Reviewing Reviews

[Ian_Chimp]

I was wondering if anyone had any tips or suggestions on reviewing, so I thought I'd create a thread for all things review related.

A few questions to start us off :

What does everyone look for when you're reading reviews? Which bits do you consider waffle and which real gems? Do you trust reviews from a certain reviewer more than others? What items do you prefer reviewing? What do you think is important to include when you're writing them? How long is a good review length? Is anyone aiming to win review of the month?(congratulations Jezebella, by the way) Do you feel that you have to review everything you buy? How long do you use a toy/outfit/etc out for before you review?

Have at it.

[Fun_Funky]

What does everyone look for when you're reading reviews? - information that’s not in details. If it’s lingerie sizes of reviewer / wearer etc. Which bits do you consider waffle and which real gems? Waffle - when it goes on lots and lots about packaging. It’s normally pictured so consider that a bit ‘waffley’ Do you trust reviews from a certain reviewer more than others? Not really What items do you prefer reviewing? I dont mind What do you think is important to include when you're writing them? Details they can’t see, how it feels, quality, etc How long is a good review length? Depends on the item Is anyone aiming to win review of the month? (congratulations Jezebella, by the way) doesn’t generally enter my head lol. I forget it’s a thing. Do you feel that you have to review everything you buy? Not that I have to. I generally review things with the least reviews first. - still lots to catch up on! How long do you use a toy/outfit/etc out for before you review? Toy a few times. Outfit like to wear, wash and wear again so to spk so I can comment on that also!

[K_c30_s]

😀 the conversation continues lol.

What do i look for? I look for negatives. It's all well and good giving 5 stars but nothing is perfect so i like to see if people can find a fault with the product. I also look for information that isn't in the item description for example (weight of a glass dildo) is the silicone smooth or matt, is it a rumble or a buzz.

Do i trust certain reviews more than others? Yes, i look out for people who take part in the forums and i have interacted with. You seem to get a bit of a sense of the person.

What do i review? I review products that i love/hate. Like you i review products that have the least amount of reviews first. I was considering writting reviews on products that i have multiple of but in different colours but reconsidered that as it seems a bit pointless.

How long do i give it? Depends on the product, if i am i in love with it then maybe a week to try it out a few times. If i am unsure, i wait until i am... could be weeks or could be months.

I don't think a review can be too long but i have stopped writting about delivery and how discreet it is as all that information is readily available. If it is a tester i put that at the top of the review but if it's amazing and it get 5 stars i wonder if people will trust the review less because of that.

[Cinderella69]

I always read reviews before I purchase anything because I want to try and make an informed decision on whether it will be a worthwhile purchase for me. ***Ultimately I want to know if the products performance matches up with the description, so a details of your personal experience of the toy covering the following points, Does it do what you'd expect it to? Did you enjoy using it? Is it easy to use? What are the plus/minus point about the product? And of course, Did it get you/your partner off? Haha!** I also like to know anything about the product that may not of been mentioned in the description/specifics.** I like to know a little about the packaging (if it's not pictured) so I can consider how the product will be stored. However I don't need too much detail on this and would consider it waffly.** If I'm honest I don't look at who wrote the review I just read the review itself.** I think a review should be a decent length. I don't really like the reviews are just one or two paragraphs because I don't feel like they give me what I need to know. I prefer reviews that are written by somebody who has given the product a good workout and can write a fairly lengthy review (not too long) in detail, without being explicit haha!

[Cinderella69]

Sorry Mr Chimp, my posts still aren't showing up the way I typed it, so still no paragraphs hence the stars!!

[Sleazysue]

I have today been looking for some exciting lingerie for the weekend. Lingerie reviews are very helpful, especially when very specific. I’ve been helped today by a review that mentioned height, as well as more obvious recommendations about how much support in revealing bras, etc. So I think it’s helpful if reviewing lingerie details of size (including height if relevant) are given.

