Reviews Not Influecing Buying?

[Olive]

I've bought books based on reviews. I can't think of which right off the top of my head, but I've bought some.

But mostly what happens is that I hear about stuff on the boards, think 'hmmm...' and then read the reviews.

I'll probably buy the Red star book based on reviews. I'll probably buy the Grim Tales book based on board buzz and reviews...

 

[diaglo]

Thing is, there are very few bad reviews posted. In the last month, 4 of 60 print products got lower than a '3', and 1 of 37 PDF products did the same.

johnsemlak's right. and that is a common complaint about many reviewers/ and review sites.

 

[wocky]

Yes, I always read reviews before handing out my money. I can't always judge actual quality of a product because of a review, since I don't trust every reviewer's criteria; still, reviews are usually useful to get a good idea of a book's contents.

I wonder how those publishers "know" that reviews don't translate into sales. Sure, the internet scene is small, so that's a factor... but I wonder how would WotC (or EN Publishing, for that) know whenever I bought one of their products that I had done so because of a particular review I've read.

 

[Garnfellow]

Reviews -- and more specifically, EnWorld reviews -- are a pretty important part of my decision making process in buying new game books. My nearest game store, though pretty good, is over 40 minutes away, so I end up ordering a lot of books over the internet, without having a chance to thumb through them first. Given this, I usually wait for some positive online reviews before hitting that “Add to Shopping Cart” button.

The really nice thing about having EnWorld staff reviewers is that I now know whose tastes closely match my own, and those whose don’t. I have a decent level of confidence, for instance, that if Psion really likes a certain book, then I probably will also.

The other nice thing about online reviews is they often pick up on cool releases from smaller companies that I would have otherwise missed completely.

 

[Whisper72]

I guess I was just agreeing in some ways that yeah, the online reviews don't help to move product (enough).

Well, I think, although there are some who do not mesh with the reviewers here for example etc., in general, bad reviews have more impact then good reviews.

Generally speaking and exceptions aside, most ppl already have formed some idea (based on past purchases etc.) of what they plan on buying. A review can then swing the pendulum either way, but the ppl were in essence already considering buying.... so in a sense, it is rare (excepting otherwise unknowns such as the examples for OSM given in this thread) that an online review will boost sales, but on the other hand, a plethora of poor reviews will much easier scare ppl away from buying.

Also, it is prolly much contained to the on-line community. Ppl who not only read the reviews online, but also purchase online. The widespread availability of the product in stores is more important then a few good or bad reviews on some BBS for overall product sales...

 

[Khairn]

For me, online reviews have a greater influence on what NOT to buy. If multiple reviews are negative, I will definately not buy the product.

Positive reviews on their own do not necessarily mean that I will buy something. With money being tight, a gamer must be cautious in how he spends it.