Consumer Reviews Online

Anyone who has done any online shopping is familiar with the consumer-written reviews and ratings that are available on many of the major websites. Amazon. com comes to mind first of all, but other businesses have jumped on the band wagon and with good reason.

According to JupiterResearch, a business intelligence company, consumer-written reviews and ratings are having quite an influence on online businesses. They quote Bazaarvoice's research as showing that 77% of online shoppers refer to consumer-written reviews and ratings to aid them in making purchase decisions.

Not only are consumer-written reviews and ratings available on many of the online merchant's sites, but there are a great number of websites dedicated to just consumer reviews and related information. Put "consumer+reviews+online" into your favorite search engine and you can see the array of sites available to you.

In addition to the three sites described in detail below, sites were found that provide consumer reviews for: online business tools, gardening gifts, psychotherapists and counselors, bed and breakfast establishments, work-at-home business opportunities, sites for New Zealand and the UK, and a number of others. Chances are if you are looking for a consumer-written review on a product or service, you will be able to find it online.

Here are three sites I found easily which provide the consumer generated reviews and ratings for a wide variety of products and categories:

Epinions.com The reviews and ratings here are all consumer-written. In addition to the products and services being rated, so are the reviews and reviewers themselves. The site is easy to navigate. There is a Top 10 list of various categories as rated by the reviewers. Included in the Top 10's list: washers, used cars, new cars, strollers, digitial cameras, microwave ovens. The site is free to join and reviewers can earn cash for writing reviews.

In addition, the reviews at Epinions are utilized at the two of the other sites listed here, which elevates the comprehensiveness and veracity of those reviews in my opinion.