Has this forum taken the place of AG product reviews?

[jbgrant]

There seems to be... no, there IS a general lack of informative product reviews on product pages throughout AG. Many products that have been on AG for >year have 0 reviews. Informative product reviews on the product pages are an important factor in the sale of products to first-time users.

Personally, I'm going to try to enter a thoughtful review of every product I've tried on AG's site to help promote a better product line and persuade or dissuade some customers from my own decisions. Also, more product reviews will give AG a more professional and trusted image to those who have not explored the forum.

[jpegs13]

I would bet that 99% of AG products have been reviewed by forum members and posted here.

[LegacyGT]

AG occasionally has a promo/giveaway for people to write reviews. I try to review some of the products I feel are truely outstanding, but the forums give you a lot more options to post reviews and have discussions.

[Garry Dean]

I will do a video review of any product you request.

[Jons6.7]

I will do a video review of any product you request.

Wow come on someone has to jump on this offer, he did not specify a product from autogeek so go wild!:props:

[Ted S.]

I will do a video review of any product you request.

Zymol Royal Glaze?:D

[FUNX650]

There seems to be... no, there IS a general lack of informative product reviews on product pages throughout AG. Many products that have been on AG for >year have 0 reviews. Informative product reviews on the product pages are an important factor in the sale of products to first-time users.

Personally, I'm going to try to enter a thoughtful review of every product I've tried on AG's site to help promote a better product line and persuade or dissuade some customers from my own decisions. Also, more product reviews will give AG a more professional and trusted image to those who have not explored the forum.

Sounds like quite an undertaking you've decided to take upon yourself....IMO, a daunting task, but admirable on your behalf.

I've always had praise for the reviews that many, many folks have posted on this forum...often, I can only imagine, use of their time and efforts can take a personal toll.

True that these reviews can have the ability to persuade/dissuade people's choices. I, for one, see them as the reviewers' opinions---open to subjectiveness---up to each individual who reads/performs these reviews to consider reliablility, or not.

I am more receptive to those individuals or industries that go by testing [and the results (reviews?) of those tests] generally done with the "Automotive industry's engineering accepted and recoginized protocol of testing" methods. I find, IMHO, that these are more objective. Some of this, and other, forum' members are, IMO, approaching and aspiring to that level of protocol---good for them!!

Realizing the costs associated undergoing that kind of testing is out of reach to most; then, relying on the reviews this and other forums' members perform sometimes is all we have that is readily available and is not cost prohibitive for our consideration/decision making on the products that have been so tested/reviewed.

Note: I really like the reviews from forum members living here and all across the world--- these ,IMO, consist of the real world-wide conditions such as: different climes, vehicles with different paints, equipment, tools, etc.---sometimes just as effective for car care products decision making as results from a laboratory!

Good luck with your testing...be sure to post your findings for us. Thanks.....Bob

[cutter]

I think and correct me if I'm wrong, the OP is talking about the reviews at the Store page when you purchase a product you have the chance to read the reviews there or post one. The reviews that are placed here in the Forum are more in-depth and not just a few lines posted saying "Very easy to apply, smelled nice and lasted forever" and give it a Five Star rating. I do sometimes look at the reviews there but more often than not I'll research it here on the Forum first because these guys here for the most part do it for a living and would therefore be able to provide a proper review. Just my thoughts on the subject.:xyxthumbs:

[Ted S.]

I think and correct me if I'm wrong, the OP is talking about the reviews at the Store page when you purchase a product you have the chance to read the reviews there or post one. The reviews that are placed here in the Forum are more in-depth and not just a few lines posted saying "Very easy to apply, smelled nice and lasted forever" and give it a Five Star rating. I do sometimes look at the reviews there but more often than not I'll research it here on the Forum first because these guys here for the most part do it for a living and would therefore be able to provide a proper review. Just my thoughts on the subject.:xyxthumbs:

Yup, that's what OP is refering to.:props:

[FUNX650]

I think and correct me if I'm wrong, the OP is talking about the reviews at the Store page when you purchase a product you have the chance to read the reviews there or post one. The reviews that are placed here in the Forum are more in-depth and not just a few lines posted saying "Very easy to apply, smelled nice and lasted forever" and give it a Five Star rating. I do sometimes look at the reviews there but more often than not I'll research it here on the Forum first because these guys here for the most part do it for a living and would therefore be able to provide a proper review. Just my thoughts on the subject.:xyxthumbs:

Yes. IMO...That is what the OP is talking about......but I'll be surprised if he can post/put his reviews anywhere on the AG store pages. The AGO forum is where they ultimately may wind up at, if the OP should desire to do so......Bob

[CEE DOG]

A thorough review can not be added on the product page. Pictures video and links can not be added either. For someone who really cares to know about a product in this day and age they are either going to come to the forum or Google the product with the word review behind the product they are interested in.

Anytime I see reviews on the same page selling a product from some online store if I am interested I go straight to google and search for a review independent of the stores possibly advertisements.

Having said that I agree with the point that there are many products that have 0 reviews and it would be "cool" if there were reviews right there on the product page. However I doubt it affects even a percentage of a percentage of the sales AG makes.

[Dubbin1]

A thorough review can not be added on the product page. Pictures video and links can not be added either. For someone who really cares to know about a product in this day and age they are either going to come to the forum or Google the product with the word review behind the product they are interested in.

Anytime I see reviews on the same page selling a product from some online store if I am interested I go straight to google and search for a review independent of the stores possibly advertisements.

Having said that I agree with the point that there are many products that have 0 reviews and it would be "cool" if there were reviews right there on the product page. However I doubt it affects even a percentage of a percentage of the sales AG makes.

Corey that was a very good review of this thread but you forgot pictures and videos :D

[jbgrant]

I wonder if AG could determine or has an idea about how many of their customers actually search the forums. If 90 percent of customers use the forum to gather/share information, than product reviews at the store site probably serve little use. As has been pointed out, the store reviews are always extremely limited in detail and content. No doubt, the forum is a fantastic resource; however, I also enjoy the efficiency and flexibility of reviews within the product pages of other sites. Amazon, for example, allows pictures and comments within its reviews. If the AG store page product review system is not worth using for most people, then perhaps it needs to be redesigned or eliminated. I know AG's site is built upon a fairly generic template, but perhaps in the future some of this discussion could lead to some improvements.

Although I love accessing the forum, I would prefer not to have to search for posts before buying very basic items that should work well unless they have a design flaw. For example, if a squeeze bottle had ten 5-star reviews, I'm probably not going to research it further on the forum before pulling the trigger. But, chances are that bottle doesn't have any store reviews and buying it involves more risk than I am willing to accept without conducting more research (a disincentive for the sale in my case). If all the products at AG were awesome, than this would be a moot point; but, from my experience this is not the case.