Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => OT Knowledge => Topic started by: andyoxon on 04 February, 2020, 06:45:47 pm
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I bought a bike bit off t'interweb. Sent from UK, but from China base. In package was offer of £15 gift card, for writing a 'fair review', and sending screenshot of review & order number. Is this normally allowed? Thoughts?
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Allowed by whom? If you've bought through a trading platform like ebay or amazon marketplace, then it's probably against their rules to review in exchange for any sort of payment or quid pro quo, but if your review isn't an obvious shill, who's to know?
Would you review anyway? Is £15 enough to sway what you write (as opposed to motivating you to write at all)? Where can you spend the gift card, and how long do you have to wait to get it?
If it's a platform where reviews are normal/expected, and I was going to do one anyway, I don't think I'd let the offer of a gift card put me off. But I don't think £15 is enough to get me to write anything substantive where I wouldn't otherwise bother, and it's certainly not enough to turn me into a shill.
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Name them! If they're only giving discounts for 'fair reviews' then why would they not want you sharing this magnanimous and well intended offer?
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How much was the bike bit? If it was £5 I'd be worried it's some kind of scam.
(You may also find the £15 gift card never arrives, or more reviews are required before you receive it, etc.)
Sent from UK, but from China base.
Means nothing really. There are thousands of little firms that specialise in local posting items that come from the far east. They ship in bulk from China to destination country and then have these local logistics companies handle it from there, often run in horrible conditions and sometimes with slave labour.
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I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed – firms send out free stuff for reviews all the time, with the proviso of course that it should be a 'fair' review. There's nothing to stop you saying it's crap and taking the money or goods.
However, it should always be disclosed that you've received something in exchange for the review (if I recall this is Amazon's ostensible policy).
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As a top 10 University in the UK, we do offer vouchers and free pizza to students for filling the National Student Survey... in my previous Uni they even entered a draw for an iPad.
People are desperate for surveys and reviews, because in the absence of some kind of reward, only the moaners and the unhappy ones would take the time to review...
I don't see the problem to be honest... a bit more disturbing that they want to see what you write... but they are in China, where probably you get jailed for disagreeing
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People are desperate for surveys and reviews, because in the absence of some kind of reward, only the moaners and the unhappy ones would take the time to review...
This is 100% true. Whenever I've sent a short 'this was a great article/book/' whatever to an author they've always low-key asked me to write a review on goodreads or wherever.
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Item was ~£15, review offer for £15; which is strange. I can only assume they don't give offer to everyone (e.g. 1 in 10), or, you write review, email details, and never hear back? I have written a review, just not claimed any 'reward'.
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Last year I had occasion to have to use Fields Data Recovery Services, and I was very pleased with what they did and the way they did it. They then offered me a 64Gb USB drive for writing a Trustpilot review, they didn't specify it had to be a good one, but it was. I had the choice whether or not to commit to spend at each stage and they managed to recover 90% of my data, what is wrong with that?
Anyhow after that, they also offered me something else (can't remember what) to copy my review to Google, but I was getting a little itchy with the idea of paid for reviews.
Last week I had Trustpilot compliance write to me, checking up on their practices. I told them what happened but I have no idea whether what happened is counter to their policy or not.
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An ecigarette company sent me some free gubbins a few years ago after I gave them a 6-7/10 review on trustpilot. I don't see anything awry with that but as you say when it's a 'ex ante' offer then that strikes me as iffy.