The New Intimacy

Can a review be too long or descriptive?

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Contributor: Carrie Ann Carrie Ann
Quote:
Originally posted by Beck
My thought about writing my reviews lengthy is that I don't want the reader to go anywhere else to read any information about the product. If they have then my review wasn't as complete as it should be. When I read a review if I already know ... more
Something to also keep in mind is most customers come to a review from a product page not to a product page from a review.

It's us, the community, who see the reviews first cuz we log in and immediately hit that community page or whatever to keep up with them. Customers tend to hit the home page, shop product pages and check reviews if a product seems interesting.
07/23/2012
Contributor: Ouroborean Ouroborean
I think there's a fine line between a complete/detailed review and an unnecessarily rambling review.

It's also worth noting that people have different writing styles; some are more inclined toward embellishment, while others may be more terse. Neither is really "right" or "wrong". You can convey the same amount of information either way.
07/23/2012
Contributor: Modern^Spank^Anthem Modern^Spank^Anthem
as long as they don't go off track it's never to much info, some tangents occur but they're ok
08/13/2012
Contributor: Vaginas Vaginas
as long as your not repeating yourself too much longer reviews are great
08/13/2012
Contributor: DirtyAngel7 DirtyAngel7
Quote:
Originally posted by Cookie Monster Mike
I am asking for myself more so because I am currently in the process of writing a very long review for a new product. The product line has limited info on it and I want to give a lot of useful information on everything about this product. By a lot, I ... more
I think, the more info the better. Just don't repeat yourself a million times. If it's all just straight information, it's not a problem how long it is. Keeps potential buyers from having to do more extensive research than necessary.
01/13/2013
Contributor: indiechick indiechick
Quote:
Originally posted by Cookie Monster Mike
I am asking for myself more so because I am currently in the process of writing a very long review for a new product. The product line has limited info on it and I want to give a lot of useful information on everything about this product. By a lot, I ... more
If it is going to take me more than 20 minutes to read it, it is too long and I will rank it down because of that.

I feel it becomes to much when people write just to fill space. You can say it has a ton of amazing ingredients and make lists under Kosher, organic, natural or bad ingredients under can cause irritation headings without describing every ingredient.

Just a thought
01/13/2013
Contributor: TheirPet TheirPet
When I really want to try and buy something I research it heavily first. Long, descriptive reviews are always useful in my book.
01/13/2013
Contributor: Lavendar Lavendar
Yes!
01/13/2013
Contributor: KrissyNovacaine KrissyNovacaine
On occasion a review hits TMI for me, but that's due to a graphic nature rather than just too much info, but honestly, the more the better.
01/13/2013
Contributor: Bleu Bleu
I usually write out questions I have about the product RIGHT when I get it and stick to those when I write the review. Sometimes it does come out too long but I'd rather have a review that's too long rather than too short.

But I have seen many many many many short reviews that barely are helpful and many long reviews that aren't helpful (they just ramble on about the same thing, usually). I have see the rare short review that is extremely helpful but it's rare.

I have to write out my questions because I will forget them later on. I do think I ramble a bit but after hours of thinking of how to shorten it, I figure it's best to leave it.
01/13/2013
Contributor: KissTheSkyBaby KissTheSkyBaby
As a reader, it's hard for there to be to much information. As a writer I find it sometimes hard to have alot of information without it sounding like boring drone. Waaa wa wa, wah wa wa. Think charlie brown. If you can find a way to fit a whole lot information into a review without making it as boring as drying paint then go for it!
01/13/2013
Contributor: Martiniman Martiniman
As long as the review is informative, I don't care how long it is. I don't want a review that only gives me toy or product specifications, I can get that from the product information page. I want a review that gives me your personal experiences and opinions, and the more detailed the better.
01/13/2013
Contributor: Ayumi Ayumi
I think it depends. I think I tend to write on the longer side for most products, but it depends on the product. I have written shorter reviews when I feel there is nothing left to say and it would be overkill. If I feel like I will end up repeating myself, I use the shorter review format.