[Calie]

Personally, I trust and pay more attention to a review that has a bit of information about the reviewer. So for example, if it is a lingerie review what size they are (and which size they are reviewing), if it is a toy how they prefer their toys (powerful/girthy/quiet/firm/etc). That way there is some context to the review (eg there is a difference between a toy not having much power because it is crap and it not having enough power for someone who needs strong vibrations). I don’t like reviews that spend time talking about how quick the parcel arrived or that it was arrived in a plain brown box. This has nothing to do with the item you are reviewing. If you want to make comment on ordering or packaging then leave Lovehoney a Trust Pilot review (or Facebook). Review length depends on what you are reviewing. Something simple may only need a few lines, whereas a big kit will need a lot more. I do try to review most things I buy. I have a wishlist which has all my purchases that I have yet to review and I remove things when I’ve done them or if they get discontinued. I don’t review discontinued items. The time it takes me to review something depends on the product and how much time I have generally. Items sent as a tester obviously get priority but generally if I love or hate a product I’m more likely to review it faster.

[Fun_Funky]

Mine aren’t formatting as I type either!

[Ian_Chimp]

Thanks guys, this is all really good stuff.

I like a nice concise review. I don't want it to be short, but I'm also not a fan of hearing about the discreet delivery for the umpteenth time, or a detailed description of packaging and basic specifications. If I hit a paragraph like that I'm far more likely to skip through and not pay as much attention to the rest of it. I do like Cinderella69's point about potential storage though, and if the combination of length/girth/texture/etc make it stand out or feel special then I do want to hear about that.

I do think reviews can be too long. If I see a wall of text my eyes veer off. I'll try and scan through for bits that standout but I think a lot gets lost. I try and keep mine somewhere between 400-600 words for a vibrator review, which seems to be a nice length when viewed on my phone. Controversially I haven't included that I've been sent the item as a tester on the two occasions I have been. I initially thought that I would, but it eats into my word count/review size so I decided to cut it. Like K&c30's I also wondered if it undermined what I had to say. I'm still on the fence though, so depending on what people say on here I may include it in the future.

I also think points of reference are important. It's nice to know why someone was drawn to the toy in the first place, and then whether the experience matched up. And the same goes for knowing if the reviewer loves big/small/buzzy/rumbly/sentient toys, as these things are all relative. If I know a little about the reviewer's starting point I'm better able to judge how the toy would fit into our lives.

I like the point about including height when reviewing lingerie. I've only done a couple so far, and though I remembered to include waist and chest size I did forget to include the size that I'd bought. Doh! 🙂 I shall be including both of these things in the future.

I would love to win Review of the Month. It's a £100 prize in lovehoney money. 🙂 Randomly the 3 runners up only get £4 in lovehoney money, which does seems a bit of a steep drop. Still, I'd happily win it and spend it whatever the amount. 🙂

[Jezebella]

Thanks Ian Chimp, I actually hadn't realised I'd won it, until I read your post! It was very unexpected, as I think my reviews can be a little too detailed for many people's taste. I am a geek about sex toys and I did find the smart silence feature on the new womanizer gleefully clever. In answer to your questions.

What does everyone look for when you're reading reviews?

I look for detailed description. If its lingerie I want to know how it feels and how it fits (measurements are a must). If its a toy I want to know what the material feels like, if it seems well made, what the controls are like, how the shape works, what the vibrations are like, and whether it was orgasmic. If the charger is annoying, I want to know about it. If it sounds like a jet engine taking off, I want to know that too.

Which bits do you consider waffle and which real gems?

I consider waffle anything about the delivery being discreet, or setting the scene stuff for when you used it e.g. "we'd just got back from an evening out and had had a few drinks when my girlfriend got this out and suggested we have a go..."

[Jezebella]

Do you trust reviews from a certain reviewer more than others?

I do trust certain established reviewers, particularly those who blog, but in general I trust people who sound genuine in their review, and who have given me enough detail that I believe they've really thought about the product.

What items do you prefer reviewing?

Lingerie! I love reviewing lingerie because it is straight forward. I can give the reader my measurements and how it fit and feels and let them make thier own assessment. With sex toys, it's so much more subjective, and I'm fully aware that I have loved some toys others dislike and disliked some toys that are extremely popular.

What do you think is important to include when you're writing them?

