The Dark Stain of Online Reviews: A Cautionary Tale

In recent years, online reviews have become an increasingly important aspect of consumer decision-making. However, with the rise of fake and incentivized reviews, trust has begun to erode. The case of AeroZoom, a tooth whitening company, serves as a stark reminder of the perils of buying fake online reviews.

AeroZoom's approach to encouraging reviews is particularly egregious. For just $10, customers can receive a coupon for 10% off their next purchase and a refund of up to $5 for any review, good or bad. While this may seem like a harmless practice at first glance, it raises serious concerns about the integrity of online reviews. When companies offer incentives in exchange for reviews, they undermine the very principle of honest feedback that online reviews are meant to provide.

The impact of such practices cannot be overstated. Consumers are left with a diminished view of online reviews, wondering whether any of them are genuinely useful or not. This skepticism can have far-reaching consequences, making it more difficult for companies to gauge their products' effectiveness and for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.

As someone who values board games and tabletop gaming, I understand the importance of fair play and trustworthiness in these communities. However, the phenomenon of fake reviews has seeped into even these spaces. I recall a particularly egregious example from a board game night where a player was caught cheating by looking up answers on their phone during a trivia game.

This experience left me with a lasting impression of the need for integrity in online reviews. When companies like AeroZoom engage in questionable practices, it erodes trust and undermines the very purpose of online feedback. As someone who values authenticity and honesty, I find myself questioning the legitimacy of online reviews.

AeroZoom's response to this criticism is telling. Instead of taking steps to address their questionable practices, they seem content to ignore the issue altogether. This lack of accountability only serves to further erode trust in online reviews. As a consumer, I expect more from companies like AeroZoom.

The experience with AeroZoom has left me with a sense of unease about online reviews. It has made me wonder whether any of them are genuinely useful or not. While it is impossible to trust everything on the internet, this phenomenon has created a dark stain in my mind. Until I see a genuine response from companies like AeroZoom, I will continue to approach online reviews with skepticism.

In conclusion, the case of AeroZoom serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of buying fake online reviews. As consumers, we must demand more from companies and hold them accountable for their actions. Only by promoting integrity and authenticity can we restore trust in online reviews and ensure that they continue to serve their intended purpose: providing valuable feedback to help us make informed purchasing decisions.

A Little Story About Board Games

I love board games, and I'm an avid player of Dungeons and Dragons, as well as other tabletop games. However, one thing that really gets my goat is cheating. As someone who values fair play, I've encountered several instances where players have cheated during games. One particular experience stands out in my mind.

It was a game night, and we were playing a trivia game called Whitson Wagers. I noticed that one of the players, someone who was new to our group, was answering every question correctly, including one that required exact knowledge of the average length of a human femur bone. What struck me as suspicious was that he would often look under the table at his phone during the game, suggesting that he was looking up answers online.

As the game went on, I began to feel uneasy about the situation. If someone is cheating in a game, it's only fair that they be called out for it. So, when the game ended and everyone gathered around to discuss their results, I brought it up with the group. The player in question denied any wrongdoing, but I was not convinced.

This experience left me feeling frustrated and disillusioned with the idea of online reviews. If someone can't play a game fairly with strangers, what else are they going to cheat at? It's this kind of behavior that makes me wary of online reviews and eager to demand more from companies like AeroZoom.

Why I Won't Trust AeroZoom

In light of my experience with AeroZoom, I've decided not to trust the company anymore. While it may seem like a small thing, the fact that they're engaging in questionable practices like offering incentives for fake reviews has made me lose confidence in their product and their business model.

As someone who values honesty and integrity, I find it difficult to support companies that don't share these values. AeroZoom's approach to online reviews is not only untrustworthy but also cynical. By trying to game the system and manipulate public perception, they're undermining the very purpose of online feedback.

I know that some people may view this as a minor issue or that $10 is a small price to pay for a refund. However, for me, it's about principle. If companies like AeroZoom are willing to sacrifice their integrity in order to boost sales and publicity, then I'm not interested in doing business with them.

