Incentivized

QPrincess · ‎03-09-2010

It annoys me when I go to look at reviews of a product--like the Doll10 TSV- and other items (see it a lot on Amazon) and the majority are incentivized. I just looked at the Doll10 TSV to get opinions and the first two pages were all incentivized.

I guess at least it is posted that the person was incentivized instead of hiding that fact.

Still Raining · ‎03-30-2014

Absolutely the worst. In fact it tells me the product is a dud and I keep away when I see it.

ETA Don't you love it when 100% of the participants saw a dramatic improvement of whatever.

We rescue cats · ‎01-25-2023

" in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that any material connection between a reviewer and a brand—such as free products, payment, or discounts—must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed."

I'm glad to know that someone was paid to do the review.

JeanLouiseFinch · ‎10-03-2011

Why is it a problem? I don't know if it's a legal obligation but I do think it's commendable that the reviews are notated as such.

All an incentivized review is, is that the recipient is leaving the review in exchange for something - free product, discount code, using a loyalty points program, etc. The recipient is not being paid for a positive review. They can say the item was junk if they believe so.

JeanLouiseFinch · ‎10-03-2011

@We rescue cats wrote:
" in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that any material connection between a reviewer and a brand—such as free products, payment, or discounts—must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed."

I'm glad to know that someone was paid to do the review.

Thanks for the clarification, @We rescue cats

pigletsmom2 · ‎05-20-2025

I've done a couple of incentivized reviews and I was totally truthful in them. The only incentive was getting sent the product.

QPrincess · ‎03-09-2010

@Still Raining I think that often, this incentivized method seeking reviews is for a brand new product. Like I stated................at least it is full disclosure instead of hiding it.

QPrincess · ‎03-09-2010

@JeanLouiseFinch And I did note in first post that at least it is not hidden. I looked at the TSV under items on air and all the reviews were incentivized.

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

Not in all cases but I think when some people receive free products to review, they tend to lean towards more positive remarks about the products they got rather than giving a bad review of the free product. But on the other hand I very much appreciate those who do give their honest reviews. I just don't believe that everyone does that in reality.