> For example, returns and long-term use aren’t part of the evaluation. When you get something for free, you’re less likely to follow up on breakage concerns or customer service issues. Additionally, if the reviewer didn’t actually buy the product, that person doesn’t take the purchase and shipping processes into consideration.
I don't feel that this is true. People who are selected for Vine aren't random Amazon customers. They are Amazon's top ranked reviewers. A lot of these reviewers have started reviewing hundreds of items before Vine or any paid reviewing programs even came into existence. i.e. They do it for the 'love' so they will discuss price and shipping considerations
Yes given Vine's 30 day review deadline, you're not going to see anything initially about long term use; but... a lot of these reviews do get updated if anything about the product changes from the original review.
> You might notice how few of the reviews through Vine and similar programs are negative or even critical. This isn’t a case of reviewers intentionally being dishonest, but rather the result of unconscious positive bias.
I don't disagree here.
> Not paying for an item can make difficulties with that item seem less irritating.
Vine items are now treated as taxable income starting this year, so Vine reviewers are now paying for the items that they select.
> Additionally, reviewers may give their opinions on items for which they have no expertise or real experience and therefore have no frame of reference about how well something works by comparison.
I could be wrong but I feel that available Vine items are based on the customer's past purchase and review history. There's no guarantee that the customer is an expert, but there's some proof that the reviewer is at least familiar with the product category.
I'm sure that there are some bad Vine reviews and bad Vine reviewers. However discrediting the entire program without any data just doesn't seem fair.
(In case it wasn't already obvious, I'm part of the Vine program)