Prime Day is coming up, and you might be looking to find good deals on things like wireless earbuds and phone cables. While shopping online is convenient, a big downside is that you can’t see or try the products before you buy them.
To help, we often read user reviews to understand what we’re buying. But be careful, especially on Amazon, because some of these reviews might not be trustworthy.
It’s still a good idea to look at product ratings on Amazon, but take an extra step to really think about those reviews. Some might be misleading or even fake.
It’s important to check if the reviews are honest. This could be because of a simple mistake, a problem on Amazon’s side, or even because some reviews are paid for. Don’t just believe every review at face value.
How to tell if an Amazon review is fake
Sometimes, reviews end up on the wrong product by mistake. For example, a change in Amazon’s system once mixed up reviews for different products, changing the star rating for a Blu-ray player until the mistake was fixed. Also, people might accidentally leave a review for the wrong item.
However, some reasons for mixed-up reviews are not innocent. A seller might try to change a product’s star rating on purpose to attract more buyers or keep them away from a competitor. Even if a review is for the right product, it might still be fake or misleading.
This could happen in several ways: people might get paid to write good reviews, there might be campaigns to ruin a product’s rating, ads could be hidden as reviews, or someone might leave a bad star rating for a good product just to complain about something like slow shipping.
Despite these issues, there are ways to figure out if product reviews are reliable.
1. Actually read the reviews
It’s often easy to tell if a review is fake by how it sounds. If a review is very different from others, being extremely good or bad, it might not be trustworthy.
Also, if a review talks a lot about a different product but doesn’t really talk about the product it’s supposed to, that’s suspicious. And if you see lots of one-star or five-star reviews that are really short, like just a sentence or a few words, those could also be fake.
2. Look for “verified purchase”
Reviews from people who really bought the product will have a “verified purchase” badge next to their name. These reviews are likely to be real, although it’s not guaranteed.
Sometimes, sellers might give refunds to customers if they leave a five-star review. These often answer common questions, and answers from users who bought the product will again have the “verified purchase” tag.
3. Read non-Amazon reviews
Looking for reviews from trusted professionals or websites outside of the shopping site is a good idea. This can give you a better idea of what others think about the product and help you understand the reviews you read online.
Remember, just because a professional reviewer and a regular user have different opinions doesn’t mean they’re lying. Reviews are personal and can vary, so don’t dismiss an opinion just because it’s different from most others.
Uncover fake Amazon reviews with FakeSpot or ReviewMeta
Even if you know how to spot a fake review, sometimes it’s hard to tell if a review or product rating is real. In those cases, you can use the FakeSpot app.
FakeSpot checks the reviews and ratings on Amazon and tells you if they seem real or fake. It also works for other stores like Best Buy, Walmart, Steam, and Sephora. You can find FakeSpot on the web, as well as on Android and iOS devices. Another app that does the same thing is ReviewMeta.
Report false and misplaced Amazon reviews
The truth is, almost every popular product will have one or two fake or misleading reviews. You can report these, but a few false ratings usually won’t affect the overall score of the product.
However, if you see a lot of fake reviews for a product, or if reviews for one product are showing up for another product, you can click the “report abuse” button next to the review to tell Amazon about it.