Sep 18, 2009 6:30 pm US/Eastern
3 On Your Side: Beware Of Online Reviews
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
From hotels to TVs, cars to computers, when it comes to shelling out big bucks, we don't want to make a big mistake.
Traditionally, people turn to magazines like Consumer Reports or Car And Driver for advice. But now opinions can be posted by anyone.
For instance, on Amazon.com a consumer found the same person gave glowing reports for two different Delonghi espresso makers. Delonghi's later admitted that the reviews were posted by an employee in their public relations department.
Consumer World's Edgar Dworskey believes that's a problem.
He says, "Consumers read these things and believe these are honest reviews of real consumers who don't have any motivation but to give their true life experience about the product."
Then there's the Lifestyle Lift, billed as a minimally invasive face lift procedure. The company recently agreed to pay $300,000 in penalties after New York's Attorney General found that employees had posted fake testimonials online.
Anne Banas of SmarterTravel.com says the best thing for consumers looking for great travel deals to do is be aware of reviews.
She says, "Look for overly positive reviews that are very polished. If the language sounds like marketing copy, chances are it very well may be."
TripAdvisor.com posts a warning on its site if they're suspicious of reviews. Hotels.com and Orbitz have a way to verify whether the reviewer has actually stayed at the property.
"You want to throw out the most positive reviews and the most negative reviews, because those are what tend to be your fake reviews," Banas said.
Experts say most online reviews are real. But just to be sure, check several different Web sites instead of just relying on one or two.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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