Am I the only one tired of garbage YouTube reviews?

SunriseMtl · 08-28-2022, 03:50 PM

Hi all,
This is probably as much of a rant as it is an observation. But as my wife and I end our second year of RVing part time with the goal of eventual full time I should add. Like all newbies, we have both been scouring the net for knowledge. Now as a media professional, for more years than I care to mention I should probably know better. But I have to say that I am so tired of watching YouTube reviews of various RV related products, only to find that most of those that review have a vested interest in being "up" or less than open about the products. They are either sponsored, or the product they have decided to review is a freebee sent to them because their YouTube numbers are large enough to be of benefit to the maker.
Yes as a journalist I should know better, but it can still p-ss me off. Thankfully I know better than to buy into the: " I read or saw it on the internet so it must be true." position. But I feel for some who trust these charlatans and get suckered into paying more or buying junk.
Forgive me for ranting, but I think it needed to be said.
Brian

Marine359 · 08-28-2022, 05:10 PM

I feel ya Brian.
But it doesn’t end there. If you want to shop for anything on the internet, whether using Google, Amazon, or any other online search, you’ve got to plow through all the sponsored posts and links before you can get to whatever you really want. Even reviews are untrustworthy. Amazon reviews hopeless. In cyberspace it’s you against the advertisers. Good luck.

Ray,IN · 08-29-2022, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marine359

I feel ya Brian.
But it doesn’t end there. If you want to shop for anything on the internet, whether using Google, Amazon, or any other online search, you’ve got to plow through all the sponsored posts and links before you can get to whatever you really want. Even reviews are untrustworthy. Amazon reviews hopeless. In cyberspace it’s you against the advertisers. Good luck.

I know, I'm agreeing with a jarhead, but I do completely agree.

Marine359 · 08-29-2022, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

I know, I'm agreeing with a jarhead, but I do completely agree.

We so stoopid, we stumble upon the right answer like a squirrel finding a nut.

Wayne M · 08-29-2022, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

I know, I'm agreeing with a jarhead, but I do completely agree.

You be careful how you speak to a Marine or I'll de-friend you!

I use adblock plus and Ghostery so I don't see any advertisement,

I agree with the original poster that most reviews are "seeded," or "salted," by unreliable sources,

Ray,IN · 08-31-2022, 06:33 PM

Wayne I hope marine359 realized i was funning him. Life's too short to be serious all the time.
We aren't going to be able to make it to see you two this year at Shipshewana.

dkoldman · 08-31-2022, 06:50 PM

I often wonder why the mfg's don't create and sponsor their own official videos. I know it would be bias but it will at least formalize and show what they claim.

I spent 10 minutes watching this guy show and review one of those 16.5ft ladders. Got all the way to the end an he says he would NOT buy it, I think he returned it.

But in the end the number of good videos I see that really do help me; far outweigh the stuff that is completely bogus.

Marine359 · 08-31-2022, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

Wayne I hope marine359 realized i was funning him. Life's too short to be serious all the time.
We aren't going to be able to make it to see you two this year at Shipshewana.

Hey, I gave you thumbs up Ray. Go Army.
Go Navy, BEAT Army!

4x4van · 09-01-2022, 11:55 AM

Lot's of good info online, and lots of crap online.

Seems that a lot of the "fulltimer" Youtubers (most of which have only a few years at most of actual RV experience) seem to be of the mindset that they HAVE to be continuously posting new content, and that leads to crappy, boring, biased (sponsored), and/or redundant info, or even worse: wrong/dangerous info.

Jim_HiTek · 09-01-2022, 04:06 PM

What I do is search "Complaints about <product I'm interested in, Brand, model>" and there are usually direct links to the complaints (if any). And I glean more info from them then I do from most any review. Mostly because companies hire home based businesses that use several names and profiles to give the companies products glowing approvals. You can see the same names used over and over.

Morich · 09-02-2022, 09:20 AM

The basic internet idea of getting more money for more people looking has created the disaster the internet has become. More looks means more pay, so the way to get more looks is to create the impression you have something to offer. Many sites that means sex, so we see lots of that!
Other options are getting one site to referr to another and then that site referrs back, so both get more looks. Putting junk in one spot which looks like it will get you to real info drives more looks, even if the article is totally dumb.

Lots of the full time folks on any forum will post obvious junk as a way to drive traffic! We get a lot of trip posts here on the forum which are just obvious traffic drivers!

One way to avoid the dumb U-tube set is to only use it as a last resort and maybe someday it will no longer be worth their time to post junk if we stop looking at their junk!

Marine359 · 09-02-2022, 05:16 PM

Nice Richard

CharlesMoore · 09-04-2022, 04:48 PM

Everyone who is internet savy has known for years that Amazon is targeting you and your searches. Pricing way back was Sears and then eBay and then finally Amazon. Everything is targeted so no use in complaining. I now use user groups like on product specific FB forums, Reddit, and, yes, even Twitter for product info. For prices caveat emptor.

However, I do think Jim_HiTek is pretty accurate in finding good solutions and prices for the things he buys. Morich is a good source for Winnebago schematics and troubleshooting. Youtube is my very good friend. There are many more if you spend time on the forums for RVillage and Winnie Owners groups. If you ask questions then you can get a lot of opinions you can distill. IMHO.

Bo Walker · 09-05-2022, 03:42 AM

It sounds to me, you are spending too much time looking at the pcu/cell screen. I very much hate having to wait for the commercials on TV. These commercials interferes with my channel surfing. It's a lot worse than it was a few years back. I bet John Wayne and Matt Dillon didn't have to put up with as such nonsense and Andy Griffith would turn the tube off.

tizeye · 09-05-2022, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

What I do is search "Complaints about <product I'm interested in, Brand, model>" and there are usually direct links to the complaints (if any). And I glean more info from them then I do from most any review. Mostly because companies hire home based businesses that use several names and profiles to give the companies products glowing approvals. You can see the same names used over and over.

I do a variation. On Amazon and others with written reviews, I choose the one star, then move up to the two star. Sure you will get the reviewer with a bad experience axe to grind...but is there a pattern that reflects the product quality. That totally eliminated the paid 5 star reviews and those solicited reviews within hours of receiving it interspersed with legitimate 5 star reviews.

dnta · 09-05-2022, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tizeye

I do a variation. On Amazon and others with written reviews, I choose the one star, then move up to the two star.. etc.

Yes. Agree with tizeye as the way to go for more authentic info. On Amazon, etc I, too, always STUDY 1 star first, then might move up some. Even if 90% (even hundreds) of ‘Verified Purchase’ reviews are 5-star, I primarily only trust what I read in the 10% when they point out similar product issues.

I still come across family & friends who buy into ‘oh! It has a 4.5 star overall rating’ and then buy w/o looking at a single review. Scammers mostly win!

I rarely look at youtube REVIEWS, anymore, except to see the inside of an RV or something, and yet I do learn A LOT there on the ’how-to ‘ scene.

Thanks to Sunrise MTL for posting this caution & perhaps saving others a lot of headache & lost $.

Marine359 · 09-05-2022, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bo Walker

It sounds to me, you are spending too much time looking at the pcu/cell screen. I very much hate having to wait for the commercials on TV. These commercials interferes with my channel surfing. It's a lot worse than it was a few years back. I bet John Wayne and Matt Dillon didn't have to put up with as such nonsense and Andy Griffith would turn the tube off.

I tried watching a 90 minute John Wayne movie on You Tube. It took almost 3 hours due to all the commercials. Lost interest before they started circling the wagons.