<story><title>Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago</title><url>https://www.reviews.com/home/security-systems/almost-40-percent-of-us-consumers-trust-online-reviews-less-than-they-did-five-years-ago/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>everdrive</author><text>As well they should.&lt;p&gt;This is a game of cat and mouse. Consumers were ahead for a little while, but companies have really gotten a grasp on the internet, and they&amp;#x27;re winning the information war.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s no mistake that I&amp;#x27;ve come to rely on brand name again. It&amp;#x27;s the best heuristic available to me. When all this first started (mid-2000s) I was actively avoiding basing ANY decision on brand name. For a brief window, I had better information, but no more.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>AdmiralAsshat</author><text>&amp;gt; It&amp;#x27;s no mistake that I&amp;#x27;ve come to rely on brand name again.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve been saying for awhile, this could be the salvation for brick-and-mortar stores. As long as Amazon continues to play fast and loose with counterfeits, the one thing that will get me to drive down to the store and buy something in-person is the store&amp;#x27;s guarantee that the product came from the vendor whose name is on the box, and that I can return it if I get a lemon.</text></comment>
<story><title>Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago</title><url>https://www.reviews.com/home/security-systems/almost-40-percent-of-us-consumers-trust-online-reviews-less-than-they-did-five-years-ago/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>everdrive</author><text>As well they should.&lt;p&gt;This is a game of cat and mouse. Consumers were ahead for a little while, but companies have really gotten a grasp on the internet, and they&amp;#x27;re winning the information war.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s no mistake that I&amp;#x27;ve come to rely on brand name again. It&amp;#x27;s the best heuristic available to me. When all this first started (mid-2000s) I was actively avoiding basing ANY decision on brand name. For a brief window, I had better information, but no more.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>spoonjim</author><text>There are also retailers which actually vet brands. For example anything edible that Target or Walmart or Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods (Amazon ownership notwithstanding) sells in their stores, they actually contract a testing company to test it to make sure that it’s safe. For things where safety is important an actual physical national store is going to be much better than Amazon.</text></comment>