The Future of Online Reviews

As the debate over online reviews continues, it's essential that we find a way to restore trust in this form of feedback. This means promoting transparency and accountability within companies, as well as encouraging consumers to speak out against suspicious practices like those employed by AeroZoom.

Until then, I'll remain skeptical of online reviews and demand more from companies like AeroZoom. By holding these companies accountable for their actions, we can create a more honest and trustworthy marketplace where consumers can make informed purchasing decisions.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhow's it going everybody today i want to do something a bit different and talk about aerozoom this channel is supported by my personal pocketbook so if you'd like to help me out just like subscribe i greatly appreciate it it is a us-based company that ships its products from hong kong which include acoustic foam soundproofing materials staircase treads led lights adhesives insulation etc but what they're most known for is their acoustic foam if you spent any time at all watching youtube videos in the past few years i'm sure you've spotted their foam in the background many many youtubers use it not just those who are specifically working with sound you may have even seen sponsored videos specifically from other tech tubers i have not been sponsored by air zoom i was just looking to make a better recording environment now if you've seen some of my past videos you might have noticed that it was in the bedroom and the reason for that is that it's a better recording environment it's a smaller room it has carpet on the floor you can see that i'm sitting out of bed there's a tapestry behind me and there's also drapes behind me not to mention the closet that's right in front of me that i can keep open where all the clothes will help deaden the sound and the reason why this is good is because out here where i am now is in the living room i'm going to get a lot of reverberation where the ceilings and floors are essentially made of concrete and the flat walls made of sheetrock will create reverberations that creates a muddy sound and when you're recording sound in any fashion really you want as clean of a sound as possible where you can add reverb or echo later so i search for some acoustic foam and naturally i came across aerozoom they have reviews all over youtube and like i said before many tech tubers have reviewed it and have been sponsored by them most of which were raving about them but anyways i went on amazon i went on their own website and the reviews all looked fantastic even on their own website they had a whopping 4.9 stars all together so i did some browsing and i decided to pull the trigger on 12 50 by 50 centimeter pyramid panels the shipping wasn't typically what you would expect from somewhere like amazon where it arrives in a day or at most you know five days uh it was about a week or so but it came all the way from hong kong and honestly it was kind of like a traditional time frame that you would typically expect the packaging was much smaller than i expected and i was actually pretty surprised that they fit all 12 of them in there and inside the packaging among the instructions was a little slip that just kind of made my heart sink a little bit it was this congratulations you get ten dollars within three days after receive of the items leave us a review at our store we will give you ten dollars credit to you immediately look forward to your next shopping purchase so before i even had the chance to actually try the product the image in my mind of the brand had already been tarnished this is the kind of thing i expect from a company selling knock-off workout equipment on amazon not from what i perceive to be a well-respected company in the acoustic foam market so my trust was already broken and i decided to do some digging and already on amazon very quickly i was unable to find several reviews that were mentioning the 10 refund ethically and morally this is just reprehensible it's against the terms of service of amazon google yelp and pretty much any company and not only that it's illegal in 2013 in new york state the attorney general fined a number of companies for buying faking or incentivizing reviews an underreported aspect of the settlement was a ten thousand dollar fine levied on a tooth whitening company in new york city that had been offering a no strings attached ten dollar coupon off of future whitening and return for any review good or bad so that was for ten dollars off the next purchase for any review that's good or bad this is worse they're offering a refund for a five-star review but then again if a company as big as aerozoom is looking at that a ten thousand dollar fine is a drop in the bucket that's nothing and as far as it goes for amazon i don't feel like they really have any incentives to stop that i mean the more reviews they have on their website the better in fact i found out that they have their own program it's called amazon vine where they have professional reviewers review products but at least in that context the reviewer as far as i know has no contact with the company who's selling the product but even still it seems kind of fishy and the crappy part is i think airsome has a pretty good product here it's not the best foam you can find it's just a middle-of-the-road product and i think it it stands for itself you know it's not as expensive as a brand like orolex which is supremely more expensive and it's not like the cheap amazon stuff it's it's got its place i mean obviously