When a "review" isn't a review-for newbs

[the_vape_nerd]

Those of us who come here regularly see these things over and over again. Someone got suckered into Green Smokes, Blu, Southbeach, what have you. Sometimes they come to us with an option to return the stuff, sometimes not. Usually they've read reviews on a commerical based site.

My point in all this is to maybe call attention to the idea that all reviews are not the same. Anytime you are on a commercial website, please be aware that while these things might claim to be a review, they are just advertising masked as a review. In general, the more polished and eye catching a website is, the less likely it is to offer you truth in a review.

When I first started out there were many many sites that claimed to be independent e-cig reviews. I found out much later than while it looked legit it just wasn't. So how do you tell what's an independent review and what isnt?

First off, the best spot for you to get real reviews is here at ECF. Even some of the more respected vendors here have reviews on their own websites. Be wary of those reviews. They can manipulate that by say taking off all the bad reviews and leaving only the good ones. Some sites like mad vapes, MVS, and others do let the bad reviews stay up and for that I commend them. But really, you want to get your reviews either here at ECF or another vaping website that is really independent of the place you are getting it from.

Even within ECF, try to avoid getting reviews on a product that are within a given supplier's board here. They do have some power to get rid of posts, so if widget A gets 3 good reviews and 7 bad ones, they can delete the 7 bad ones. I'm not saying that all the suppliers do this, don't get me wrong, but the possibility exists.

Try to search the reviews of products forum or a subforum where a particular product is discussed on a generic level. Finally, you'll want to get at least one bad review on moderate review on a product before buying.

 

[Mr.Mann]

Bump for a thoughtful warning and word of caution!

 

[ohai]

I can vouch for this practice. I've left mediocre reviews on suppliers' websites and they never show up, positive reviews for other items on the same sites showed almost immediately. You want the truth, look here.

 

[Vego]

Those of us who come here regularly see these things over and over again. Someone got suckered into Green Smokes, Blu, Southbeach, what have you. Sometimes they come to us with an option to return the stuff, sometimes not. Usually they've read reviews on a commerical based site.

My point in all this is to maybe call attention to the idea that all reviews are not the same. Anytime you are on a commercial website, please be aware that while these things might claim to be a review, they are just advertising masked as a review. In general, the more polished and eye catching a website is, the less likely it is to offer you truth in a review.

When I first started out there were many many sites that claimed to be independent e-cig reviews. I found out much later than while it looked legit it just wasn't. So how do you tell what's an independent review and what isnt?

First off, the best spot for you to get real reviews is here at ECF. Even some of the more respected vendors here have reviews on their own websites. Be wary of those reviews. They can manipulate that by say taking off all the bad reviews and leaving only the good ones. Some sites like mad vapes, MVS, and others do let the bad reviews stay up and for that I commend them. But really, you want to get your reviews either here at ECF or another vaping website that is really independent of the place you are getting it from.

Even within ECF, try to avoid getting reviews on a product that are within a given supplier's board here. They do have some power to get rid of posts, so if widget A gets 3 good reviews and 7 bad ones, they can delete the 7 bad ones. I'm not saying that all the suppliers do this, don't get me wrong, but the possibility exists.

Try to search the reviews of products forum or a subforum where a particular product is discussed on a generic level. Finally, you'll want to get at least one bad review on moderate review on a product before buying.

God, I wish I could have read these very paragraphs back on that fateful day last year when I typed "e cig" in Google. Nothing steams me more than those commercial review sites... now that I know. Good of you to make this post.

 

[Strigoi]

If I'm looking for a review on something at this point I head to Youtube and see if Grimmgreen or PBusardo have done one for whatever it is. They know what they're doing (plus don't come across as biased) and I don't feel like that's the case with a lot of people on here that chime in on stuff. I can see how a lot of their videos could be too much for someone that's new to vaping though. I take reviews on vendors sites very lightly.

 

[Butters78]

This blu review says it all..

