This is too funny!!! Who reviews pens???????? And the Playmobil!!!! I tend to ignore the TripAdvisor reviews for the same reason, plus I am a natural skeptic and wonder if sometimes these places don't have their pals post... I like word of mouth or checking multiple sources on places! Love those lamps!

Just finished reading those reviews and was absolutely struggling to stop myself bursting out with laughter as my husband lies asleep beside me. Hilarious!! - Denita

I find Trip Advisor really handy and tend to agree with the majority of reviews there, it's the first thing I look at when booking a new place. My major bugbear is when you toss things in your online basket ad then get hassled by the company "you've forgotten something' what an invasion of personal space, I go into rage and email them at once and tell them my business has just gone down the swanee.

From decades ago, I suspected that the person who reviewed things were more critical anywhere and less traveled and esp travel i was always very wary. Many hotels are reviewed by Americans who just want to repeat their home experience in a different country.
I am though addicted to reading reviews of clothing and when there is more than one, ("the material is a weird bronze instead of gold" say) I always take notice.
What i find even more telling than reviews is when the clothing does not look good on the model. If it doesn't look good on her, what hope is there for the rest of us. Always stunned when stores post an unflattering photos of the article,

Heidi
This is amazing! Have never read Amazon reviews before for anything except books. Who knew! Hilarious! There are clearly so many people out there who are frustrated stand-up comics or writers. But when do people find time to write these big 'think' pieces? At work, maybe?
Definitely use Tripadvisor all the time - have found so many good little places travel agents have no idea of. Just have to read reviews carefully and identify the 'weeds'. Worth checking on nationality, age etc often revealed along with comment. Agree, tend to discount comments from people who can't spell or are barely literate. With some careful research methods applied, Tripadvisor can be enormously helpful.
Have been to the le Corbusier exhibition at the Pompidou and the Bonnard today at the d'Orsay. Think you might have enjoyed both - but now to afraid to give a review! Pammie xxx

4&1/2 to 5 years ago we looked at reviews on trip advisor for accommodation In France for our 6 week trip. We were traveling with our 7 & 9 year old. Therefore we were able to discard a lot of negative reviews as they were written by either business travelers or the opposition. Clearly a business traveller's needs and ours didn't intersect on some levels. It was a bit nerve racking as we needed to make sure we weren't sending out money to bogus sites & who wants to deal with grumpy kids when you arrive at your supposed destination & Le hotel/ pensione isn't there. My trip advisor name made reference to the fact we were a family of 4 & I then posted reviews of all the places we stayed at. We stayed in some great & fabulous places. Apart from accommodation we booked 2 tours online after reading and sifting through reviews. We used trip advisor then as we didn't know anyone who had done such a trip & we only knew one friend of a friend who had a home in Provence.
The only thing I recommend to anyone who says they are going to make a big outlay on an item whether it be a holiday, car or electrical appliance is to do an Internet search "problems with (insert name & type of appliance/ device you are buying). After our last car was showing itself to be a lemon, I did such a search & found that the US govt had a whole dept dealing with same car make & model & the numbers of such lemons in the US were phenomenal. Den xxx
Ps hope to send through photo of Chanel inspired building company logo as going near that site soon.

We usually tend to book small family hotels de charme in France, found on Tripadvisor. Have never yet had a dud, but we screen carefully. Some of them have been so good we've now re-visited for the fourth time. After selecting a new place (to us) we usually send emails out first to the hotel enquiring about various aspects of the accommodation and sometimes follow up with a phone call. These usually give a clearer idea of what the place is like and how efficient and helpful are the people who might look after you. At small places in Provence or other country areas the staff often stay for years - so you get to know them on re-visits. We're now treated like long lost family when we go back. We've even go to know the breakfast chef in one, a lovely lady we're now on provencal kissing terms with. Likewise the owners at really small places. Some of them are still charging us the amount from years before as they say - oh we won't charge you the new price! All from Tripadvisor! Best wishes, Pammie

On tripadvisor, I like to see how the hotelier responds to complaints. But I agree, some people are very full of their own rights.
For clothing, I like to try things on, rather than buy on internet.

It's a funny thing because now even though I don't believe half of them it seems there is the new art of decoding and deciphering among the chaff. I was guilty of my first ever tripadvisor review bc I was so incensed and this was the advent of tripadvisor that I just fumed without being properly constructive but after reading so many - it sucks vs it's great which is of nor help to anyone! But there are now so many small hotels that will charge money if you give them a bad review on tripadvisor. it's ludicrous! I also think amazon reviews are hilarious and sometimes they are better than the book that is being reviewed! x

FUNNYYYYY POST!!!!!! I try to avoid reading hotel reviews too. Or restaurant ones too. . I don't want anything to colour my experience before trying it out.

Heidi -
That last item, ahem, recommended by Amazon - what in the world??? LOL! I do check out online reviews, especially for restaurants. But I still like to try out a restaurant despite the reviews. Now I'm curious about Trip advisor. Happy weekend - L

What a brilliant post - and one of the reasons I love your blog! Witty, informative and with an excellent dose of humour. Adored the reviews of the recommended product - literally went 'nuts' with laughter!

LMFAO!!! What a good post to finish a frustrating day being my husbands tiling apprentice. Never would I have known about the hilarity of Amazon if it weren't for you! Nor the questionable design department at Playmobil! If I ever get 'free' time again, I hope to remember reading reviews as a source of great hilarity. . .

Must add too, that I'll be writing to Palmobil's creative department....tiling set should include blonde female apprentice slugging vino whilst tiler has his ruler stuck up his....

I don't actually ever look for reviews!! Sometimes I google for a book or movie review! Obviously I should have been looking at reviews from stores like JCrew and Landsend as I've had many deliveries which I couldn't use and had to send back! As for the vanity sizing!!!... xxx

Those damn bananas that curve left instead of right! Sounds like a business opportunity to me. Thanks for the tipoff. Judith

I love reading Tripadvisor reviews but wish people would let you know their basis for judgement sometimes. Like saying 'great hotel' means nothing but saying 'I'm a total party animal so this was a great hotel' tell me a lot (ie. don't stay there).

Same with clothing reviews. I shop a lot at Modcloth and always read the reviews which include space for the customer to put their measurements. If someone doesn't include their measurements and they something is small fitting, how do you know they aren't just confused about their sizing? Or don't actually know it.

Hi on the review front how did u manage to get that gorg American bed linen To oz? would love to order but can't see they ship here ?

I tend to read the negative reviews with the mindset of "if it's true, could I live with it?" The positive ones all seem to be paid for.

So true, I have been on Tripadvisor heaps lately booking my honeymoon in the USA and the special requests one came up a lot and made me laugh. Also agree on the grammer etc, my friend has a rule that she wont date men who can't send a proper text message without spelling mistakes :)

Oh my goodness. Some of these are absolutely priceless and would you believe we actually have one of the 17 most inappropriate playmobil sets! It is one of my brother's old sets from the 1980s and is often played with by my boys! xx