The New Intimacy

Misleading reviews

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Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Have you ever read a review that was misleading and made readers like a product more or less at first glance because of something in the review? For example, I've seen TONS of reviews that give products (such as lubricants and the like) only 1 star and say that it burns. When I look in the ingredients list, surprise! There are parabens. But not everyone is allergic to parabens so saying it burns (and not saying it's because of an allergy that you have and the reader may not) is misleading! Note: Rating a product 1 star and saying it burns but saying that is IS because of an allergy you have that the reader may not is not misleading and totally acceptable. I just don't think this would happen very often because if you know you're allergic to parabens, why would you get the product? Lol.

What kind of misleading reviews have you read?
02/23/2012
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Contributor: Tuesday Tuesday
It's legitimate to rate a product based on how it worked for you no matter what the reason was that it didn't work. Having a reaction to parabens isn't that uncommon. A reviewer might not know why a lube burned for them.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Quote:
Originally posted by Tuesday
It's legitimate to rate a product based on how it worked for you no matter what the reason was that it didn't work. Having a reaction to parabens isn't that uncommon. A reviewer might not know why a lube burned for them.
I didn't say they would. If they did, I doubt they would have gotten it. I also didn't say it was necessarily "wrong" to not know. I simply said it's misleading, which it is. They may be common but not everyone has them so people who AREN'T allergic to parabens might not buy a product based on a review that says it burns when it won't burn for them. That was simply all I was saying.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Tuesday Tuesday
Quote:
Originally posted by Nazaress
I didn't say they would. If they did, I doubt they would have gotten it. I also didn't say it was necessarily "wrong" to not know. I simply said it's misleading, which it is. They may be common but not everyone has them so ... more
I guess I'm likening it to my one star review of the Eroscillator. That was an absolutely terrible toy for me, but I'm one of the very few people who didn't like it. You could say my review is misleading because most people will like the Eroscillator.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Quote:
Originally posted by Tuesday
I guess I'm likening it to my one star review of the Eroscillator. That was an absolutely terrible toy for me, but I'm one of the very few people who didn't like it. You could say my review is misleading because most people will like the ... more
Not at all, not at all. That's not misleading at all. You didn't like it because you didn't like it. That's totally fine and it's good to see varying views on a product. It's one thing to one-star review a product because you personally think it sucks. It's another to one-star it and then fail to mention, I don't know, that you are not human and actually a blob creature who could not use the product. Lol. THAT'S misleading, but not hating a product.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Silverdrop Silverdrop
As long as it isn't for a Descriptive Review, I don't think it's wrong for someone to review their product subjectively. Is it misleading for me to say that the scent of Sil-a-Gel gives me a migraine? I don't know what makes that happen, and other people like Sil-a-Gel fine.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Quote:
Originally posted by Silverdrop
As long as it isn't for a Descriptive Review, I don't think it's wrong for someone to review their product subjectively. Is it misleading for me to say that the scent of Sil-a-Gel gives me a migraine? I don't know what makes that ... more
No, that isn't wrong. I don't know. Maybe if I showed the reviews that have been misleading to me, it would make more sense. Or maybe I just wish people educated themselves more so that they could explain why a product gives them an allergic reaction. Or skip getting one entirely. I'm just saying that it makes a product look frightening and completely useless when it burns one person because of their allergy and they don't mention they have an allergy. Obviously they didn't KNOW they have an allergy but that fact makes the burning all the more scary because now anyone who isn't also educated on parabens is going to think a product is awful without having used it even if they aren't personally allergic to parabens. I guess my "Note: Rating a product 1 star and saying it burns but saying that is IS because of an allergy you have that the reader may not is not misleading and totally acceptable." didn't work as it was intended.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Tuesday Tuesday
Interestingly, I once bought a lube specifically because all the reviewers said it burned. I was looking for a warming lube that actually warmed. This one did feel warm, but just barely.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Kindred Kindred
I think the problem is your use of the term misleading. To me, that implies intent to deceive, which I don't think is what you mean. You are simply describing reviews lacking in details that are not as useful as they could be. What you seem to be looking for is a completely objective review, which is not a requirement for reviews on EF.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Quote:
Originally posted by Tuesday
Interestingly, I once bought a lube specifically because all the reviewers said it burned. I was looking for a warming lube that actually warmed. This one did feel warm, but just barely.
Lol! That's hilarious. I can't say anything about warming (or cooling) lubricants because I've never tried one before. If it burns NOT because of an allergy, that's an entire different ball park, though. This wouldn't be the case for regular lubes, of course.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Quote:
Originally posted by Kindred
I think the problem is your use of the term misleading. To me, that implies intent to deceive, which I don't think is what you mean. You are simply describing reviews lacking in details that are not as useful as they could be. What you seem to ... more
I guess you're right in that. I definitely don't mean that the reviewers "intend" to deceive. They're just uneducated and they're fooling other uneducated people who read their reviews. I guess the problem doesn't lie so much in that people write (what I call) misleading reviews but that people write and read reviews without being educated...if that makes sense. Lol.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
I have a question here too---jelly toys burn me. Apparently they don't burn everyone? But I bought a jelly toy as my very first "real" toy when I turned 18, and it burned me.