It think its important to include how something made you feel. Don't be afraid to be explicit. One thing that irritates me is when people write lingerie reviews based on their partner wearing the lingerie, and they don't include their partner's view on it. I need to know how the person who was wearing it felt, not just how you felt looking at them in it.

How long is a good review length?

It completely depends on the product and how much there is to say about it. I understand disliking long reviews (being dyslexic it takes me a while to read anything), but I prefer that to ones that don't give me enough information, because I can search the longer reviews for what I need to know. Having said that you can also have an excellent, concise review that contains everything of relevance. I think we all have different writing styles and abilities and reviews of different lengths can be equally valuable.

Is anyone aiming to win review of the month?

I'm not, although I am very glad I have won it (on my eighty-second review for LH, when you've reviewed this many without the prize it's very unexpected to get it). I think if this is what you are focused on then you might not be entirely honest, as it does seem that only very positive reviews win the prize. A review that is not 100% sincere is useless to everyone.

Do you feel that you have to review everything you buy?

Not at all. I have so many items that I never bothered to review. I usually only review stuff that I have been sent specifically for that purpose, or if I think something is particularly good or awful and I think people need to know about it.

How long do you use a toy/outfit/etc out for before you review?

Lingerie, I will review after I've tried it on, I know if something looks and feels good right away. Sex toys it'll be a minimum of twice, sometimes up to ten times if I can't make my mind up about it. If something is good I can tell quickly, if its not so great I try and give it multiple chances to see what joy I can get out of it before writing it up.

Thanks for this Ian Chimp, definitely given me food for thought reading others opinions.

[Bunnybomb2015]

I look for negatives most of the time, and see what those are to see if it’s something I’d be bothered about, but when writing a review I try and write it like something I’d want to read, obviously every one likes and dislikes different things but usually just being honest is the best way to go about it I feel. Like for example I love vibrating things but by their very nature vibrating toys can be quite loud so I look at reviews specifically on that because although I don’t mind some noise, if it’s really loud I think it probably would put me off, but some people may like the more noisy toys so just being honest about it is the best way to go so people can find what’s best suited for them. I love reviewing dildos, but that’s because they are some of my favourite toys. I think it’s important to try and review what really matters, like the size for example. Because reviewing on looks is in my opinion pretty useless because before you buy you see the picture anyway and everything I’ve bought has been identical to the pictures.

[Ian_Chimp]

I've only done 17 reviews so far, and I think they're improving with practise, but I've definitely fallen foul of a few of the bad points people have mentioned. 🙂I'll certainly be folding a lot of these suggestions into any future ones I write.

I think a genuine and authentic review is very important. After all, the primary reason to spend all that time and effort writing them is to help other people make good choices. Personally I wouldn't polish a turd just to win Review of the Month, but I can see how that could happen.

Another thing to contend with is that the reviews aren't searchable by rating so I've been put off writing a so-so review of a toy that already had a gazillion positive reviews because it'd get lost in the general crush. I'm a bit regretful of this as it obviously skews the balance if everyone else was doing the same.

A top tip workaround for getting to the negative reviews at the bottom of the stack is to manually enter the page number into the review address. It requires a little bit of guesswork but you generally get 5 reviews to a page so you can ballpark it and then refine after you see where you've landed.

The Classic Wand with its 1440 reviews is a great example. If you click on the 'see all reviews' link you can then type in your own number in place of the '1' and get to the end without having to click through all 280-odd pages.

https://www.lovehoney.co.uk/product.cfm?p=20464&ReviewPage=1#customer_reviews

https://www.lovehoney.co.uk/product.cfm?p=20464&ReviewPage=285#customer_reviews

[AmyA]

Thanks for that top tip Ian Chimp, especially as quite a few have said they want to know what negatives people have encountered (as do I) so this should help as surely the negatives are reflected in the rating.

[FindingLibido]

I've started reviewing so I've tried to reflect the approach I like in other reviews. A little bit of context, a description of how it made both me and my partner feel, what worked , what didn't. When making a decision on a purchase I like to try and read a range of reviews. Things like handling care for clothes is always useful (I wrecked a favourite pair by tumble drying...). I like people that give an idea of how much a match or not their size is with general clothes sizes as there can be huge variation.