I love my Blu!!!! My husband has another brand & Blu is much better. Blu has more flavor choices, better vapor, & is cheaper. The cartridges last longer than his do also. I love the menthol, cherry and my fav is vanilla. Want a good quality, good tasting ecig? Buy BLU!!!!!

 

[Mr.Mann]

This blu review says it all..

I love my Blu!!!! My husband has another brand & Blu is much better. Blu has more flavor choices, better vapor, & is cheaper. The cartridges last longer than his do also. I love the menthol, cherry and my fav is vanilla. Want a good quality, good tasting ecig? Buy BLU!!!!!

Is it okay to like this post? Afraid some "visitor" my see it liked and not actually get it!!

 

[jaynole]

I was lucky enough to have a few friends at work who had made the ecig leap before me. A few of them had the little cigarette copies. What intrigued me the most was the ones that looked like a fat pen. Not knowing what I was doing I asked one of them and they sent me in the direction of the ego T. Found their website out of South Florida and ordered the ego T type B starter kit. Ordered it on Sat. June 19th. In the mail Mon. June 21. That was the last day I smoked or purchased a cigarette. Finding this site about a week later, I feel my choice was not a bad one. It appears to be interchangeable with other devices. Anyways I have not been disappointed. Gonna order a couple of ego twist batteries this week. Good luck and happy vaping.

Sent from my Incredible 2 HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[Cherryblossom]

Tons of those commercial review sites out there, and a few even have very heavily moderated message boards which makes them even worse. A dozen or so fans on a message board can make just about anything sound wonderful. My husband and I came across one of these websites when we first decided to try vaping, and from the message boards you'd have thought their products were cutting edge and the best thing available anywhere. Needless to say, we no longer have a single thing we purchased from that site. The flipside of that is it did lead us here to ECF, and their products were a bridge until we became more knowledgeable and found better products to use.

 

[Taniger1]

Yep the ECF was a life saver!!!! And a lung saver, and a smelling saver..... LOL

I was the only one of my group to vape. I actually got the idea from a fellow smoker at work. I DID try one of those knock offs, then found the ECF too. The rest as they say is history!!! As far as the friend, well I'm still vapeing and she is still smoking...... go figure!!!!! I did not THINK I was ready to quit smoking, but apparently I was! Who'da thought!!!

 

[B2L]

I always check out new health updates on ecigs just to see what is being said and a good majority of what I find falls into the classification "advertorial", looks like a review/ scientific report but is actually a cleverly done ad for a usually inferior product.

 

[BuGlen]

I fully agree with the OP about commercial sites and their reviews, and this is true for all products and not just e-cigs. I got my first kit (a 901t setup) through an online store with very little knowledge of anything else PV related, and I don't regret the purchase because it allowed me to quit smoking. When I first started reading ECF back in March, there were many who stated the "whatever gets you off of the stinkies" mantra, and I think that is the most important thing.

Hopefully those people who read these reviews and get a sub-par first setup will be as stubborn as I was about not giving up and take a little time to do research on their next purchase.

 

[the_vape_nerd]

If I'm looking for a review on something at this point I head to Youtube and see if Grimmgreen or PBusardo have done one for whatever it is. They know what they're doing (plus don't come across as biased) and I don't feel like that's the case with a lot of people on here that chime in on stuff. I can see how a lot of their videos could be too much for someone that's new to vaping though. I take reviews on vendors sites very lightly.

This is about one of the most helpful comments on the post. Both of those guys do a fantastic job with reviews. Phil in particular will come out and say right up from that such and such a supplier sent him the product free, but it never stops him from giving you the honest heads-up. I just discovered those reviews myself. Both are top notch. If you see either of these guys on youtube they are legit.

 

[the_vape_nerd]

I fully agree with the OP about commercial sites and their reviews, and this is true for all products and not just e-cigs. I got my first kit (a 901t setup) through an online store with very little knowledge of anything else PV related, and I don't regret the purchase because it allowed me to quit smoking. When I first started reading ECF back in March, there were many who stated the "whatever gets you off of the stinkies" mantra, and I think that is the most important thing.

