Comment by tyre
3 years ago
They make more money from me if their reviews are accurate. If they’re are only motivated by money, then that incentive favors honest reviews.
If I buy products that they recommend and they’re shit, I won’t go back and click anything again in my life. Making an extra $3 from on purchase isn’t worth it.
But the problem is that there's a difference between "okay" and "shit". They indeed won't make money if they recommend shit that gets returned, but a lot of products can be "okay" enough for people to keep around even if there are better products out there (that the review site doesn't recommend because the "okay" product provides better kickbacks). The standing desk situation is actually a very good example of that - the hassle of shipping and assembly means that once you've received it you are unlikely to ship it back unless it's absolutely bad despite other models being even better.
Frankly, for "okay" products, most of us don't need review websites. Even with the shit-show that Amazon reviews are it's usually easy enough to tell an outright bad product. The purpose of a review website (as a consumer) would be to find the absolute best product possible out of a sea of mostly "okay" ones.
Honestly, when I’m looking at buying something OK is usually all I’m looking for. Sure getting the best widget would be nice, but I’m happy as long as it doesn’t break right away or otherwise cause me problems.
It works if you, the reader, doesn't suspect malice. Which it seems there is.