Would you buy a product even if it had bad reviews? Is brand recognition enough?

[Jxdawg]

Here is the sitch:

I am considering buying headphones from a company who made my current headphones (Jlab Audio for those interested). They look awesome and have some added features that I have been wanting.

The problem? They have VERY mixed reviews (again for those intrested, they are the JLab Jbud executives. I currently own the Jbud airs). I am considering buying them and if they have the connection issues that many reviewers commented on, then I could just return them. BUT I have never had to deal with this company’s customer service.

So this led me to enter an existential questioning mood. Decision making can be so tedious and overwhelming, particularly with the advent of online reviews, so would it be easier to just trust brands over products or vice versa? Just curious what fellow consumers think.

 

[AustinIllini]

Generally, probably not. There are various levels of value I'm willing to accept, however a device with poor reviews is almost always a terrible value.

Value = (Some measure of quality)/(Price)

Regardless of the price, something poorly reviewed (low quality) is hard to justify generally. When I buy something with bad reviews, the poor quality almost always comes out.

 

[kazmac]

I would avoid.

If you're still set on ordering these, call their customer service first and ask questions. You could play dumb and ask "If there are issues with these ear buds, what can be done? Can I return for a full refund etc."

Depending on what they say this may help in making your decision. Unfortunately, I have not had good luck with most Apple tech in years, so I am wary of buying anything from them now. Some positive reviews are accurate, but all of them? IDK any more.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

No.

And no.

Irrespective of the brand, and irrespective of whether I am already well disposed to view that brand in an attractive or positive light, if a particular product receives poor reviews, - and I pay close attention to reviews, - there is, generally, a very good reason for that.

 

[Jessica Lares]

No. There's a reason I have the MacBook Pro that I do. Even with a good warranty it's time and money better spent elsewhere.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Absolutely not.

 

[max2]

No way.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I just bought AKG N700 headphones for $125 from a SlickDeals post not to long ago. Tons of bad reviews stated it didn't work with MacBooks. Those reviews were spot on. I didn't care about using it for my MBP, I bought it mainly for my TV and Desktop, and I'm very satisfied.

I used to buy TaoTronics headphones. You'll see plenty of bad reviews about build quality. Those reviews are right, although kind of exaggerated, as if it's going to fall apart on it's own. But for the extremely cheap price, I find TaoTronics to be more than worth it. Some of their headphones rival the expensive big names in sound, comfort, and noise cancel quality. Just don't fall asleep in the bed with them on, or they will break.

Jlabaudio seems to sell mostly cheap headphones and buds, so I personally would take the risk.

 

[Huntn]

Here is the sitch:

I am considering buying headphones from a company who made my current headphones (Jlab Audio for those interested). They look awesome and have some added features that I have been wanting.

The problem? They have VERY mixed reviews (again for those intrested, they are the JLab Jbud executives. I currently own the Jbud airs). I am considering buying them and if they have the connection issues that many reviewers commented on, then I could just return them. BUT I have never had to deal with this company’s customer service.

So this led me to enter an existential questioning mood. Decision making can be so tedious and overwhelming, particularly with the advent of online reviews, so would it be easier to just trust brands over products or vice versa? Just curious what fellow consumers think.

Maybe if they have a favorable return policy. For Amazon Prime items, it’s usually very easy to return.

A critique on you poll, you needed to include a “maybe” option and this is what I would have answered.

 

[eyoungren]

Here is the sitch:

I am considering buying headphones from a company who made my current headphones (Jlab Audio for those interested). They look awesome and have some added features that I have been wanting.

The problem? They have VERY mixed reviews (again for those intrested, they are the JLab Jbud executives. I currently own the Jbud airs). I am considering buying them and if they have the connection issues that many reviewers commented on, then I could just return them. BUT I have never had to deal with this company’s customer service.

So this led me to enter an existential questioning mood. Decision making can be so tedious and overwhelming, particularly with the advent of online reviews, so would it be easier to just trust brands over products or vice versa? Just curious what fellow consumers think.

I bought a JLab wireless headset once. it failed in the first month. Power button was iffy and eventually stopped working. Plugging them in to recharge did nothing.

I stay away from JLabs.

 

[compwiz1202]

Yea maybe not brand by third party experiences, but with someone like Anker where when a wall charger wasn't working, they sent a free upgrade for FREE, I sure as heck will buy from them again without question. And it would work the other way. If I have a poor CS experience, they just made my blacklist. Now with no experience, it depends on what the reviews are saying. I hate to just look at a number and make a decision.

 

[D.T.]

OP, check out Anker's line of BT earbuds, they're under their Soundcore sub-brand. Solid reviews, very good prices, I've been seeing some $5-10 coupons on Amazon, and Anker is an outstanding company for service and support. If I'm going to buy a cable, hub, battery pack, etc., I almost always go with Anker.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

OP, check out Anker's line of BT earbuds, they're under their Soundcore sub-brand. Solid reviews, very good prices, I've been seeing some $5-10 coupons on Amazon, and Anker is an outstanding company for service and support. If I'm going to buy a cable, hub, battery pack, etc., I almost always go with Anker.

Another vote for Anker; they are an excellent company and craft and produce solid and very well built products.

 

[Huntn]

Reviews offer info, but must be taken with a grain of salt, ie interpretation, that’s on both ended of the equation.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Reviews offer info, but must be taken with a grain of salt, ie interpretation, that’s on both ended of the equation.

I take advertising with much more than a proverbial grain of salt, whereas I will view reviews (especially if both positive and negative reviews exist) in a considerably more benign light, as I assume that they have approached the review of the product with an impartial outlook, and preferably, with some knowledge of the subject matter, along with the ability to convey an account of how they find the product in a manner that is comprehensible.