So when I finally reviewed it, I gave it one star, because it was terrible and I hated it.

Even if that's an "allergy," am I not still entitled to my opinion that that was a terrible first toy? It might not be as bad for people who aren't jelly-sensitive, but it was AWFUL for me, and drove me away from soft sex toys for years.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
I have a question here too---jelly toys burn me. Apparently they don't burn everyone? But I bought a jelly toy as my very first "real" toy when I turned 18, and it burned me.

So when I finally reviewed it, I gave it one star, ... more
Obviously you are entitled to your opinion. That is not the point this thread is making, though I seem to have confused everyone into thinking it is so I apologize for that and my wording. I simply stated that it is misleading to say a product burns without stating the cause because it IS misleading. If you don't know WHY it burns, it's still misleading. It's not a BAD thing to be uneducated in this regard. Everyone starts off uneducated and learns as they go. But the fact that it's misleading remains. I'm trying to think of another word to use that doesn't apparently hold as much weight as "misleading" but I can't quite think of one right now.
02/23/2012
Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
I didn't know I had a paraben allergy until about six months ago. Unless you spend a lot of time online researching things like that, it's probably not something you'll put together. For example, if there are parabens in my body products I have ZERO reaction. If it's in my lube, it burns like mad. Kinda hard to figure out what ingredient you're having a reaction to when you react differently in different areas. The only reason I figured it out was by reading other people's experiences on Eden and trying lubes without said ingredient and finding that, hey, they didn't burn!

Should someone have a reaction similar to mine, it would be very difficult to sort out what exactly is causing the reaction. Is it an ingredient that when used in other products causes no problems? Or is it a crap lube? Maybe it's a combo of the two.

I get annoyed when I see reviews that don't mention the safety issues with lower quality materials. Unlike a hard to figure out allergy, a quick Google search will yield that Jelly is porous. Hell, a look at the product page.

I also get annoyed with reviews on lube that DO have parabens or glycerin that DON'T mention that some users may have allergic reactions to it. It was very frustrating for me trying lots of "OMG GREAT!!" lubes only to find that they burned me or caused yeast infections. Some warning of possible reaction would be nice.

I don't think any of this is misleading. I think it's annoying. What would be misleading is saying something was great when it wasn't. So if that person who had a bad reaction to the lube rated it five stars, I would consider that more misleading.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Kindred Kindred
Quote:
Originally posted by Nazaress
Obviously you are entitled to your opinion. That is not the point this thread is making, though I seem to have confused everyone into thinking it is so I apologize for that and my wording. I simply stated that it is misleading to say a product burns ... more
Not everyone knows why a particular toy does not work for them specifically. A burning sensation may or may not be an allergy. It's not misleading if you don't know the cause and I would say it's not necessarily not a useful review either. Relaying your personal experience may help to warn others that they could have a similar response, regardless of the cause.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Quote:
Originally posted by - Kira -
I didn't know I had a paraben allergy until about six months ago. Unless you spend a lot of time online researching things like that, it's probably not something you'll put together. For example, if there are parabens in my body ... more
I've apparently used "misleading" in a way that others wouldn't and caused a lot of confusion so I'm kind of just going to give up on this thread now. Lol. Thank you, everyone, for your input. I don't disagree with you but I guess that's hard to figure out in my wording so that's that, I guess.
02/23/2012
Contributor: Mr. John Mr. John
Quote:
Originally posted by Nazaress
Have you ever read a review that was misleading and made readers like a product more or less at first glance because of something in the review? For example, I've seen TONS of reviews that give products (such as lubricants and the like) only 1 ... more
It's much like ferreting through Amazon review's in general. It becomes obvious when a reviewer is bent on tearing down a product. You will even find reviews in which the reviewer admit's that they don't even own the product. So, I feel that it is up to the reader to decide what is valid. For myself, I love Eden's reviews. I comb all over them, as well as these discussions, before ever making a purchase decision.
04/03/2013
Contributor: Dreaus Dreaus
If a product is unsafe or defective or smells, that's fine to downrate the item. What I very much hate is when someone gives an item a 1 or a 2 outa 5 because the toy was to big and they couldn't get it in!! Really? this site has great measurements and there should be no reason to be surprised when the mailman arrives with your package. Just because it was too big for you doesn't mean its a bad toy, Just a bad toy for you! And yes.. there are a few of those on here!
04/03/2013