it's not super dense right i mean here's an example if i just this isn't going to absorb all the sound but it's going to diffuse it and that's the most important part that's why i have it here's an example so if i've got the microphone near my face right now and if i talk really close i don't know if this is going to show up or not but i'm talking right into the wall right now with the microphone near me and over here you can hear that reflections have lessened quite a bit my point is it works it works it does what it's supposed to do it just begs the question why are they doing this things like this break the trust of the consumer it's just a bad way to go let me tell you a little story i love board games i love playing board games i play dungeons and dragons uh almost any tabletop game i'll play i love it but the one thing i hate is liars in cheaters and one time i was at a board game night we were playing a trivia game called whitson wagers and after a few rounds i noticed that one of the players someone who is new to the group was answering the exact correct answer every time including answering one of the questions which was what is the average length of a human femur bone exactly like to the point inch so naturally i watched him in between each question he was looking under the table at his phone and googling the answers i know you might be thinking who cares it's a stupid game and i get that but if you can't play a game fairly with basically strangers what else are you gonna cheat at so ultimately i don't know what to trust from this company i know that i can't trust the online reviews anymore are they doing something fishy with youtubers and other sites as well i mean just this whole experience has diminished my view on online reviews like this morning i went to look at lav microphones because instead of using uh this microphone here all the time and just holding in front of me i'd like you know to have a lav mic here and i was looking at reviews and as i was reading through i just it felt dirty like how many of these reviews are legit or not and i know it's the internet i don't have to trust everything on the internet there's just this dark stain in my mind on reviews now so that leads me to decide on what to do about this well i i made this video right and i could go ahead on their website and leave a one star review complaining about this 10 refund that they're offering for reviews and while that might get some notice i don't know what arrow zoom themselves is going to do about that they could just delete it anyways now let me take a minute to talk to arrow zoom directly stop trying to game the system you have a place you have a good product stop sending this crap out stand behind your product so until i hear anything from arrow zoom not personally even but even a public statement about this i'm not going to trust them and i'm not going to buy from them this put me in a weird mood i got to shake it off anyways guys if you liked the video please like it if you didn't like it please let me know why and remember to subscribe this has been tech illiterate my name is nick thank you for watchinghow's it going everybody today i want to do something a bit different and talk about aerozoom this channel is supported by my personal pocketbook so if you'd like to help me out just like subscribe i greatly appreciate it it is a us-based company that ships its products from hong kong which include acoustic foam soundproofing materials staircase treads led lights adhesives insulation etc but what they're most known for is their acoustic foam if you spent any time at all watching youtube videos in the past few years i'm sure you've spotted their foam in the background many many youtubers use it not just those who are specifically working with sound you may have even seen sponsored videos specifically from other tech tubers i have not been sponsored by air zoom i was just looking to make a better recording environment now if you've seen some of my past videos you might have noticed that it was in the bedroom and the reason for that is that it's a better recording environment it's a smaller room it has carpet on the floor you can see that i'm sitting out of bed there's a tapestry behind me and there's also drapes behind me not to mention the closet that's right in front of me that i can keep open where all the clothes will help deaden the sound and the reason why this is good is because out here where i am now is in the living room i'm going to get a lot of reverberation where the ceilings and floors are essentially made of concrete and the flat walls made of sheetrock will create reverberations that creates a muddy sound and when you're recording sound in any fashion really you want as clean of a sound as possible where you can add reverb or echo later so i search for some acoustic foam and naturally i came across aerozoom they have reviews all over youtube and like i said before many tech tubers have reviewed it and have been sponsored by them most of which were raving about them but anyways i went on amazon i went on their own website and the reviews all looked fantastic even on their own website they had a whopping 4.9 stars all together so i did some browsing and i decided to pull the trigger on 12 50 by 50 centimeter pyramid panels the shipping wasn't typically what you would expect from somewhere like amazon where it arrives in a day or at most you know five days uh it was about a week or so but it came all the way from hong kong and honestly it was kind of like a traditional time frame that you would typically expect the packaging was much smaller than i