Rating Systems

We recently were discussing rating systems in class, and attempted to determine how useful these rating systems are as informational tools for consumers. Examples of these rating systems include Amazon, Yelp, Trip Advisor, and many others. These rating systems can be very effective if they have enough reviews to analyze the product with. However, there are some flaws that lie in these systems which stem from anyone, including the owner of the product/service, being able to make reviews, as well as people purposefully trying to mess with the data.

I was recently in the market for headphones, and these rating systems were the most useful tool imaginable when deciding on what I wanted to purchase. Amazon had over 50 to 100 reviews of every headphone I was researching, so I was assured that I could take useful advice from them. Two headphones that had similar 4 star ratings were the Beats by Dre Tour Earbuds and the Etymotic HF5s. Both of the headphones had overwhelmingly positive reviews saying that the sound was amazing and they noise canceling made it seem like you’re in your own world. Therefore, I knew that the worst reviews would tell me the most useful information. Comparing the bad reviews, both of these headphones, as well as other ones that I also researched, had mostly complaints about them not lasting long, breaking easily, and sound not coming out of one ear. Therefore, I determined that these kind of issues arise with all headphones, and most likely because people do not take good care of their headphones. Other bad reviews about the Beats by Dre headphones said that the bass was too heavy that they overpowered other instruments, whereas the Etymotics didn’t have any complaints outside of them breaking easily. I ended up buying the Etymotics because of this, and they are the best headphones I have ever had, thanks to the rating system.

On the other hand, rating systems can be flawed easily. For example, an HDMI cable was recently released on the Best Buy website which costs $1600. Immediately, internet forum users were alerted to this ridiculous product and overtook the review board. All giving 5 star reviews, the comments were sarcastic with remarks such as, “Wow this cable is the best investment that I have ever made. It is the highest quality HDMI cable out there. It is so good that I hope that one day I can afford a TV to hook it up to.” Best Buy noticed all of these joke reviews, and deleted them shortly after. However, this left only reviews that didn’t seem to be sarcastic. Now the product has many high reviews when obviously no one should be buying a $1600 HDMI cable. This is an instance when the review system is flawed easily. When people use these rating systems, they have the potential to be the most useful tool when deciding what to purchase, but the whole situation (how many reviews, what the reviews say, and the product in general) must be analyzed together in order to not be fooled by possible flaws.