Don't just go by the rating, take time & read the reviews!

How many of us look for just a little advice on an item before making a purchase?  Be honest.  I thought so.  Even if I know exactly what I'm going to buy, I still like to check and see how other ebay members enjoyed theirs.  The only problem is, until recently I was unsure how the item I purchased (or was about to sell) could be rated the way it was.  It seemed as if everytime I knew something was a sure fire winner, ebay would have a completely different idea - at least as far as the rating was concerned.

Well it seems  as if I've found the answer, and hopefully I can help at least one person get a more educated idea of something they might purchase.  I've written a few reviews myself, and sometimes will write a review if I think it's good enough that everybody should have or so bad I hope to save somebody from wasting their money.  Ebay gives specific directions, as they do often, on just how and what a review should consist of.  I'm pretty sure I've followed the rules given up to this point.  The problem is, I think many reviewers aren't following the rules at all!  Often an item is given a 1 out of 5 because the item didn't come as described from the seller.  Or maybe the item took a long time to ship.  I also see 5 out of 5's given because they found an item for such a great price.  And also because their grandchild was happy to receive it as a gift after the sale without offering any product information at all.  It's pretty simple math to find out how quickly a fantastic item could get an undeserving low rating because of some shipping issues!

I take some of my own time to write reviews about things that I both enjoy and dislike.  I know there are many other knowledgable and friendly ebayers out there who do the same.  Do yourself a favor and actually read several of the reviews that were written.  It only takes a second to find out which reviews were written by people who never even used the item, or are just discussing their ebay experience.  Who knows, a well read real review might even change your mind.