+ 1 Promo review value & the new review system
Hello friends. I like the new review system. I think it allows for more nuance in the review process. When we are all rating 5 out of 5 stars across the board, it leaves no room for truly exceptional experiences. More so when it comes to promos, because there is an underlying sense of obligation or debt for receiving some free gear. Also, it has been my experience that sources tend to expect 5 stars in each category from promo recipients, & although I can see the logic, it completely skews the review hierarchy, not accurately reflecting what one can expect from the average paid order, and given how much we may spend, transparent & honest reviews are vital to our lifestyle. How do you guys feel about the review system & have you experienced any sources encouraging you to give them straight up 5’s across the board for promo gear? Do you think that’s appropriate or is it buying a higher ranking?
Full disclosure; I love the promos, & take advantage of them when appropriate. When I was first a member here, I abused the promos, until I understood Eroids a little better, so no judgement, I’m truly curious what the community feels about all this.
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I definitely like the new system, although this is my concern with the whole thing. As I understand the reason for only eight reviews in a rolling year, I think this rule forces members to only review promo orders, allowing them eight free promos per year. Then, as you stated, we will feel obligated to five star your preferred sources to help you be included in their future promos. This is where my concern kicks in. How can we get honest reviews on different sources and compounds when everyone is saving the eight reviews for their preferred promo vendors?? I understand that no one in there right mind should be running more than a few true cycles per year, but what if you’re using different brands of gear in your cycle. In a perfect world, a member would join a promo for free gear and purchase the rest of the cycle gear from the same source, right? Well who the hell wants to take that risk and run a twelve week cycle filled with shitty gear? I’ve joined a few promos, but it’s never enough for the cycle I’m running, and always use my preferred and proven sources for the base products in my cycle. Then I’ll introduce promo gear and see how it performs. Now, at the end of my cycle, who gets the review??? The paid for tried and true, or the freebie,, untried and new??? I only get eight reviews, right?
I hope that sounds the way it did in my head when I was typing it, LOL. I think the main question at the beginning of a review should be “Are you reviewing a recent promo for free gear?” Or, being that sources can tag you as “owes a review” and have it automatically drop the tag once you review the promo, it should also automatically tag your review as a promo review. Then limit users to eight promo reviews in a rolling year. Don’t limit reviews on gear members have actually paid for, because in all honesty, those are the real reviews I want to read about. Why are people spending their hard earned money with this source/gear??? Or why shouldn’t they spend their money with them? Those are the real reviews we can trust. Don’t limit those paid gear reviews. I hope this all makes sense to you.
Yeah man, I believe these are some of the challenges with the review system. I think it’s pretty amazing how this site evolves so fluidly & quickly, and the reviews offered here are vastly superior to all other similar sites (in my opinion). And I also value the reviews of paid orders over promo reviews. I mean no disrespect to the sources or the recipients of these reviews, as I review promo gear in spurts myself, but the trust you give a source when you inject their product into your body is no small thing - so where people spend their money is where their faith in the product really is, I imagine.
My thoughts exactly.