Can You Trust Amazon Customer Reviews?

Can You Really Trust Amazon Customer Reviews?

Amazon customer reviews have become one of the most powerful forces in online shopping. If you are anything like me, before I pull the trigger and place an order on Amazon, I always read 3-5 customer reviews. But are they trustworthy or foolproof?

Amazon's review system is designed to build trust. Star ratings, verified purchase badges, photos, and detailed feedback give the impression of transparency and crowd-sourced honesty. In theory, reviews reflect real customer experiences and help buyers avoid making the wrong buying decision and bad products.

In practice, however, the system is far from perfect. Fake reviews can artificially inflate a product's rating, making a low-quality or an unsafe item appear trustworthy.

Back in 2020, the independent review analysis site Fakespot found that 42 percent of all reviews published on Amazon weren't genuine. Since then, Amazon has been very pro-active to combat this issue and has spent more than $700 million per year to track down and delete over 200 million fake reviews. While Amazon removes millions of fraudulent reviews each year, the scale of the platform makes complete enforcement nearly impossible.

Not all misleading reviews are outright fake. Some are incentivized, meaning reviewers receive free products, deep discounts or even refunds after leaving reviews.

Another lessor-known issue is review hijacking. This is where sellers merge unrelated products under a single listing. For example, a vendor that once sold phone cables may later change to supplements-while keeping thousand of positive reviews. Shoppers who don't read review dates or details may assume the feedback applies to the current product when it actually does not.

For the most part I trust the Amazon review process for most products with one exception, MOUTHGUARDS! In my professional opinion you should only trust reviews regarding mouthguards on Amazon if they are done by someone who has actually used the mouthguard for a period of time or by someone like me who has the knowledge to separate the good and the bad mouthguards from one another.

Here Is A Link To Amazon's Best Selling Mouthguards amazon.com

I provide a 100 % objective, honest, non-biased expert reviews. I have no connection to any mouthguard manufacturer and no financial incentive to rate one brand over another. All of the reviews are conducted by one person (me). I want to simplify your buying experience and make it easy for you to pick the best mouthguard for your specific sport and for you to be confident in your buying decision.

How I Review Mouthguards

 Choosing a mouthguard has never been more confusing than it is today. Mouthguards come in many shapes, sizes, colors and prices. Most consumers go to their local sporting goods store to purchase a mouthguard a couple of days before their season is to begin without knowing what size or what type of mouthguard they really need. Most sporting goods stores carry 1-4 manufacturer options while at the same time carrying several design options.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO???  You could purchase every mouthguard in the store until you find the right one, but that would be very time consuming and very, very  expensive. Or, you could read every review posted on Amazon, which would also be very time consuming and frustrating because one person may give it 5 stars and another person may give it 1 star. How can that be? You could also do a search on Amazon for the most purchased mouthguards, but are the most purchased mouthguards on Amazon necessarily the "best" ones? In fact, the number 2 ranked mouthguard on Amazon falls into my not recommended category. There are a few websites that review a single mouthguard or rate several mouthguards even though they haven't even held the mouthguard in their hand or fitted the mouthguards themselves. If they post an after fitting picture of a mouthguard that they are reviewing, more than likely they actually did obtain the mouthguard that they reviewed, if they don't, I would be a little skeptical and wouldn't give the review credence.  Most review websites also just read some of the reviews on amazon, then formulate a review which makes the reader think they actually purchased the mouthguard and had it in their possession. In addition, YouTube video reviewers are paid by the manufacturer to say something positive about the product to generate sales.  It's a win-win situation for the reviewer and the manufacturer but in most cases a loosing situation for the buyer. Have you ever seen a negative review??? Probably not. 

