Amazon reviews

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Quick question: do you find Amazon reviews useful?

Reason I am asking: looking to buy a Bento box, but the reviews of pretty much every product contain some poor ones. Actually, I find this is the case with just about every item sold on Amazon these days. So what kind of reasoning do you apply in order to sort out if reviews are accurate or even representative?

It's bugging me.

[Fermata]

I take notice of Amazon reviews if it is for a product or brand that is new to me. I hear stories that the reviews are manipulated, both good and bad, but I have no other reference point. I warn others if a product does not live up to expectations.

[Chuck Naill]

Quick question: do you find Amazon reviews useful?

Reason I am asking: looking to buy a Bento box, but the reviews of pretty much every product contain some poor ones. Actually, I find this is the case with just about every item sold on Amazon these days. So what kind of reasoning do you apply in order to sort out if reviews are accurate or even representative?

It's bugging me.

I do read the reviews and the questions. Yesterday I bought a stainless turner spatula. After intially putting a soild one in my cart, I decided to look see if YouTube might have some comparisens. After getting recommendations, I came back to Amazon and narrowed the search to just those type. Then I compared and read reviews.

[eachan]

The reviews are not always for the exact item you've chosen.

[Ole Juul]

I honestly don't care if some internet randy "likes" something or not. Many, if not most, reviews are just opinion, which is useless. Particularly because the people who like to review on Amazon often are not knowledgeable about the general type of product. They appear to be kids, but I think actually many are just ignorant adults.

That said, I've occasionally found a review that is downright informative and useful. Also, often people inadvertently leave a little hint, or even a useful tiny piece of information, in their writing, even if it is just an emotional opinion type of review. Bottom line: by using a lot of salt and reckless divining, I find I am able to get a trace of help from Amazon reviews.

[carlos.q]

No product will satisfy everyone.

That's why I check the reasons that people give when they write negative reviews. Then I check up on reviews from other independent sources before I make up my mind.

[Chuck Naill]

Look for verified purchasees.

[mizgeorge]

I ignore non verified purchased.
I ignore the very best reviews, especially when they're clearly shills - and often auto-translated.
I ignore the very worst reviews, especially those that are clearly competitors - and often autotranslated.
I ignore the bad reviews that are clearly from idiots who've chosen badly, didn't know what they were buying, were unable to follow simple instructions or are just plain stupid.
I ignore any review that's too filled with emojis, too many capitals, or from anyone that would clearly put circles or hearts instead of dots over the letter 'i'.
I filter any review that's ranting about a delivery experience, postage rate, or other problem not actually related to the item.

That usually leaves me with a very small number of reasonably accurate reviews, and these are generally worth reading.


What sort of bento box are you after?

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Thanks all. Good advice. I rarely buy anything from Amazon as usually I can find better deals elsewhere. In this case it just seemed an easier route, apart from the deluge of conflicting reviews.

@mizgeorge, currently I am using a Tupperware box for my lunch. It works okay but has no dividers. It also has no style (I know, I know, but I do like the aesthetic of Bento boxes).

[Fermata]

Thanks all. Good advice. I rarely buy anything from Amazon as usually I can find better deals elsewhere. In this case it just seemed an easier route, apart from the deluge of conflicting reviews.

@mizgeorge, currently I am using a Tupperware box for my lunch. It works okay but has no dividers. It also has no style (I know, I know, but I do like the aesthetic of Bento boxes).

Sistema is a New Zealand company producing very good quality lunch boxes, they produce a Bento box

https://sistemaplastics.com/products....76l-bento-box

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Nice find! My current 'Tupperware' is actually a plain Sistema box. Will see if I can find the one in the link.

[mizgeorge]

Sistema is a New Zealand company producing very good quality lunch boxes, they produce a Bento box

https://sistemaplastics.com/products....76l-bento-box

I really like Sistema's products - I just have to get past the colours - most of which would be fine for me in ink form, but are a bit tween for carrying around.