 

[yaxomoxay]

I take advertising with much more than a proverbial grain of salt, whereas I will view reviews (especially if both positive and negative reviews exist) in a considerably more benign light, as I assume that they have approached the review of the product with an impartial outlook, and preferably, with some knowledge of the subject matter, along with the ability to convey an account of how they find the product in a manner that is comprehensible.

Although I must point out that I am getting skeptical about online reviews by users.
I recently wrote a review about a book on Amazon. My review was long, well mannered, and with clear examples. I gave the book 2 stars, and I motivated the two stars. I won't hide that I highlighted that the book was too much of a SJW fest. To my surprise, a self professed LGBTQ pro choice feminist wrote a review after mine, in which she explicitly said that while she disregarded my review at first as coming from a right wing nut, she totally agreed with me after reading the book (I won't share the title). She actually went harder than me on the book, and she gave it 1 star.
About two weeks after my review was posted on Amazon, it got deleted. No reason given. Then, after one or two weeks her review was removed. And then another negative review was removed. Now only positive 4 and 5 stars reviews are there... and they are not many (like 3 or 4, I bet two of which from the editors themselves). The book basically went from being clearly starred as an awful purchase to being a must purchase. I find this insane.

 

[LizKat]

I look at consumer reviews on a vendor's site and am somewhat more comfortable if the reviews have a "verified purchase" tag, but I also try to look at a few professional reviewers' online opinions if I can find some.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

It depends on what the reviews are saying. See, a lot of people are, well, stupid, and often I find negative reviews from people who had unrealistic expectations for the product or are simply not using it correctly and I knew that when I had it, I would not have the same problems (and was pleased to find I did not). I read reviews of specific items for specific reasons: I'm not a fan of poor audio quality even if the recording label and conductor are reputable, so I will look for reviews that mention sound quality when buying classical CDs (and, if possible, sample the tracks on iTunes first). I often read the top reviews on Goodreads of a book I'm interested in to give me a sense of why a book has a certain average rating (the average rating alone isn't enough for me to determine whether the book will be a waste of my time or not). Often I skim the 1- and 5-star reviews (of any item) first.

 

[D.T.]

I recently wrote a review about a book on Amazon.

That was you? Look my editor was on my ass about getting it done, so it wasn't the best product ...

 

[Ruggy]

It really depends on what the reviews are saying but I would never buy a product only on the brand either.
All brands have good and bad models.
As to bad reviews, well sometimes people give bad reviews because, for instance, they can't understand the manual, or because they clearly haven't read the manual and don't know how to use the thing properly.
For headphones I definitely wouldn't buy if people said the sound qualty was bad especially if they use words which suggest they know what they are talking about.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

It really depends on what the reviews are saying but I would never buy a product only on the brand either.
All brands have good and bad models.
As to bad reviews, well sometimes people give bad reviews because, for instance, they can't understand the manual, or because they clearly haven't read the manual and don't know how to use the thing properly.
For headphones I definitely wouldn't buy if people said the sound qualty was bad especially if they use words which suggest they know what they are talking about.

Manuals are a category unto their own: I marvel at how excruciatingly badly some manuals are written, or put together, and at how poorly they explain what they are supposed to explain.

 

[Tech198]

I generally wouldn't go by reviews all the time.. Although they are helpful.. its a personal review which only suits them, not everyone...

You really gotta try stuff out,then decide for yourself. That's it.

It depends on what the reviews are saying. See, a lot of people are, well, stupid,

hah..see, I wouldn't be as polite as that.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Reviews can help to raise or flag an issue (to consumers, and indeed, to producers) that might otherwise not be noticed, or might have been ignored, over-looked, or otherwise not spotted during testing.

 

[scubachap]

These days I'm more nervous if something has across the board really good 5 star user reviews! In the past on, ahem, a well known shopping site I used to find the user reviews really useful but these days they're being gamed so much that they're becoming a farce. The first time I noticed it (and we've probably all experienced this I guess) was a few years ago when I bought a small gadget based on really great reviews. It was poor to mediocre at best and so I left a critical review - within 24 hours I had a snotty email from the seller suggesting I should amend my review to 5 stars and once that had happened I would get a refund and could keep the item. Since then I've noticed this review gaming has spread everywhere, a poor review for say, a pub etc is immediately drowned out by brief hastily written multiple 5 star reviews...

I'm now paying more attention to mainstream professional reviews and of course discussions on sites like this one (that's stuffed with fellow nerds who are always generous with their time) to get my purchase recommendations.

 

[compwiz1202]

Manuals are a category unto their own: I marvel at how excruciatingly badly some manuals are written, or put together, and at how poorly they explain what they are supposed to explain.

Yea about as useless as instructions to put anything together in the last two or more decades!
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These days I'm more nervous if something has across the board really good 5 star user reviews! In the past on, ahem, a well known shopping site I used to find the user reviews really useful but these days they're being gamed so much that they're becoming a farce. The first time I noticed it (and we've probably all experienced this I guess) was a few years ago when I bought a small gadget based on really great reviews. It was poor to mediocre at best and so I left a critical review - within 24 hours I had a snotty email from the seller suggesting I should amend my review to 5 stars and once that had happened I would get a refund and could keep the item. Since then I've noticed this review gaming has spread everywhere, a poor review for say, a pub etc is immediately drowned out by brief hastily written multiple 5 star reviews...

I'm now paying more attention to mainstream professional reviews and of course discussions on sites like this one (that's stuffed with fellow nerds who are always generous with their time) to get my purchase recommendations.

Yea any reviews on the same site the item is sold are absolutely worthless. I always google and look at all the other review sites I can find.