So, this is kinda weird...

[101recon]

I can think of three possibilities.

1.All the ratings and reviews are BS to be ignored.
2.Some are legit and some are not, but the time and effort to sort them out is either not applied or not feasible.
3.40 to 60% of the reviewers were bored philosophers which would make the numbers quite accurate.

All kidding aside,I would be wary of any opinion coming from most anybody wishing to sell me something.Note any + or - issues of interest and check them out independently.Use the reviews as a resource for things to look into.Some may raise points not previously considered.

Thanks to the OP.This thread does have it's humorous side,but I think it shows the value of research.

 

[Puffer Fish]

philosophy major ?

These are not reviews of products, they are a thumb up or thumb down on a review. And if you test it, you can vote as often as you want (sort of like living in Chicago).

Not surprising at all that they are around 50%. You have to be inclined to vote, and then you either like what was said or don't...and almost every item has as many people that like what is said as don't... sounds like pretty much any political issue.

 

[diver_doug]

philosophy major ?

These are not reviews of products, they are a thumb up or thumb down on a review. And if you test it, you can vote as often as you want (sort of like living in Chicago).

Not surprising at all that they are around 50%. You have to be inclined to vote, and then you either like what was said or don't...and almost every item has as many people that like what is said as don't... sounds like pretty much any political issue.

I'm not sure what to make of "philosophy major? These are not reviews of products, they are a thumb up or thumb down on a review." I was very clear in my original post that I was talking specifically about the approval rating and not the reviews themselves. As far as "you like it or you dont", obviously I agree...it's gonna be one of the two. Almost all review-enabled websites have some sort of "was this helpful" option on user reviews-but if you check (for example) amazon.com you'll see that some reviews are about 50% helpful, some are about 10% helpful, some are about 90%helpful; i.e. the approval/disapproval rating runs the gamut from 0%-100% I don't think "you like it or you don't" explains a constant 40%-60% approval rating for reviews.

 

[Scuba.com]

Okay... First of all let me thank Diver_Doug and everybody else for alerting us to something that we'd not noticed ourselves. The first part of the issue, where all the ratings appear to be similar looks to be a programming issue (that is frankly a bit above my head) and has to do with web crawlers touching the page somehow and giving ratings en mass. Again.... for all you programmers out there, I don't have any idea HOW that works, just that is what our programmers here have told me and they are re-writing some of our code to avoid that now, so over time we should see those return to normal again.

The second part of this, where there are reviews that have nothing to do with the product is completely author driven. On our reviews page you can only review a product if you have purchased it from us. In theory. What happens is once the reviewer goes through the process of selecting the product they have purchased from Scuba.com and gets to the text screen at that point they can type anything they choose. So, if the customer has purchased the XS Scuba Z Duo mask and follows to the review page, once there they could submit their thoughts on anything from Tony's Pizza to what color car is the best and we'd be unaware. Those are not edited by our staff or altered in any way although it does appear maybe we should scan them a bit closer for content that has nothing logical to do with the particular product.

Anyway, we are well aware there will be those of you who scoff at this and that's okay. It's one of the things that can make the board a good read. But I do want to thank those who noticed it once again for bringing it to our attention.

 

[iztok]

Thanks for dealing with situation Scuba.com! While not a customer I appreciate the followup and it makes me feel bit better about the shop.

 

[diver_doug]

Okay... First of all let me thank Diver_Doug and everybody else for alerting us to something that we'd not noticed ourselves. The first part of the issue, where all the ratings appear to be similar looks to be a programming issue (that is frankly a bit above my head) and has to do with web crawlers touching the page somehow and giving ratings en mass. Again.... for all you programmers out there, I don't have any idea HOW that works, just that is what our programmers here have told me and they are re-writing some of our code to avoid that now, so over time we should see those return to normal again.

The second part of this, where there are reviews that have nothing to do with the product is completely author driven. On our reviews page you can only review a product if you have purchased it from us. In theory. What happens is once the reviewer goes through the process of selecting the product they have purchased from Scuba.com and gets to the text screen at that point they can type anything they choose. So, if the customer has purchased the XS Scuba Z Duo mask and follows to the review page, once there they could submit their thoughts on anything from Tony's Pizza to what color car is the best and we'd be unaware. Those are not edited by our staff or altered in any way although it does appear maybe we should scan them a bit closer for content that has nothing logical to do with the particular product.

Anyway, we are well aware there will be those of you who scoff at this and that's okay. It's one of the things that can make the board a good read. But I do want to thank those who noticed it once again for bringing it to our attention.

Thanks for acknowledging this. I have purchased several items from scuba.com; they were all a good price, arrived timely, and were brand new. I like scuba.com and will continue to purchase from you guys. I hope no one (including you) took this thread to be a "don't buy from scuba.com" thread-I really just wanted to alert people not to take the approval rating seriously. It seemed to me the numbers were being made up, but as I also know nothing about website programming, I accept that what you're saying could be the case. Thanks again for addressing the issue and if it truly is some sort of programming error then I apologize for creating this thread in lieu of contacting you directly.