Just thought everyone should know...

[silentorpheus]

I dunno, kind of reminds me of the whole Hair Club For Men "not only am I the president, but I'm also a client" back in the day.

I'll agree - if indeed it was the owners of the company that posted the reviews (the body of evidence to that effect is a little thin - even the changed name doesn't guarantee anything, especially if someone filed a complaint to Amazon and they forced the person to change it and pulled the review, regardless of innocence or guilt) then it definitely violates Amazon's TOS and action should be taken. And it would appear it has.

But I kind of equate it to when you're a bartender at a wedding, and you toss a couple dollars in your empty tip jar, just to act as a visual reminder that tips are welcome. I wouldn't go as far as decrying them for 'deceptive marketing' - perhaps overzealous champions of their own cause. Deceptive marketing, to me, would be making claims that weren't true, or advertising the product one way and then shipping it a different way. Writing a review that says "I love this product, I take it with me every time I go for a hike" is likely a totally true statement - especially if you own the company. At the end of the day, I tend to treat reviews on Amazon or anywhere else like the judging at the Olympics. I toss out the highest and lowest scores since they're likely biased, and make my decision based on what's left.

I also added a comment on Amazon to support yours. I applaud your courage of conviction sir.

I think the OP stated that he just came across it - I don't think the Amazon review that you added your heart-warming dissent to was written by him/her.


In all fairness, and this is just my opinion mind you, I think that the review that calls them out is both inappropriate and unhelpful as a review, and I rank it right up there with people who rate things poorly because it took to long to ship, or because UPS damaged it in transit. That has nothing to do with the product at hand. Reviews should be made to rate the usefulness and quality of the product, and how well it does what it says it should do - not the seller, or manufacturer, or freight company. The fact that Amazon sent you red when you ordered black, or that 2-day shipping took 4 days, or that you don't like the company that makes it because you think they're shady, is not a reason to give an item a low star review. If you don't like Amazon, or UPS, or Grand Trunk - there are other platforms to rail against them. Like a public internet forum

[SwinginIt]

I think if they are open about being owners/employees then there's nothing deceptive about it. But if they are posing as customers then that's just shady. And seeing as how they posted reviews under "customer" reviews then it seems they are being shady as opposed to just touting their own product. After all the product description section is there for them to tout their product, the customer review section is there for customers to tell people if the product lives up to the hype.

[sargevining]

I dunno, kind of reminds me of the whole Hair Club For Men "not only am I the president, but I'm also a client" back in the day.

I'll agree - if indeed it was the owners of the company that posted the reviews (the body of evidence to that effect is a little thin - even the changed name doesn't guarantee anything, especially if someone filed a complaint to Amazon and they forced the person to change it and pulled the review, regardless of innocence or guilt) then it definitely violates Amazon's TOS and action should be taken. And it would appear it has.

But I kind of equate it to when you're a bartender at a wedding, and you toss a couple dollars in your empty tip jar, just to act as a visual reminder that tips are welcome. I wouldn't go as far as decrying them for 'deceptive marketing' - perhaps overzealous champions of their own cause. Deceptive marketing, to me, would be making claims that weren't true, or advertising the product one way and then shipping it a different way. Writing a review that says "I love this product, I take it with me every time I go for a hike" is likely a totally true statement - especially if you own the company. At the end of the day, I tend to treat reviews on Amazon or anywhere else like the judging at the Olympics. I toss out the highest and lowest scores since they're likely biased, and make my decision based on what's left.




I think the OP stated that he just came across it - I don't think the Amazon review that you added your heart-warming dissent to was written by him/her.


In all fairness, and this is just my opinion mind you, I think that the review that calls them out is both inappropriate and unhelpful as a review, and I rank it right up there with people who rate things poorly because it took to long to ship, or because UPS damaged it in transit. That has nothing to do with the product at hand. Reviews should be made to rate the usefulness and quality of the product, and how well it does what it says it should do - not the seller, or manufacturer, or freight company. The fact that Amazon sent you red when you ordered black, or that 2-day shipping took 4 days, or that you don't like the company that makes it because you think they're shady, is not a reason to give an item a low star review. If you don't like Amazon, or UPS, or Grand Trunk - there are other platforms to rail against them. Like a public internet forum

Yah.