Also, the way I see it is, if I properly label my sections, people can go to where in your review the information is that they are most looking for. If you err on the longer side, you will probably have users asking less questions about the product. If you feel you have answered, "what people would want to know" and "any unique things about your experience" with a product, then in a quick and dirty way I would say you are good to go.

I keep a template to help me not get too redundant.
01/13/2013
Contributor: roskat roskat
I've read a few reviews that could have been much shorter.
01/13/2013
Contributor: Kirill1171 Kirill1171
Yes a review can be too long/descriptive!
01/18/2013
Contributor: ththpup ththpup
I answered that I don't think a review can be too long. To be more specific, I think that, while it is certainly possible to have a too-long review, it's much easier for a review to be too short than too long.

More important than length, though, is the writing; I would much MUCH prefer a short, well written review to a long, poorly written one.
01/18/2013
Contributor: FlashFuchsia FlashFuchsia
I think if someone tunes out of reading a review regardless of length either
1. The review isn't entertaining or
2. The person reading just doesn't care in which case they shouldn't be reading reviews in the first place.
01/18/2013
Contributor: Gluesnffr Gluesnffr
yes! just want them to get straight to the point!
01/19/2013
Contributor: fizzygato fizzygato
Absolutely.

If the review has a drag bar that's super small, I'm like, "Oh dear goodness," and skim for the parts that I want to know more about.

Sometimes I think some parts need to be long; i.e. if you're giving a personal story and it happens to be a really long one, but still. Some parts just seem too long :/
01/21/2013
Contributor: JennSenn JennSenn
Depends. I tend to try and read a review to the end, but if it get's to a certain length I sometimes just stop. If there aren't any other reviews for it that seems fine. If someone finds it too long they can skip the parts they're not interested in. So long as all the information is useful it should be okay.
01/21/2013
Contributor: Gleb Gleb
Yes a review can be too long/descriptive!
03/11/2013
Contributor: Rokmai Rokmai
I feel like I see a lot of reviews that are too long/descriptive. 300 words on the texture of a plastic dildo is a bit unnecessary. I generally read four or five reviews on a product I'm interested in. If it could be a short story, I will skip over it.
04/15/2013
Contributor: Gary Gary
A review can definitely be too long. This doesn't mean a long review is bad however. If you are thorough and accurate it is what it is. I think sometimes people have a tendency to reiterate the information that is already available, and this can definitely add a lot to the review.
04/15/2013
Contributor: SexyStuff SexyStuff
As a reader, yes. But people seem to need to write a lot to get a high score.
04/15/2013
Contributor: Allison.Wilder Allison.Wilder
It really depends on the product, in my opinion.
05/15/2013
Contributor: charmedtomeetyou charmedtomeetyou
(Review Program Mentor)
I like long reviews, both reading them and writing them...BUT, I don't like reviews that spell out things that don't need to be spelled out just to make the review longer and get a better rating.

Example:

I'd rather read a review that says to wash a toy with soap and water and wipe with a cloth to dry, over a review that breaks that down into turning on the faucet, checking the temperature, pumping the soap, massaging the toy with soapy water, rinsing the toy well, shaking the toy to remove excess water and then drying the toy on a cloth.
05/15/2013
Contributor: gwenevieve gwenevieve
Quote:
Originally posted by Cookie Monster Mike
I am asking for myself more so because I am currently in the process of writing a very long review for a new product. The product line has limited info on it and I want to give a lot of useful information on everything about this product. By a lot, I ... more
It really depends on the product. Like, for instance, kits- they obviously need much longer reviews. But there are few reasons for a cheap, traditional vibrator to have a huge review.
05/18/2013
Contributor: Aishiteru Aishiteru
Yes, I like reviews to be straight to the point and to highlight what they consider most important for the reader to know.
05/18/2013
Contributor: SecretKinksters SecretKinksters
Yes, but usually its when the reviewer is saying nothing of importantance in the review that causes it to seem long.
05/18/2013
Contributor: Rawr4483 Rawr4483
I think it depends on the product really.
05/24/2013