Hopefully those people who read these reviews and get a sub-par first setup will be as stubborn as I was about not giving up and take a little time to do research on their next purchase.

Yep, I do agree, whatever gets them here and off the analogs is really the most important thing. Though, I do find that an educated newb is better than a non-educated one. Just trying to steer them along. Even if they made a bad first purchase, they can correct it and move on to better products that work well.

I also think the time has come for most of us to start recommending the gas station e-cigs as a first try. I know it's not the best device and certainly the juice can be horrible in those things, but the idea being that its a very low cost first purchase. I've seen them for around 5.99-7.99. That's not going to break the bank and they can get a sense of whether it will work for them or not. Compare that to blu or green smokes and you could have saved someone a few hundred bucks.

 

[harleydiva]

I lucked out when I started. I'm a researcher at heart...so started off on google when I started exploring the option of e-cigs. Like everyone else, all I found was V2, Blu, South Beach, etc. Was real close to pulling the trigger on a kit, when ECF popped up in one of my searches.....I came here and started reading....and reading....and reading. Ended up ordering a KGO kit from Dark City Vapor. It arrived on March 12....I charged the batteries, loaded up a carto.....and haven't smoked a real cig since.

Three months later, I have a ProVari, and have become a carto hater and clearo lover....but NOT a smoker.

 

[StotheK]

...and that's exactly the reason I started my site, I wanted to do something different from the commercial sites. There are thankfully quite a few more unbiased sites these days, but when it comes to a google search, the advertising sites own the search results. It wasn't until recently that even the ECF started showing up on page 1 for a lot of e-cigarette related searches.

 

[NGIB]

After 2 months of vaping (and no cigs), I've become very sensitive to this topic as I think many newcomers are screwed over by the "predators" that show up on page 1 of a Google search. Participated in a thread yesterday about just such a "review" where the reviewer claimed a 650 mah eGo style battery would last the "average" vaper "a few days" between charges. He was called out by me and then a lot more experienced and knowledgeable folks but would not back down and got a tad rude. Finally, one of this forum's hardware "stars" stepped in with a number of technical posts that just exploded his argument - I don't think this fella has been back...

 

[StotheK]

If the "average" vaper is someone who gets a whole pack of cigs worth of vaping out of a single carto like all the websites say, then maybe an eGo using the same (very low) volume of vaping would last that long. But that's some pretty fuzzy math right there

After 2 months of vaping (and no cigs), I've become very sensitive to this topic as I think many newcomers are screwed over by the "predators" that show up on page 1 of a Google search. Participated in a thread yesterday about just such a "review" where the reviewer claimed a 650 mah eGo style battery would last the "average" vaper "a few days" between charges. He was called out by me and then a lot more experienced and knowledgeable folks but would not back down and got a tad rude. Finally, one of this forum's hardware "stars" stepped in with a number of technical posts that just exploded his argument - I don't think this fella has been back...

 

[NGIB]

I just stepped on it again as I made some comments on the 510 Vapers Magazine thread in the Canada forum. I went and read it as I like to learn as much as I can, and inside is a glowing 2 page review for Greensmoke. I made the comment that I would not include a glowing review for any company that operates with this business model and I was politely told to walk away. I tried to make the point that a noob might use this review to make a buying decision and find out there were better/cheaper options out there.

Personally, I will not endorse any product unless I believe (and own) it...

 

[bigpman]

Great post! I think that most people are intimidated to click on ECF for reviews and find those one page reviews easier to find and read. When I first started vaping, I didn't want to ready through all the back and forth talk that forum posts have and found it was easier to read specific articles on devices. I do know now that this is not the best way go about things and it's always better to read between the lines here at ECF. Might be beneficial for ECF to have a straight out review section that only veterans can go in and add a review on the products that they have tested. This might also help SEO on the search term "e-cig review".

It could be something as simple as pages with YouTube videos from some of our "heroes" on the forum with strong page title, keywords and description. Just a thought...