attention signWhat’s the first thing we as consumers look at when shopping for a product online? It’s not the shipping cost. It’s not the color or design.

It’s the reviews.

If there’s one thing a savvy shopper knows how to do, it’s checking to see what other people are saying about a particular product.

The negative reviews make you want to avoid the product, but the warm and fuzzy reviews are pretty much the race-starter pistol shot you needed to click “Add To Cart.” It’s a done deal.

You finish your checkout process and wait a few days for your package to arrive, but when you open up the box and try it out, it makes a sickening grinding noise.

You’re pretty sure it’s not supposed to do that. The review didn’t say anything like that would happen!

Reviews can be misleading

Well, my friend, you’ve been duped by a fake review.

You trusted this person with your decision, and they let you down.That happened to me when looking for cosmetic reviews.

It’s hard to believe scum like that are allowed to have computers in the first place.

Sadly, it’s the way things are now. For this reason alone, you should trust the only person that’s going to be honest with you when buying something: YOU.

How do these fake reviews get on sites like Amazon, Walmart or ToysRUs? How can these people sleep at night?

Don’t they have nightmares about what would happen if you found them, and they had to tell you how crappy the product really is?

My guess is, probably not. But the bad news doesn’t end there. There are entire websites dedicated to posting reviews on products. It’s not just the comment section on Target.com that you have to be wary of; review sites are just as bad, if not worse.

So how do you spot review site not worth it?

A lot of times, the site will look very generic and have little to no information on the company that runs it or their contact information.

They’ll typically have the score of their review posted, but they won’t list the specific review given. Just “5 out of 5 stars” or something like that.

Beauty and skin care products are the biggest lies review sites tout.

Some of the products may work, some may not. The truth is that these reviews generally aren’t written by industry professionals or even people who have tried the product. They’re hired help, and their job is to make you buy the stuff their boss is selling.

Several useless review sites for cosmetics have been found to rank higher than legitimate ones, so approach with caution.

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. There’s no harm trying a product because you saw a good review on it; sometimes, we have to take chances.

You live and learn. However, when it comes to more expensive items that get up into the hundreds and thousands of dollars, it’s best to weigh your options and see if it’s worth the gamble or not. Check different reviews and stay skeptical.