Image attribution: Stocksnap from Pixabay
1: Look beneath the surface
Don't just believe in what you see right away. By that I mean, it could look as though a company or product has excellent ratings, however, are those ratings organic? Were they submitted by genuine customers or ex customers - or might have they been paid for? There's a big difference between the legitimacy of an organic submission and a paid submission.
2: Always see the detailed overview
On each page related to a business or product, you should be able to find a 'business transparency' section. From that business transparency section, you will find a link that takes you to a page that will give you a detailed overview of the company or product's ratings and reviews. It is essential to click on this link.
3: Analyse the detailed overview carefully
Look at the statistics related to the organic reviews and rating submissions. They are more important than reviews and ratings that were submitted because of manual invitations. There are 5 kinds of reviews and ratings: 1. Bad, 2. Poor, 3. Average, 4. Great and 5. Excellent. What percentage of the organic reviews and ratings are average or below?
4: Find out how many negative reviews and ratings were flagged
This is one of the key parts of your research. If a company is flagging many of its negative reviews and ratings, it is possible that they are trying to hide something. You have to ask yourself, what are they trying to block and stop you from seeing? Are there things that are very embarrassing or fraudulent beneath the surface? Once again, there are 5 different kinds of reviews and ratings, starting from bad and going up to excellent. What percentage of the reviews and ratings flagged are average or below?
5: Share your research with a trusted friend or family member with a track record of spotting scams
Once you've done your research, share your findings with a trustworthy friend or family member who has a track record of exposing scams. Talk about those findings and the best decision you should make going forward. This combined with your research, should give you some layer of protection from scams and losing your hard earned cash. If you still feel awkward about a purchase, go with your intuition and avoid buying until more information comes to light. Patience can save you from making a silly decision.
6: Finally, remember the old saying:
If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!
Notice:
*This is not investment advice in any way, shape or form. The information here does not guarantee you that will will be 100% protected from a scam. You have to do your research carefully and speak to a professional or qualified consultant (if necessary) who may be able to direct you when it comes to investment and purchasing matters. You are responsible for your decisions.
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I would rather say if anything looks to good to be true - better not trust it. Anyways, thanks for this informative post, and whatever review we read on sites like Trustpilot may not be final word, but it surely gives us some idea regarding the ingenuity of a particular site.