activities).
Often when you buy from a small independent direct-sales company, or small retailer, or stay perhaps at an independent hotel, you might hear a request to ’please give us a good review on xxxx’. This is marketing in 2020. This has happened to me once in in Hi-Fi where the value of a personal review on a Hi-Fi forum or in a Hi-Fi FB group is high. It is the best form of marketing and free. It was for a new board for a Naim amp that an independent servicing company had developed and just launched. Does the review get rewarded? That would be a strong allegation and I have no proof of that. But when you see the same brand gather many similar reviews on a forum it does, like on Amazon when you see 3000 reviews for something as trivial as say an Ethernet cable, it does raise suspicions.
Often when you buy from a small independent direct-sales company, or small retailer, or stay perhaps at an independent hotel, you might hear a request to ’please give us a good review on xxxx’. This is marketing in 2020. This has happened to me once in in Hi-Fi where the value of a personal review on a Hi-Fi forum or in a Hi-Fi FB group is high. It is the best form of marketing and free. It was for a new board for a Naim amp that an independent servicing company had developed and just launched. Does the review get rewarded? That would be a strong allegation and I have no proof of that. But when you see the same brand gather many similar reviews on a forum it does, like on Amazon when you see 3000 reviews for something as trivial as say an Ethernet cable, it does raise suspicions.