With more than $177.9 billion in annual revenue, it’s safe to say that Amazon is the largest retailer in the world. What started as a humble online bookstore quickly evolved in a megalithic selling empire, branching into markets such as web hosting – competing with other more established providers – entertainment production and video streaming, food production and sales, not to mention bringing on third-party sellers to sell every available product imaginable. The sheer scale of it is enough to boggle the mind – the number of products available to sell almost innumerable. But with so many products out there, how can we tell which are quality and which are merely knockoffs?
Luckily, the market generally balances and regulates itself. As such there are a number of different online review sites that allow internet users to gauge for themselves whether the product they’re buying or website they’re visiting actually lives up to the hype. This doesn’t end at products, but extends to services and a number of other different circumstances.
Glassdoor
This has less to do with products and more to do with jobs. Glassdoor lets people rate the companies they’ve worked for, upload their position and the salary, and speak about the pros and cons of what that company was like. It’s a godsend for people who don’t want to work in a toxic environment, allowing them to review the company beforehand and see if it matches with their workplace expectations. Glassdoor also allows you to rate the CEO of the company, assigning a percentage based on how many employees approve of them.
Amazon
Earlier we spoke about the enormous range of products available on Amazon. Luckily, the retail giant has its own rating system built in that is pretty reliable. Many people rate the products they bought and what they liked or disliked about them, giving them a rating out of five stars. Amazon also has a program in place called Amazon Vine, which encourages certain customers to give honest, helpful and quality reviews to better inform other customers looking to buy the same product.
TrustPilot
Ever wondered the site you’re ordering that pair of shoes from is trustworthy? TrustPilot has your back. They provide up-to-date information about whether or not a website or business will deliver your purchase on time, or flee with your money ever having packed the product in the first place. It’s a global community that encourages users and sellers alike to review the sites they use so that other people will have those reviews on hand for posterity. If a website doesn’t have TrustPilot’s seal of approval, it’s worth second guessing whether you really want to risk using your credit card details with them.
