I think that the aim of product trial sites is more word of mouth than reviews or accuracy. The "reviews" on sites like Smiley360 and Buzz Agent go up the same day the people received their product. Many are incomplete sentences, full of spelling and grammar mistakes. They 99% of the time gush about it and make sure to say that they love it and will continue to buy it, and that they will replace something they used to buy with it. It is clear from most of these reviews, that these people believe that they must post gushing happy positive product reviews in order to keep getting free stuff. That is not helpful, it is not accurate, and it is not ETHICAL.
For something like a snack bar or a box of cereal, it's fine to review after you try it once. Try it, look up the ingredients if it claims to be healthy and is marketed on that fact, and you are unsure of some of the ingredients. Then review. Most people don't even do that. I tried a box of cereal that claimed to be full of fiber and very healthy. if you look up the ingredients, it was full of sugar, preservatives, and other artificial ingredients. It was not as bad as a box of Lucky Charms, but it was NOT "healthy". Review after review parroted what they read on the box, saying it was (AGAIN!) "tasty" and "sooo good for you/ great for your body/ a great healthy choice" etc etc and so on. When something claims to be healthy and is marketed on that fact, it is irresponsible to NOT even look at the ingredients or look up what they actually are if you are unsure. You get a pack of a new Oreo flavor that has no claims except "new flavor!" Go right ahead and eat it and then say how "yummy" it is.
But for something like a razor to be reviewed after one use? The one I tried for a trial was amazing the first day. But by Day 4, it was more average, and all of the claims were based on the 4 uses before that feature stopped working. I read some of the reviews of people using it Day 1 and gushing about it. But I waited until Day 5 because I wanted to post a honest review. For something like vitamins, it is not ethical to post a review same day. I received a bottle of Skin, Hair, Nail Gummies and am giving it at least one month. But same day, reviews are going up of people saying how happy they are to get them, how "yummy" and "tasty" they are. You are not reviewing a $2 bag of candy, you are reviewing a $20+ bottle of vitamin gummies. Saying they are "yummy" or "tasty" is useless. I would not pay $20 for a bottle of candy. Would you??
I also take issue with "yummy". Ok, that means you like the taste. But would I? What does it taste like? Berry? Mint? Is it sweet? Sour? Smooth? Any aftertaste?
I take issue with "tasty". Oh, it's full of...taste? What kind?
But most of all, I take issue with people saying how much they love something for absolutely no reason. People saying something works great after using it only once. People saying they love something that they aren't really sure if it works or not, not sure if it does what it says. People saying something is healthy without even looking. I can get all of that information from the commercials and ads where people or actors are being paid to say all that. if you are going to review something, you should be honest and ethical. Not say what you think the company wants you to say or parrot what it says on the box.
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