REVIEWING A PRODUCT ON LIMITED USAGE.

This is perhaps hypothetical, but I wondered what members thought. Supposing you get a free sample of something, use it and then write a review. Do you really think that your experience of the product is sufficient to review it ? Personally I don't as I would like to know how someone feels about a product after experience of it, and a free sample would not do this, or limited use of a product could not give experience of reliability over a period of time.

What do you think ?

I think something like perfume could possibly reviewed after a sample, but a more complex product like night cream for instance would have to be used for at least a few nights to get experienced results for a review.

It would be possible to write a review based on limited experience though in an ideal world, people would be hard pushed in most circumstances to give it high marks.

There are plenty of examples posted on the review sites every single day - one-off visits to shops, people who have bought something from an online retailer and then complained when everything hasn't gone 3500000% perfectly, people who have bought new mobile phones and wrote a review listing all the features after an hour and a half's use. I remember reading a review of a laser printer written by a guy who worked in tech support and his grand total of experience with the product was an hour's worth of setting it up for some bloke in Accounts or something.

I never thought of half of those examples, but I know what you mean. I was talking of products that you really do need to use over an extended period in order to review fully. There was something I was really interested in and although the review was long and included a lot of detail, it was based on the short useage of a sample and didn't tell me what I wanted to know.

It all depends on what you're after, really. One-off reviews of shops are not instantly poor, but it can be hard to gauge if the experience that results in a glowing report/complete slagging is typical of the company or if the reviewer simply had a good/bad day.

I don't think it is enough (a sample to review) either. Even if it was first use of a product, I expect a review to be backed by experience/multiple use. If use of the product is a disaster second time around then obviously the product is questionable, not a case of it being unlucky with something faulty.

When it's the specific case of a sample. From a sample there may be changes from the actual product.

I cannot look to give higher ratings to reviews of samples and first use, obviously does not apply to everything.

Generally, I would say no, especially technical products with one hour use, or cars on a test drive.

However, all ratings need to be taken in context. For example. I had a fleet car that I did 12000 miles in (we swapped cars ever 14000 miles or so) , havent a clue what service costs were, dont know about reliability as I did that in about 4 months or something. But I can say that this car was completely uncomfortable to drive, to the point I was expecting a DVT on the A1 somewhere between here and Peterhead) especially all day every day for the distances I (clearly) did. If you were thinking of buying the same car for the same mileage, then that might be the clincher to put you off.

(I've never reviewed it either, and nor will I now, but that is a very good piece of information, particularly when I read all these reviews from people who go to the shops in it and give it five stars...!)

On a similar note, sometimes, a five line review can give you the piece of info that makes the purchasing decision (or more often decided not to) and it almost seems academic for the reviewer to be expected to put the other 120 lines in as the bit they did write was fundamental...

I think there are far too many reviews about various pieces of equipment where they start with 'I bought this today.....'. I don't believe a few hours of using something is enough to be able to give a full account of its usage. You need to have been using it for quite some time to find all the different features and perfect way to use it.

What about then a review on say a face cream, and the first time you use it your skin breaks out in a rash? Obviously you wouldn't use the product again because of, but you then wouldn't be able to comment on long term use and how long it lasts. Lisa x

Okay take another case scenario. A cream that says that it lifts wrinkles. These never work in the first weeks of use and only prolonged use can give an accurate picture.

I think the problems lies in members being too desperate to write about products which they are not going to give the time to and must write about and take advantage NOW.

I think you can often write a negative review on very limited use but a positive one may take longer.

However, I DO think you can assess a hotel, restaurant, sightseeing attraction without having to visit it dozens of times - especially bearing in mind that most other people who eat, stay or visit, will only do it the once.

I agree, but what do you do with regards to my question about using a cream and getting an allergic reaction? Lisa x

You could write a review on your limited usage to warn other members with a similar reaction to products like this.

lisa2062 wrote:

I agree, but what do you do with regards to my question about using a cream and getting an allergic reaction? Lisa x

The review is of limited use to me as I don't have allergies, though perhaps SU/SH for informing me that there is that possibility.

People who have the same allergies as yourself might very well rate it as VH/VU.

That's the way the peer review system works.

lisa2062 wrote:

What about then a review on say a face cream, and the first time you use it your skin breaks out in a rash? Obviously you wouldn't use the product again because of, but you then wouldn't be able to comment on long term use and how long it lasts. Lisa x

I would place litle value on a review that said this though...so that would be SH. (and not because of the "how long it lasts question" either..

koshkha wrote:

I think you can often write a negative review on very limited use but a positive one may take longer.

However, I DO think you can assess a hotel, restaurant, sightseeing attraction without having to visit it dozens of times - especially bearing in mind that most other people who eat, stay or visit, will only do it the once.

Yes, hotels in particular. there are about 24 touch points with customers and staff in a typical stay.

I have no qualms writing about a one night break although many hotel breaks can be longer.


as for "will only do it the once.." never heard anything so preposterous - have you been to my hotel...!

(runs off before I am moderated...!!!)

I agree that using my example above you wouldn't be able to comment on long term effects, how long it lasts for and other such things but if you use a product and it irritates you or doesn't do as it claims then your hardly likely to keep using the product. Lisa x

If my face comes out in blotches I won't be sticking around for a long term view.

A lot of the samples that I have received have enough in them to last a week or so if it's a face cream or 2 or 3 showers if it's a sample of a bodywash so if that's the case then it's ok to review them. If you use a sample once and you have a bad reaction to it, then it's also good to let people know as long as you are sure that it was that product that caused it.

As far as restaurants or hotels go, I agree that you can write after one visit. As long as you are fair in your assessment then that's what should matter.

Surely it depends a lot on the actual product, if you follow the logic of not doing a review on something that you only have a limited use/experience of then you could never do a film review as the most experience you could possibly have before it comes out on DVD is 2 hours

Perhaps Dooyoo could impose quick reviews to be exclusively reserved for products such as limited usage? But then again I think that would be particularly restrictive overall..