Deceptive marketing is when they tell you something about the product that isn't true. Anybody who has ever had to dicker for something at a flea market or a g*n show knows that the guy who owns the thing you want to buy is going to tell you its the best thing since sliced bread. (And everybody does the same thing when they are selling something to somebody) 'Twas ever thus.

And I agree, there's still not enough evidence to convince me. I know there's enough evidence to convince people who are pretty much pre-disposed to believe that bidness owners are evil, but I tend to give everybody the benefit of the doubt and judge a product on its merits, not its advertising or the reviews on Amazon, or blogs by guys who get the stuff for free from the manufacturers so that they can test it and do a review.

I'm going camping with the product, not the guy who makes it, so talk to me about the product, not the person.

[Ramblinrev]

I rarely read the glowing reviews on anything. I read the lousy ones. But here's the thing, competitors have been known to post lousy reviews for the purpose of degrating their competition. I find that more reprehensible than the example the OP presented. For me a review needs to present specifics and not just a generic comment. "This is a lousy product" gives me no information and I throw out the review. "This is a lousy product because it weighs 40 pounds and is not outfitted with wheels" is a whole different ball game. Similarly, if a rave review is just "Wowsers I love this thing." I am less likely to give it any merit as opposed to "This filter serves to remove live worms from bagged potato chips better than anything else I have tried." It matters not who writes the review. That's my standard.

[sargevining]

I also find it kinda creepy that somebody is tracking down user ids on reviews in the first place.

[Cali]

If it is true, I think the company is wrong as they violated the TOS that Amazon has. I hate deception, and if it is true I will not buy from Grand Trunk. I mainly buy from our cottage vendors anyway. I did own a Grand Trunk double and UL and liked them, and I still have the mosquito net.

[TimberbeastWaco]

Has it ever occurred to anyone that not only are they the owners but users of there equipment ????
I own 3 GT Double, 1 single, 1 small light wt. hammocks.
I have spoken to many folks there about different issues. We also have spoken about different usage, trips, weather, future designee,
these folks really do use there own product and asked good questions, I like being able to enplane the hammock ridge line to them and follow up with them. Why do you feel they should not give reviews on there own product they have used, unfair business practice ?? I'm sorry but the image of a crybaby jumping up and down spilling the coffee crying it is only half full you ripped me off. Come on folks until you have a real visit with the folks there don't judge.

[SwinginIt]

Has it ever occurred to anyone that not only are they the owners but users of there equipment ????
I own 3 GT Double, 1 single, 1 small light wt. hammocks.
I have spoken to many folks there about different issues. We also have spoken about different usage, trips, weather, future designee,
these folks really do use there own product and asked good questions, I like being able to enplane the hammock ridge line to them and follow up with them. Why do you feel they should not give reviews on there own product they have used, unfair business practice ?? I'm sorry but the image of a crybaby jumping up and down spilling the coffee crying it is only half full you ripped me off. Come on folks until you have a real visit with the folks there don't judge.

I think the issue that people are having is the fact that they posted CUSTOMER reviews and they aren't customers. If they had said in their reviews how they are affiliated with GT then probably no one would have a problem. But they are leading people to believe that they are Amazon customers that purchased the product, which isn't the case. Of course we'd expect the creator of a product to use and endorse their product. But they should do so as themselves, not by posing as a satisfied customer.

[SilvrSurfr]

This is no different than astroturfing, which is, according to Wikipedia: "Astroturfing is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g. political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participant(s). It is a practice intended to give the statements or organizations more credibility by withholding information about the source's financial connection."

Astroturfing is a disgusting manipulation of the political process - where corporations pretend to be a group of concerned citizens. This particular practice of owners pretending to be consumers is just as odious and despicable. If you think this is okay, then you are a seriously jaded individual.

[Rat]

Why has this become an argument? No mind will be changed here...

Thank you for your opinion, but mine, and all the others, are just as valid as yours. Opinions are like that, hard to change... I'm not jaded, it is just not worth getting worked up over.

They broke the rules, they got caught, hooray; time to move on...