[Ian_Chimp]

I thought I'd pop this in here from the Good Morning, etc thread as it was part of the original conversation that kicked this whole thread off (and it'll save Dennice repeating herself if she does decide to join in later 🙂)

Dennice wrote:

Ian Chimp wrote:

I don't review everything I buy. I tend to stick to the things I have something to say about, and then I'll try and prioritise those that don't have many reviews already as I think they're more useful.

I've just checked the spreadsheet and if I judge it by your standards I have 115 reviews outstanding.

OMG review everything l buy noooo my lingerie in each colour, male boxers l grouped 16 under one review, cleaners.lubes, never reviewed 1st purchased let alone 6th or 7th purchase of each later and l do tend to purchase 6 at a time hate to be running out of anything needed,

l review what l have fallen in love with, the things that have brought me many compliments wearing out, things that have made me feel normal especially in fit, so hard someone my height,my disabilities to get torso and long legs on anything feminine looking that does not need pulling up or down just to make it fit. sex toys omg never knew anything about them before lovehoney some of the words people in forums use l was forever trying to look them up had no idea what people were meaning, then l found the rural dictionary and all began to fit in place.

i am meaning 45 reviews that need to be written as the products were that good, felt that nice or to me a great fit, or gave us a great memoral time. review everthing single thing l would be 300+ to be done l enjoy the forums to much to give up that amount of time. plus work, going out, plus finding time for friends when l really want to get 5 or 6 toys and play solo for 2-3 hours.

Now l sound greedy and selfish

xx

x

[AmyA]

I certainly don’t review everything I buy, I look and see how many reviews it already has and if it has tonnes I don’t bother, even if it only has a few (i’m talking 10 or so) I don’t review unless I feel i can add to what has already been said, when i’m reading reviews I don’t take a lot of notice of the number of reviews, just the content, so I don’t see much point in repeating what 10 other people have said about it (good or bad). It’s good to know enough people agree that it’s not a fluke or personal circumstances but I get frustrated trawling through hundreds of reviews that just agree without really adding new information.

[Gentleman_with_lady]

Hello Ian,

I also agree about trying to trawl through a large number of reviews. It would be better if it was in pages like the pages of the forum so a large number can be missed out to get to mid range and negative reviews. I recently bought a wand more based on the negative than the positive as it gave me the info I was looking for.

[MK7]

While I'm not sure how much I can be of assistance for review writing (The peak of my attempts has been one review of the month win), I usually just try to write reviews that are exactly like the kinds of reviews I'd like to read for a product. I like it when a review covers every single aspect imaginable. If something has 3 five star ratings that are all vague and say 'This was good OH loves it xo' and one 3 star review that's comprehensive and takes a few minutes to get though, I'd be more inclined to reject it off one detailed review than a good aggregate review from people who put no thought in to what they're writing.

[Mint-Monster]

I like seeing medium length reviews but I don’t mind longer ones if they are intriguing. Not really a big fan of the too much information ones that read like an erotic novel. I guess the main points I’m interested in is how much the user enjoyed the toy, how easy is it to clean and store and general negatives. I also like to see how people use the toy. Perhaps they have their own technique that may come in handy for people struggling to use it.

I’m not really interested in the delivery or packaging paragraphs and I just skip past them and any other obvious descriptions that are already specified on the item’s information page. You don’t really need them.

I definitely prefer reviewing dildos and vibrators because they are what I most use in my daily life.

I didn’t know that “review of the month” was a thing. Sounds cool, though. I just like writing reviews, and if something good comes out of it, lucky me!

I definitely intend to review everything I have bought from Lovehoney. I’m a little behind with some items because I don’t use them often (especially ones I have to use with my partner). But sometimes, I simply won’t be in the mood to use a certain toy and I’ll use my favourites instead because I want to enjoy myself. Making myself use a toy for the sake of reviewing it can be a bit of a drag in itself. But to be honest, I’m usually quite eager to test a new toy.

It usually takes me about 5-7 uses before I feel like I’m ready to review it. Sometimes it can take longer if I’m still on the fence about a toy, though.