The New Intimacy

#Announcement - Changes to the Review Program pt.01 (Ideas for the future direction)

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Contributor: Zombirella Zombirella
Quote:
Originally posted by loveme
So no more free assignments? That's what made Eden special
I think this is what encourages people to write good and fair reviews.
Oh well, good things don't last long.
Yeah, it was special and nice. But after so many years, it became hard to find items to review for free that you actually think you'll like, unless some people just requested things either way just to get something. I was kinda bummed at first, but then after I thought about it and came back the forum the second day after the posting, I think that the increase in points and bigger discount will be way better. This place can still be a good site!
03/31/2013
Contributor: PropertyOfPotter PropertyOfPotter
Quote:
Originally posted by Adriana Ravenlust
I think, in terms of numbers, this would be really difficult. There's just too many reviewers to do that many push assignments outside of the DR program.

However, I rather think that points and better discounts are an AMAZING idea. Seriously.
I don't understand how it would be difficult. It would only mean that there was a large rotation. Maybe you only get one push assignment a year, that's still something. Everyone in the community would have two reviews on each new item. I think it would work really well!
03/31/2013
Contributor: SassySam SassySam
Quote:
Originally posted by Melan!e
Thank you for clarifying this for me.

No matter how much I order though, Canadian and International shipping costs just continue to increase. I still propose that Canadian and International customers be offered free shipping on a certain ... more
I agree, the free shipping on review orders was a big deal for me. I hope there is still some option for free/discounted shipping for Canadian/international orders.
03/31/2013
Contributor: yellowlemoned yellowlemoned
It took me a good day to read through all of these posts, but now that I have I'd like to put in my 10 cents.

I've only been doing reviews for EF since December and I've loved my time here so far. I don't plan on going anywhere once the free reviews are gone either, but I think a lot of good questions have been brought up so far.

I'm sure once free product reviews are gone there will be a good handful of reviewers that leave and while I understand wanting to reward seniority at EF, I think review quality is just as, if not more, important. I know there are a lot of reviews post on a daily basis here, and monitoring them all would be a challenge but I have a few suggestions on how that could be handled:

What if all reviews, in addition to having the current rating system, had an option to be flagged for additional review by a mentor? That way if you stumbled across a review that was lacking it would be brought to someones attention and suggestions could be made to the reviewer on how to approve. If the same reviewer had too many flagged reviews they could be required to partake in the mentor program again so the quality of their reviews improves. The flagged reviews could be looked over by any mentor and that mentor could be given bonus points for taking time out of their normal mentoring to help someone. If the same reviewer is flagged multiple times again and required to go back into mentoring a second time a decrease in buyout discount could take place. Inversely if a reviewer is consistently posting helpful reviews an increase in buyout could be give as a bonus. This way someone isn't penalized harshly for one bad review, new comers are not starting at a disadvantage, and you are rewarded for hard work.

The most obvious question so far is regarding shipping on buyouts. I think free standard shipping should be given with buyouts and then also provide an option for expedited shipping at a cost. Especially for the international reviews shipping costs would make reviewing more difficult to afford on a regular basis.

I think one push and one DR is a great idea for new products, that way there aren't new items sitting for months without a review on them. I think it would also be wise to extend this to cover products that have not had a review post on them in 6 or more months. That will keep the product reviews fresh and allow for more people to get a surprise present on their doorstep.

I'm sure there were other points I meant to cover, but I think until specifics on the buyout discount and points awarded are decided upon that this could be used as an opportunity to revamp the review system and award those that deserve it.
03/31/2013
Contributor: freud13 freud13
It's a great deal. The buyout assignments are wonderful.
04/01/2013
Contributor: anonymous1298304 anonymous1298304
Quote:
Originally posted by Gary
If you are getting a DEEP discounts, points back on your order, points for your review, and you are able to pay for everything in points... that we give you... free shipping would be nice, but I don't think it would be unfair to consider that ... more
this about sums it up! so for anybody that has skipped to the end of this thread at this point , keep the above in mind that Gary said as a way to look at this. and also it's been said that everything has not been solidified yet. I imagine there will be a new thread to look for once everything has officially changed.

not many companies ( we sometimes forget this is a for profit company not just a community), bother to announce changes while they are in the works. so kudos to eden for the transparency.

in the end, we want the company to be profitable, because we don't want it to go away!
04/01/2013
Contributor: AmethystQueen AmethystQueen
Very interesting...I'm just watching how it all plays out.
04/01/2013
Contributor: mfletcher1 mfletcher1
sounds like a great plan!
04/03/2013
Contributor: loveme loveme
Quote:
Originally posted by Adriana Ravenlust
It lasted for over five years..
Five years or a little over really is a short time when it comes to a website, or any type of business at that.
04/04/2013
Contributor: loveme loveme
Quote:
Originally posted by Zombirella
Yeah, it was special and nice. But after so many years, it became hard to find items to review for free that you actually think you'll like, unless some people just requested things either way just to get something. I was kinda bummed at first, ... more
Yes, you are right and make good points. It's just a huge bummer. Especially for me, I've only been part of it for about a year, maybe a little more. So I didn't really get to enjoy it. I think that is what made Eden one of a kind, literally. I mean it's totally understandable why they wantto make changes. It just sucks and takes a while to take it in and accept it when you were barely starting to get into it. This doesn't mean I'm going anywhere. Maybe I just won't enjoy it as much lol.
04/04/2013
Contributor: DolphinGirl DolphinGirl
I personally think we need to be more selective about who we vote as "advanced reviewer" and increase the number of required reviews written.
04/04/2013
Contributor: Pete's Princess Pete's Princess
(Review Program Mentor)
How about making a free gift part of graduating from the Mentor program. The mentor program is great and I have benefited a lot from it. My reviews are so much better. I just stumbled upon the Mentor program. Otherwise I would not have known about it. I think if you take the time to go through the mentoring you are serious about being a member and should be rewarded. I also think the Mentors should be rewarded a bit more. It is very time consuming to go through someone else's review and make suggestions. If done right, it most likely takes twice as much time to review as it does to write a review.
04/04/2013
Contributor: PassionQT PassionQT
I agree that something needs to be done. I have often skipped over a monthly assignment, because I can barely find anything to review nor do I have hours to look, request something, and repeatedly have those requests declined. I'd be very much in favor of a nicer discount on Buyouts!
04/12/2013
Contributor: unicorn64 unicorn64
Quote:
Originally posted by Lovely Jubblies
I think it's an excellent idea! I've only done one review but I really want to get writing more. This would be a great incentive to do that.
I'm still new and have not been able to get a free assignment yet. So a change that would allow me to get one would certainly be nice. I have been having problems finding the right products that help me so a free product, even a new item to try, would certainly be nice. It seems the lesser expensive products don't always work as we desire so a chance to try one at a deeper discount would also certainly be nice.
04/16/2013
Contributor: janemeriwether janemeriwether
Quote:
Originally posted by Gary
Alright, please read carefully. We are NOT going to be eliminating the Review Program. I repeat, we are NOT going to be eliminating the Review Program. (For those of you who get panicky) However at this point the program does need a major overhaul. ... more
I think this sounds like a fabulous idea.
04/20/2013