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Robert Kernodle

8 Years Ago

Side Effect Of Postive Consumer Reviews - Increased Prices

Every now and then, when I have purchased a product that I have discovered to be excellent, I have written a raving positive, detailed review about it somewhere on the internet. One time, I wrote such a review for a photography product that I bought, and when I returned a few months later to buy another, the price had increased significantly.

Now MY review might not have been the cause of the price increase, of course, but it got me thinking about the effect of positive consumer reviews. I have decided that well written positive product reviews in large numbers can cause a distributor to re-evaluate the quality of what he/she is selling, and if he/she observes many positive reviews, then he/she will raise the price, either because he/she realizes that the product is better than previously judged or because the plethora of positive reviews has increased sales, thus, demand.

As an indicator of how likely this is to happen, I recently discovered a product that I believe is extremely well made. I could NOT, however, find many reviews of it online. I also noticed that the price for this exact same product at different selling sites was over a hundred dollars higher than the lowest price, in some cases, which tells me that some distributors have already figured out that the product is really good, with qualities that will soon be in greater demand for such a product.

This time, I am keeping my review to myself. I have decided never again to publish rave reviews about any high-quality product that I discover.

Because of the speed and efficiency with which information travels now, what once assisted consumers can now come back and bite them in the bank account.

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David Bridburg

8 Years Ago

Robert,

Tesla charged less for a car in their first year than they did the second year.

Something like that, I think the jump was around $15k.

Dave

 

Robert Kernodle

8 Years Ago

Sadly, I guess the rule today is that if you discover a great product, then keep it a secret. Otherwise, the great product will acquire too great of a price to make it a reasonable buy for the great majority of consumers.

 

Roger Swezey

8 Years Ago

Reminds me of my "Sunshine Artist" days.

When one comes upon a winner of a show, one would be out of their mind, to give it a raving review in that magazine.

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

Sorry but this is ridiculous.

Manufacturers often put a new product out at a low price in order to get people to try it and to gain market share. What should people do not tell anyone about a great product or even worse give a false bad review in hopes the price will stay low? What happens when the company goes out of business and then the product isn't available any longer?

Maybe when an art critic sees a great new up and coming artist they shouldn't say anything so they can snatch up some cheap art.

 

Robert Kernodle

8 Years Ago

Yes, in any other age, this IS ridiculous.

But what is even MORE ridiculous, with the speed of information transfer today, is that distributors can take advantage of honest information to inflate prices ridiculously.

A good intention, thus, is turned into an unsavory profit.

Not so ridiculous, after all, then.

Explain to me how a product at one website distributor can be over a hundred dollars more at another website distributor? I am talking about a $20 item being sold for $135 somewhere else, with a wild distribution of prices in between, depending on where you shop for the item. EXACT SAME PRODUCT, no doubt about it.

 

Adam Jewell

8 Years Ago

I used to write reviews but then I thought, it's not my job to sell products for Amazon or hotels for trip advisor.

Sometimes I'll add stuff to my own blog but why work for someone else for free?

 

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