Times good reviews lead you to bad purchases?

[slackerinabox]

I recently ordered a Sony MP3 player based on stellar reviews (both Amazon and cnet) and have been frustrated by a huge usability flaw that no other reviewer caught - buttons that stick together! For example, the pause/play button often sticks to the forward button, so pressing forward often pauses the music, instead of going to the next song. It's a maddening flaw that makes the player almost useless while driving or in a pocket.

The reviewers marveled about the great sound quality and bargain pricing, but missed this simple usability function.

I also bought Logitech z2300 speakers that were universally acclaimed, C-net's near perfect review said "buy these speakers, it's that simple." Well, I bought the speakers and they're great for listening to shit explode but suck for music because there are no mids - just sharp highs and destroy your relationship with your neighbors lows. Never mind the $30 logitech s220s I bought for my dad - one reviewer claimed "I'm a sound technician by trade and these sound better than $3,000 stereo systems!" yet, to me, they sounded like the freebies thrown in with my dell. I know home audio in particular is very subjective, but the amount of hyperbole in Amazon reviews is pretty earth shattering.

What are some instances when you made a purchase based on reviews only to be sorely disappointed?

 

[IceBergSLiM]

you still post here?

 

[lokiju]

Maybe the one you got is defective?

Return it.

 

[Vette73]

Maybe the one you got is defective?

Return it.

And leave a review for others to see.

 

[slackerinabox]

And leave a review for others to see.

Didn't get a defective unit - an anythingbutipod review (written after I purchased the player) mentioned the same exact flaw.. They even called it a crippling issue, which I agree with.

My point isn't about the mp3 player... Just wondering what other products people have bought based on awesome reviews only to be let down by inflated expectations.

 

[slackerinabox]

you still post here?

Nope. NEVER.

 

[Fritzo]

[q]I recently ordered a Sony MP3 player [/q]

If you buy something with SONY on it, you can pretty much expect problems. They're like Apple without the public support.

 

[mugs]

I've bought some board games that got great reviews but were not to my liking. Then I figured out what I actually like in a board game, and I'm able to filter out the games that I know I wouldn't enjoy (despite being considered to be great games by many)

 

[lothar]

If you buy something with SONY on it, you can pretty much expect problems. They're like Apple without the public support.

This.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

All positive customer reviews are shills; all massively negative reviews are by idiots that don't know what they're doing or the unlucky people with DOAs. All slightly negative reviews are shills from other companies taking the offensive. In review, customer reviews are useless.

 

[Ksyder]

usually when i have problems with electronics its due to my own stupidity... like trying to mod my eneloop charger the other day... it ended up in the "round file" with a new one promptly ordered on ebay 😀