YouTube Reviewers: Review, Recommend, Return. Is this okay?

[KittyKatta]

Saw this comment by a YouTuber and it made me wonder what others think about YouTube Tech Reviewers buying and recommending products that they have no intention on actually owning.

Please call me out if I'm wrong, but is this a bit shady? The A-list reviewers like MKBHD, Justine or Verge all disclose that Apple sent them free review units. But the "Buy/Return" reviewers use clickbait titles yet never mention that they already returned the device that they spent 30 minutes hyping up. So if thats the case then how trustworthy is their opinion if their main goal is to feed their ego and raise enough ad revenue to buy a Tesla.

Again, not calling out that one guy since apparently most Tech Vloggers do this. But when products often have inventory issues then it seems like claiming that "it's okay because it will be sold as a refurb months from now" just seems wrong to both Apple and Apple customers.

 

[radow]

Tech YouTubers have the right to do like that. But yeah, not a good thing.

I personally enjoy long term reviews more.

 

[Apple_Robert]

A lot of the YouTubers like Luke are nothing more than clickbait mouthpieces for Apple. Apple puts up with it because they are getting a lot of free advertising.

What ticks me off are the people that make videos pretending they have been using the phone as their personal phone when they haven't. I find most of the Apple mouthpieces to be obnoxious and not worth my time. If you want honest tech review without the Apple circus, watch Aaron with Zollotech.

 

[fwmireault]

I have no problem with a tech youtuber that buys a product with the intend to return it after reviewing it. They are reviewers, it’s their job to get their hands on these devices to test it, their reviews benefit to hundreds of thousand of people if done right (not straight up ads). They have to buy devices from many brands, not just Apple, and I can understand it doesn’t make sens to keep everything you test. Also, some smaller channels don’t have the means to keep everything they review. People in the likes of MKBHD can for sure buy a full specs MBP because he has the means.

What I can’t stand from these reviewers is two things. First, as you said, the overhype and lack of critical review of a product. iJustine is surely a very nice and kind person, but her reviews are awful and lack some constructive criticism. Smaller channels who don’t get review units from Apple should feel more free to give critics towards a specific product, as they lose nothing to do so. Second thing, if you plan to return the product after the review, don’t order every configs possible or every color of the same device. This is straight up waste.

Anyway, in every case, they absolutely have the right to do that, and as long as it’s not excessive and it allows constructive reviews I don’t have any problem with that

 

[velocityg4]

I don't really see anything disingenuous about a reviewer making reviews about products they don't keep. It's not like magazine reviewers keep all the stuff they reviewed. They'd get anywhere from a day to a couple weeks with an item for a review. Then had to return it.

The main difference with the Youtube reviewer. Is they aren't being given samples by the company for review (unless they are popular enough). Instead they go out, buy it, then return it. On the plus side. The companies also don't get to cherry pick review units to send in.

My beef with many reviewers. Most don't do thorough reviews. With a set standard guideline for testing a product and provide measurable results for comparison. To rule out bias.

 

[Abazigal]

There will always be people who abuse product return policies. I assume companies like Apple are aware of people doing this, and they either choose not to do anything because it’s isolated incidents, there really isn’t a way to police this without making things difficult for the genuine customers, or it’s already factored into product pricing somehow.

I don’t like it, but I guess it’s not an issue that directly affects me. Yet.

 

[Pilot Jones]

I get that you can't possibly get a realistic review from a reviewer who quickly buys and returns a product, but I can't begrudge them their business.

If what you want is only those Youtubers who can actually afford every single device they ever review, you'll be left with like 5 tech channels on the entire platform.

I just make my own judgement as an informed consumer, staying critical & mindful of whose reviews I watch.

Also, Apple does have a fairly healthy refurbished program so from a sustainability point-of-view, this really shouldn't be a problem anyway.

 

[max2]

I dislike YouTube reviewers with a passion.

To bad Apple can't ban them.

 

[wonderings]

Why not skip the YouTuber review and just do the same thing, order the product, see how it handles what you want to do, keep it if it does or return if it does not. I never get a real world review or trust reviewers as they are not doing what I do with the computer. So I take it with a grain of salt and expect to have improvements, especially considering my main machine is a 2015 maxed out 5K iMac and a really under powered 2017" MacBook Pro. Some serious improvements and time saving on specific tasks that no one reviews or tests.

 

[JahBoolean]

Why would you even be mindful of that kind of topic ?

Is that really the current state of social media ?

 

[max2]

It is wrong period.

 

[Pakaku]

Anyone is free to return their product within the return period, so I don't really care about that. Some companies will send out products for review purposes, with the promise of returning it, and as long as the reviewer states that up-front in the review, I think that's the right way to do it.

If you're afraid that a reviewer is not genuine enough, you probably should be looking at more reviews anyways. Maybe find reviewers who you figure are legit enough, bookmark their page or subscribe to them, and hope they review more things.