Using Amazon reviews to judge "Mainstream" shaving soaps?

[Lane101]

Amazon reviews are often not reliable - too many fake positives per press reports. They can be of use in two ways though:

• Excessive negative reviews can be an indicator to avoid a product
• Total number of reviews can be useful for creation of a "short list" to be evaluated by other information sources such as posts from fellow B&B members.

Amazon has a core merchandising issue in that it doesn't own the validation of assortment quality, authenticity and safety. This is an essential element provided by reputable brick and mortar retailers. How many times have B&B members posted regarding concerns around fake products procured from Amazon?

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

Never trust Amazon reviews for shaving soaps. While some reviews on Amazon are most certainly legit, most of them are not. Best reviews for shaving products, are going to be found here at B&B.

 

[SHAVEWIZARD420]

Amazon reviews can be deceptive and many times obviously fake reviews. As mentioned, any time you see reviews that say things like"my hubby" it automatically throws up a red flag quicker than a Piru. If your "husband" lives the product then why isn't he the one writing the review??? Which usually means it was either a Christmas gift and he didn't want to hurt his wife's feelings, or false review which Amazon is riddled with.

The negative reviews sadly are the most informative and most likely to be honest reviews.

 

[Rhody]

Amazon reviews can be deceptive and many times obviously fake reviews. As mentioned, any time you see reviews that say things like"my hubby" it automatically throws up a red flag quicker than a Piru. If your "husband" lives the product then why isn't he the one writing the review??? Which usually means it was either a Christmas gift and he didn't want to hurt his wife's feelings, or false review which Amazon is riddled with.

The negative reviews sadly are the most informative and most likely to be honest reviews.

On point here. The “husband” reviews are pathetic. Either useless or fake. Typically they have no substance. Like the reviews that rate the shipping. I also agree on the value of negative reviews but it can be a black hole. I’m surprised at the number of bad reviews that turn up for name brand batteries.

 

[AlphaFrank75]

LOL, it never occurred to me to even look at Amazon for soap reviews. And based on the opening post, the only soap that I would use out of that list is MWF.

 

[Tallships]

If I want a review on anything, I just Google it on my browser. Usually, get a good idea if the item is good enough to order Sometimes I'll order the item on Amazon because the price is right or shipping is faster Rarely consider Amazon reviews

 

[sm29]

Amazon reviews are for the mass shopper and not necessarily for the niche shopper. Proraso is a great example of an Amazon soap. Some love it, others not so much. For me, it is not an MdC or other top soap but depending on the audience it is still a popular and well received product.

 

[theslimshadyist]

I would use the reviews only as a starting point to get a better understanding of the product and go from there. What one finds to be incredible, others may feel that it's just "meh". Remember, everything is subjective when opinions are involved.

 

[Scaramouche]

The advantage of Amazon reviews for a particular product is that there are usually a lot of them. It sometimes takes weeding through several, but in general specific reviewers are consistent, and an aggregate score is often consistent with quality - or not. As a Vine reviewer I take the task pretty seriously, because that's what I would want someone else to do. As far as I can tell my fellow Vine reviewers do the same - bad is bad, good is good. Look for specifics - why is the product good, why is it bad, how does it perform, is it fit for purpose? And who is reviewing it - Mary Jane probably doesn't know much about shaving soap. Or maybe husband Bill is really good at describing the particulars. Husband Bill, OTOH, probably doesn't know much about ladies' lingerie (or maybe he does, which is perhaps a disturbing thought ). Just like any reviews here, take the input and decide for yourself. Just another data stream....

 

[Lad]

I've always found B&B reviews/opinions to be far more informative and accurate than anything I read on Amazon.