   I search for every mouthguard on the market. Then, I buy every mouthguard through places like Amazon, eBay or directly from the manufacturer, just like you would with my own funds, then I evaluate every mouthguard based on my expert opinion. I also comb the internet to find other reviews on durability to develop a better understanding of specific mouthguards pros and cons over an extended period of time. It is recommended that mouthguards be replaced after every season to ensure proper fit and hygiene. I can only evaluate a mouthguards initial fit and comfort, but only long-term real-world use will turn up durability and other design flaws.

Expert Advice

   My name is Ken Mitchell. I Have been fabricating custom mouthguards for more than 15 years and have been a dental technician for over 20 years. I also, have owned my own dental laboratory for over 20 years. If you don't know anything about dental laboratories, in a nutshell, the dentist takes an impression of the patient's teeth and sends it to the dental laboratory to have a crown, denture, orthodontic retainer or a custom mouthguard to be fabricated. Contrary to what most people believe, the dental laboratory fabricates all of the items listed above. Most people think the dentist actually makes them in his/her office. Some dentists have 'in-house" dental laboratories, but in actuality, not many.

 Besides having work experience with mouthguards, I know first hand the importance of mouthguards in the sports world. I have played several sports throughout my life, including basketball, football, baseball and beach volleyball. My choice not to wear a mouthguard during a high school basketball game forever changed my life and appearance. At the time, I had braces on my upper teeth and was on my way to having a beautiful smile. But that all changed in a split second. During a varsity high school basketball game, the ball was going out-of-bounds off the opposing team, a player from the opposing team(who just so happened to be the quarterback on the football team) jumped in the air to save the ball, grabbed the ball in mid-air and threw the ball as hard as he could at, guess who? ME!!! It all happened so quickly. The ball struck me square in the face and severely traumatized my teeth. My two front teeth were chipped, one tooth resemble a V in shape and the other tooth was hanging from the braces bracket. My lip was bleeding profusely and needles to say, I was in shock. 

 Throughout my life I (and my parents) spent thousands of dollars trying to make my teeth look like natural teeth. From the date of the basketball accident until today, I have had two root canals, Three different sets of crowns and one dental implant.

 I am also a father to two sons and a daughter who have played Soccer, Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Lacrosse and Baseball ever since they were in the first grade. Currently my youngest son is playing college football.  From time to time I have used my children to test mouthguards to get a first-hand, real-world experience with custom mouthguards and store bought mouthguards. My oldest son had an accident in a travel basketball game but not because he wasn't wearing a mouthguard but because the player from the opposing team wasn't wearing one. My son went up for a rebound and after he landed on his feet the other players teeth landed on the bridge of my sons nose, leaving a perfect imprint in the shape of two teeth. I rushed him to the hospital emergency room because I assumed he would need stitches but the doctor told us that they don't suture bite wounds because of the amount of bacteria and viruses in the human mouth. 

How I Get Compensated 

 The Mouthguard Review wants to be the most valuable resource to our readers for all of their mouthguard needs. I have performed countless hours of research and product testing using my own funds. 

 I earn a small commission when a reader clicks on an affiliate link such as Amazon, eBay, or original manufacturer and purchases a mouthguard or other product at no additional cost to you, whatsoever.  I earn the small commission only if the purchase is made. If you have purchased through the site in the past, thank you! I really appreciate your support! 

 The income generated from your support helps me improve the website, purchase mouthguards, purchase photography equipment, domain registration, hosting and many other services required to run the website

THE MATERIALS AND INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE HAVE BEEN PREPARED OR ASSEMBLED BY THE MOUTHGUARD REVIEW AND ARE INTENDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR ADVICE FROM A LICENSED HEALTH-CAR PROFESSIONAL. YOU SHOULD NOT RELY SOLELY ON THIS CONTENT, AND THE MOUTHGUARD REVIEW ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR INACCURACIES. ALWAYS READ LABELS AND DIRECTIONS BEFORE USING A PRODUCT. SOME OF THE INFORMATION MAY BE DATED AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE MOST CURRENT EVENTS. I WROTE THIS ARTICLE MYSELF AND IT EXPRESSES MY OWN OPINIONS.