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Fakespot shuts down today after 9 years of detecting fake product reviews

(blog.truestar.pro)
406 points doppio19 | 8 comments | 01 Jul 25 20:26 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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Dwedit ◴[02 Jul 25 00:02 UTC] No.44439072[source]▶
With removal of reviews that the seller doesn't like, there's really no point to taking Amazon's star ratings or reviews seriously. It's all a big lie.
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1. SamuelAdams ◴[02 Jul 25 00:07 UTC] No.44439099[source]▶
I’ve started resorting to the “x bought this month” metric instead. If a product works for thousands of people and they continue to buy 500+ units a month, clearly it is a good option.

If it does end up being a bad buy, Amazon typically has a 30 day return policy for most items. Use that and get something else.

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2. derekp7 ◴[02 Jul 25 00:11 UTC] No.44439123[source]▶
They also tell you if a product has a high return rate, which is helpful.
replies(1): >>44439383 #
3. yablak ◴[02 Jul 25 00:19 UTC] No.44439166[source]▶
Pretty sure that metric can be gamed
4. dylan604 ◴[02 Jul 25 00:45 UTC] No.44439279[source]▶
How do you know that 500 people didn't buy a scam product this month? I put as much faith in the X people bought this as I do the X people have this in their cart. It's all a way of trying to stoke FOMO
replies(1): >>44444023 #
5. s1mplicissimus ◴[02 Jul 25 00:50 UTC] No.44439293[source]▶
what makes you believe that the number you see in “x bought this month” is not some variant of if (session_is_gullible_to_displayed_sales_number) { return HIGH_SALESNUMBER; } ?
6. Loughla ◴[02 Jul 25 01:10 UTC] No.44439383[source]▶
Except with clothes and especially belts, I've noticed. It seems like everybody buys three of the clothes they buy and returns two of them. It makes it harder to identify shitty clothes.
replies(1): >>44440645 #
7. haiku2077 ◴[02 Jul 25 06:01 UTC] No.44440645{3}[source]▶
> It seems like everybody buys three of the clothes they buy and returns two of them.

Amazon used to offer this as a service!

8. SamuelAdams ◴[02 Jul 25 14:16 UTC] No.44444023[source]▶
You don’t. However, that risk is mitigated with a simple, easy to use return policy, where you actually get your cash back (not airline vouchers or points or made-up things to keep you in the ecosystem).