expected and i was actually pretty surprised that they fit all 12 of them in there and inside the packaging among the instructions was a little slip that just kind of made my heart sink a little bit it was this congratulations you get ten dollars within three days after receive of the items leave us a review at our store we will give you ten dollars credit to you immediately look forward to your next shopping purchase so before i even had the chance to actually try the product the image in my mind of the brand had already been tarnished this is the kind of thing i expect from a company selling knock-off workout equipment on amazon not from what i perceive to be a well-respected company in the acoustic foam market so my trust was already broken and i decided to do some digging and already on amazon very quickly i was unable to find several reviews that were mentioning the 10 refund ethically and morally this is just reprehensible it's against the terms of service of amazon google yelp and pretty much any company and not only that it's illegal in 2013 in new york state the attorney general fined a number of companies for buying faking or incentivizing reviews an underreported aspect of the settlement was a ten thousand dollar fine levied on a tooth whitening company in new york city that had been offering a no strings attached ten dollar coupon off of future whitening and return for any review good or bad so that was for ten dollars off the next purchase for any review that's good or bad this is worse they're offering a refund for a five-star review but then again if a company as big as aerozoom is looking at that a ten thousand dollar fine is a drop in the bucket that's nothing and as far as it goes for amazon i don't feel like they really have any incentives to stop that i mean the more reviews they have on their website the better in fact i found out that they have their own program it's called amazon vine where they have professional reviewers review products but at least in that context the reviewer as far as i know has no contact with the company who's selling the product but even still it seems kind of fishy and the crappy part is i think airsome has a pretty good product here it's not the best foam you can find it's just a middle-of-the-road product and i think it it stands for itself you know it's not as expensive as a brand like orolex which is supremely more expensive and it's not like the cheap amazon stuff it's it's got its place i mean obviously it's not super dense right i mean here's an example if i just this isn't going to absorb all the sound but it's going to diffuse it and that's the most important part that's why i have it here's an example so if i've got the microphone near my face right now and if i talk really close i don't know if this is going to show up or not but i'm talking right into the wall right now with the microphone near me and over here you can hear that reflections have lessened quite a bit my point is it works it works it does what it's supposed to do it just begs the question why are they doing this things like this break the trust of the consumer it's just a bad way to go let me tell you a little story i love board games i love playing board games i play dungeons and dragons uh almost any tabletop game i'll play i love it but the one thing i hate is liars in cheaters and one time i was at a board game night we were playing a trivia game called whitson wagers and after a few rounds i noticed that one of the players someone who is new to the group was answering the exact correct answer every time including answering one of the questions which was what is the average length of a human femur bone exactly like to the point inch so naturally i watched him in between each question he was looking under the table at his phone and googling the answers i know you might be thinking who cares it's a stupid game and i get that but if you can't play a game fairly with basically strangers what else are you gonna cheat at so ultimately i don't know what to trust from this company i know that i can't trust the online reviews anymore are they doing something fishy with youtubers and other sites as well i mean just this whole experience has diminished my view on online reviews like this morning i went to look at lav microphones because instead of using uh this microphone here all the time and just holding in front of me i'd like you know to have a lav mic here and i was looking at reviews and as i was reading through i just it felt dirty like how many of these reviews are legit or not and i know it's the internet i don't have to trust everything on the internet there's just this dark stain in my mind on reviews now so that leads me to decide on what to do about this well i i made this video right and i could go ahead on their website and leave a one star review complaining about this 10 refund that they're offering for reviews and while that might get some notice i don't know what arrow zoom themselves is going to do about that they could just delete it anyways now let me take a minute to talk to arrow zoom directly stop trying to game the system you have a place you have a good product stop sending this crap out stand behind your product so until i hear anything from arrow zoom not personally even but even a public statement about this i'm not going to trust them and i'm not going to buy from them this put me in a weird mood i got to shake it off anyways guys if you liked the video please like it if you didn't like it please let me know why and remember to subscribe this has been tech illiterate my name is nick thank you for watching\n"