I have a few bento boxes, and I think my favourites are probably the pared back and practical ones from muji, and my UMAMI stackable - though I see there are a lot of cheaper copies of these now.

[Fermata]

Sistema is a New Zealand company producing very good quality lunch boxes, they produce a Bento box

https://sistemaplastics.com/products....76l-bento-box

I really like Sistema's products - I just have to get past the colours - most of which would be fine for me in ink form, but are a bit tween for carrying around.

I have a few bento boxes, and I think my favourites are probably the pared back and practical ones from muji, and my UMAMI stackable - though I see there are a lot of cheaper copies of these now.

I have their products too, the seal is perfect even with liquids, no colours on mine Miz, just clear.

I also like the idea that I am buying an NZ made product and not Chinese.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

The one I'm using now is this one: LINK

It has a 2L capacity. Today's lunch, for example, consists of:

• 3 cups of shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1/4 large green capsicum (chopped)
• approx. 6cm length of cucumber (chopped)
• one large tomato divided into wedges
• one boiled egg
• a little Thousand Island dressing

All that fits easily into the container, although typically when I am at work I tip it all into a 23cm Jamie Oliver melamine salad bowl, as it's easier to mix the salad that way.

In addition, and this is a new thing for me (not just for this year, but in my life in general), I am taking a fruit each day - today's is a Ya pear!


Unfortunately, my diabetes is getting worse, so what you see here is what I will have for both lunch and dinner. Each box of salad represents the 5-a-day recommendation + 1 extra for the fruit, making 11 portions of fruit and veg each day with low carb content and moderate protein intake.

[KrazyIvan]

Personally, I look at only the negative reviews because it is easier to determine if there is an issue with the product or it is just a user-error/misunderstanding of the product. It can also reveal if the seller cares about customer service.

[silverlifter]

Amazon reviews are what PK Dick had nightmares about: a recursive loop of neural networks on AWS churning out consumerist spam. There was probably an original data set back in the early 2000s, but now it is bots feeding bots. The only human ingredient now is the slaves in the warehouses, and their days are numbered.

[Pendragon]

Quick question: do you find Amazon reviews useful?

Reason I am asking: looking to buy a Bento box, but the reviews of pretty much every product contain some poor ones. Actually, I find this is the case with just about every item sold on Amazon these days. So what kind of reasoning do you apply in order to sort out if reviews are accurate or even representative?

It's bugging me.

I use Fakespot and ReviewMeta. In my experience, it is also advisable to read the reviews. If there are many reviews that parrot the vendor's sales points, then those reviews are likely fake.

[Fermata]

There are PR agencies who use interns to post fake reviews of their clients products on Amazon and througout the internet, a shameful practice.

[amk]

I look at the percentages; if a product gets almost all 4 and 5 stars and two or three one stars, I look at the one stars. If they're people who bought a fountain pen and are complaining it doesn't flex, I ignore them.

Sometimes products have good four and five stars and quite a lot of one star "doesn't work" reviews, in which case there's poor quality control, so I check to see whether after sales service is good.

Then I read a few reviews to see what feeling I get. Precise things like "Hey, this is the first claw-scratcher my cat hasn't scratched to bits in a day" or "it's probably a good scratcher but my cat peed on it" are worth their weight in gold. Words like great, amazing, fantastic... are worth zero.

[Roe D Hym]

It depends. A lot of reviews are done at the time of purchase and thus do not give any data on durability and therefore are of little value. An example would be a mattress. I want to know what the mattress will be like in 6 months after purchase and not 6 hours. Where durability is not the principle concern, say a fountain pen, then a review by a verified buyer can be helpful. I usually the check the 1 star first to see what issues occurred and then try to separate product issues from dump buyers. It is amazing how many buyers are clueless to the product they purchased and do not read the instructions. I then see the percentage of 4 and 5 star reviews.

Just to add some fun to this tread, the humor reviews at Amazon are often the best comic relief. See: 3 Wolf Moon T-shirt.