Merchant Reviews

[SunshineGirl]

Right now we have the place for each merchant where you can give them a rating. And then we have a lot of discussions here in the forum about merchants.

One of the ideas I have been tossing around since Affiliate Summit is incorporating merchant reviews into the actual pages on SR. I'm certain that it would not take too much coding from Kevin. But here are my questions:

1) Do you currently use the ratings either to leave a rating or to see what someone else has rated?

2) Would you bother to leave reviews of merchants....good or bad?

3) Is it worth the trouble to have us add it?

Thoughts?

[mia214jia]

I personally have not left a review. However I have read someone else's and of course read what others have posted here.
I think it would actually be a good idea. But I think everyone would have to join in and actually do it for it to work. And I think it would really help out when someone is debating a purchase. Just IMO.

[Hedy]

1) Rarely
2) Only if it was very good or very bad.
3) Honestly? I think people are more likely to use the forum for such things.

Would the reviews be edited to not peeve the advertisers?

[SunshineGirl]

Would the reviews be edited to not peeve the advertisers?

No. Not unless they were graphic or obscene in some way. That would be the risk that we would have to take. That there might be really bad reviews of some of the advertisers.

I wish that there were a better way to tie in the forum posts to the advertisers (and the blogs, too, for that matter) but there doesn't seem to be at this point. I think we could much easier tie in the videoblogs to the merchant pages than the forum. But I won't say that anything is impossible.

[StitchandPooh'smom]

I have not rated any merchants, but I have taken note of the ratings they have. I looked at a merchant yesterday that had a "2" - I would have liked to know why, but the info is not necessarily in the forum.

I think most reviews will still take place in the forum because it allows for interaction. I just wish there was an easier way to find the reviews, particularly for some of the merchants I haven't heard of before. Searching on a merchant can result in a lot of posts (particularly merchants like Disney Shopping ) - they are not all reviews. Maybe there can be a merchant review subforum and all reviews of a particular merchant can go in one thread? I have no idea how much trouble that is!

[SunshineGirl]

Maybe there can be a merchant review subforum and all reviews of a particular merchant can go in one thread? I have no idea how much trouble that is!

Actually....that might not be all that hard. You have given me something to ponder!!

[spring]

I have left a review for a few of the merchants I've used and I'm very interested in other people's experiences, good or bad. I think having this available would be a huge help to me, and hopefully, for others. I wouldn't have any problem ordering from a well rated merchant, but I would think twice if there were multiple negative comments. Where the reviews were would not matter, but I'd personally would like it at the place you click on to go shopping through SR.

[bajam]

I would love this. I always want to know why something was rated high or low. The star system doesn't give me enough info. Maybe something that bothers one person will not bother the next.

I had a horrible experience in June when I shopped through a merchant here, but I didn't want to offend the advertiser so I never posted about it in the forum.

[SunshineGirl]

I would love this. I always want to know why something was rated high or low. The star system doesn't give me enough info. Maybe something that bothers one person will not bother the next.

I had a horrible experience in June when I shopped through a merchant here, but I didn't want to offend the advertiser so I never posted about it in the forum.

And I think that sometimes the rating is about the cash back and not the purchase, which makes a difference. Sometimes someone will love the merchant and the product but doesn't get their cash back and leaves a bad rating. Other people might not care as much about the cash back as they do the merchant and products themselves.

While I worry a little about negative feedback, one thing that I learned at Affiliate Summit is that allowing negative feedback makes the positive feedback even that more "real." I do agree with that.

[disney_girl]

I do like to read reviews or ratings- especially on new merchants. I'm not always good about leaving them though. I do like looking through the forum for reviews of merchants. I know this isn't directly related to your question...but is it possible for us to have a new forum just for rating merchants? Or is that redundant to what we already have?

Just the rating alone gives only a little glimpse because as you said, someone might rate them bad for not getting credit etc.