Yoga DVDs Getting Artificial Ratings on Amazon?
I was searching through some yoga DVDs on Amazon recently, and I was shocked to see that the DVD I dubbed “The Worst Yoga Video Ever” had a rating of almost five stars! How could that possibly be?
I know that my opinion is just mine, and that not everyone will feel the same way I do. But for the life of me, I could not see how a kundalini yoga video with a skinny girl in her underwear would appeal to the average American woman who might be trying yoga at home. The kundalini yoga is in and of itself weird enough that it’s going to be a hard sell to people who haven’t tried in the proper setting, never mind the rest of my issues with the DVD.
In looking through some of the mostly five-star reviews, which truly did seem to be a bit over-the-top, I found a thread in the discussion area. Apparently, people have tried to post negative reviews (or even just mixed reviews) for this DVD, only to get them erased.
This is apparently not an isolated incident. Multiple people have report problems. From one comment:
This product does not warrant its 5-star review percentage, which is greater than 95%. Review scores are being artificially inflated by salesmen. These salesmen complain to Amazon to have negative reviews removed, thereby inflating the overall review score. Amazon acquiesces because they know positive reviews sell products. The only loser in this quid pro quo is the consumer.
I’m sure one of the salesman’s attack dogs will soon take a bite at me. They will claim that my review (which has been deleted four times) contained no useful information — do not believe the attack dog. I know how to write and express my opinion in a civil manner, and it’s extremely disappointing that Amazon censors my review after I’ve taken the time to write it.
You know, I suppose it makes sense that Amazon (or people associated with a product) might censor negative reviews because they are trying to sell something. Still, I would hate to think that anyone associated with yoga would purposefully inflate their own reviews on Amazon. Unfortunately, when I see the kind of marketing skew that was done with this particular DVD, and the flashy, cheesecake nature of the product, I am sad to say it would not surprise me.
The moral of the story is this: Don’t take the reviews on Amazon to be gospel. An average product should have a variety of ratings on it. Even the best products should have a few one-star reviews here and there. If a product with a lot of ratings does not have balance in its ratings, then it’s likely that someone (Amazon, the product creators, friends of the creators, etc.) is skewing the results.
Sad, but highly likely. Buyer beware.
You nailed it again Steph.
Hi, Would you like to join our yoga social network at http://www.yogababy.ning. com. Would be great to have you with us and maybe some of my students would like to see your blog here if you post a link.
Heh, thanks for your note. I’ve been searching for several books recently and did consider good feedbacks..
Another problem you outlined is a great number of fake yoga products that can be even dangerous for people, especially newbies. We can see more and more commercial yoga dvds/books with very little sense inside