i realize that the credibility of a review increases when the hobbyist who posted it as a solid review history HOWEVER,
some hobbyists have abused this power to use their review credibility to negotiate discounts.
therefore, i think instead of posting the hobbyist's handle next to the review, they should only post how many reviews that hobbyist has posted and the average scores of all his reviews.
for example:
if bargainhunter has posted 88 reviews and these reviews have an average score of 8/8, sees me and gives me a 7/7, then my review would simply say that i got a 7/7 from a reviewer who has posted 88 reviews averaging scores of 8/8.
therefore the individual hobbyist could not take "credit" for either helping or hurting my review reputation.
This is a two way street. I had a new provider offer me a discount to post a review and I turned her down completely. I realize there are many that would've taken her up on this but I try to review honestly. I don't think we should punish all for what a few on both sides do. BTW, the provider that offered me a discount still doesn't have any reviews.
-- Modified on 5/19/2008 2:46:51 PM
but I wouldn't want to remove the hobbyist's handle. There are a few people I have gotten to know better through their reviews and other convos, and I trust their reviews more, not just from sheer numbers, but also from their likes/dislikes are more akin to mine. So I can jump right to reading their review and skip over many others.
"some hobbyists have abused this power to use their review credibility to negotiate discounts."
I think the use of "abused" and "negotiate" nix each other out. If you're negotiating a discount for something, then it's a mutual relationship. The provider will likely see more well-seasoned clients because they look for who other well-seasoned hobbyists are seeing.
It's not an abuse of power, it's a use of power. And it's a negotiation, you can always say no, just like woman who up-sell can be told no.