No More Fake Reviews - So Who’s Gonna Tell Us What To Buy?

Don't forget that the ruling also includes provisions that protect reviewers from retaliation by manufacturers, per Erin, Tekton, the Goldensound guy, and a couple others who escape mind. This has to be positive, right?

Pay to play has been a factor in reviews for years and is even happening with the large Stereo magazines when it comes to what products they review. I see some of these reviewers with CRAZY expensive systems that they own, and I would imagine being a stereo reviewer doesn't pay that well. I've always had my suspicions and still do.

rooze

... the ruling also includes provisions that protect reviewers from retaliation by manufacturers, per Erin, Tekton, the Goldensound guy ...

The ruling applies to "consumer reviews," so presumably "professional" reviewers such as the YouTubers who generate revenue are excluded.

I may be wrong, but my guess is this is an attempt to weed out the 4,217 positive reviews tomorrows' newly introduced gadget gets on the day of introduction, all posted by bots from different IP addresses in the first few hours the product has existed.  Amazon, et. al. are going to be, if not already, rife with this nonsense.  

Personally, I tend to read the 1-star reviews first, as they are least likely to be fake, although often over represented since moderately satisfied folks are usually more sanguine, and don't bellow their feelings as often.  

Unfortunately, a lot of reviewers will see a change in the nature of their revenue stream.  Hopefully, the market will adjust.  I remember when I was working in a small HI-Fi shop back in the 70's and one key reason I worked there was to get  50% off retail from almost every line we represented.  Working for a couple of bucks an hour plus commission, that was a major incentive, and items I purchased were chosen after extensive in-store comparitive demo'ing of the exact item. There were also "spiffs" where extra commission was paid on occasion to highlight certain items, but if a product wasn't a good one, it wouldn't be in our store in any case.

I still have most of those purchases which were based on weeks, not hours of evaluation.  The market moves too fast today to allow such luxuries except on a forum like this where the discussions are only "tainted" by the difference in hearing ability and personal taste, as it should be.  If you love Wilson, you may not choose a set of Mag's for your second system, but that does not mean either are "bad", just different, and perhaps each is best for the listening environment it serves in. As always, YMMV.

@cleeds I think 'consumer reviews' means reviews for the consumer not specifically 'reviews by a consumer', so professional reviewers generate consumer reviews and are affected by the ruling. You could also consider that many consumers who are unpaid generate reviews, but I can't see a situation where a consumer who isn't being paid for the review could do or say anything that would lead to prosecution by the FTC.
As far as I can see it's mostly positive on the side of us, the consumer, and the only downside I can foresee is the loss of some of the reviewers' channels on youtube, etc, when they figure out that it just isn't worth the risk and they don't have enough traffic to support other means to generate revenue. But what the heck do I know.. lol.