If you rely on Amazon reviews to inform your shopping decisions, it’s time to rethink. Amazon reviews can’t be taken at face value because they can be paid for and transferred between different products, among other issues. No—when it comes to online shopping, there are much better ways to get an honest opinion on what you’re about to buy.

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Seek Independent Tech or Product Review Sites

If there’s one habit that’s saved me from countless shopping regrets, it’s checking independent review sites before buying. It takes more time than simply checking how many stars a product has, but it’s worthwhile. While Amazon reviews can help give you a sense of what users think of the product, they are often marred by fake praise, biased opinions, or paid reviews masquerading as genuine feedback. That’s why you should consider three-star Amazon reviews over one- or five-star reviews.

Unlike Amazon reviews, independent product review sites invest time and money into thoroughly testing products in real life rather than under controlled conditions. These reviews offer a deeper insight into the firsthand user experience and lay out all the pros and cons, enabling you to be better informed about what to expect. Additionally, these reviewers often test dozens, if not hundreds, of similar products side by side, so you can easily see how a given option stacks up against the competition.

These review sites also go beyond the specs and help you understand what matters in every product category in everyday life. So, instead of paying a premium for one product over a cheaper alternative, they’ll tell you exactly why you should consider picking one over the other from a practical standpoint.

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There are many review sites on the internet, but some of my go-to websites include Wirecutter, Digital Photography Review, Consumer Reports, How-To Geek, and RTINGS. You can find reviews of products by searching for the product name with a review keyword at the end, such as “iPhone 16 Pro review” and “LG G5 OLED TV review.” Look for reputable sites with authoritative authors who are transparent about their testing processes.

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Search for Video Reviews on YouTube

YouTube is another gold mine for insightful feedback when you’re shopping for a given product. If there’s one secret weapon I swear by when shopping online, it’s YouTube video reviews. The site is filled with numerous reviews, and you can find firsthand experiences on almost any product, from phones to vacuum cleaners, shoes, cameras, and more.

What I like about YouTube video reviews is that they give you a much better perspective of how the product looks in real life. We’ve all been there: you see perfect product photos on Amazon, but when the item arrives at the door, it looks nothing like the pictures. It could be smaller, bigger, or feel cheaper than you imagined. Video reviews are perfect for this because reviewers show you real-life usage and close-ups that written reviews can’t perfectly capture.

Video can deliver a near first-hand experience of the product, so you can tell whether the vacuum cleaner or portable air conditioner unit you’re interested in buying is noisy, as the written reviews claim. Like written reviews, YouTube video reviews also often offer balanced insights into a product, highlighting both the pros and cons rather than sugar-coating flaws.

Of course, not every video review you come across on YouTube is unbiased, and the same applies to written ones. To tackle this, I have my own methods for determining whether I can trust an online product review.

On YouTube, don’t limit yourself to large channels with millions of subscribers. In fact, for niche products, smaller channels often offer unique perspectives because they’ve invested in that specific category. Some of the best insights I’ve found are from specialized channels that focus on reviewing a niche category of products rather than large, generalized ones.

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Check Online Forums and Communities

Another essential way to find trustworthy feedback on a product, instead of Amazon reviews, is through online forums and communities. Online forums are gold mines of honest opinions from real people who’ve used the products you’re eyeing. Users in online forums and communities typically aren’t interested in selling you anything.

They love sharing first-hand experiences of products they’ve recently purchased, laying out what works, what doesn’t, and whether they love or regret their decision. Additionally, given the immense power of community, if a product has a hidden flaw or a fantastic feature, chances are that someone in these communities has already revealed it.

The beauty of forums is that you can ask questions and receive personalized advice from the community. You might ask whether a specific TV or sound system is suitable for your particular room, if a certain coffee maker fits under your low kitchen cabinets, or which power supply unit is the best for your PC build. This means you receive better advice tailored to your unique needs rather than the broad recommendations typical of video reviews or written reviews from independent sites.

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One of my favorite sites for user reviews is Reddit, as it features communities centered around almost any imaginable topic: lawn mowers, smartphones, TVs, energy drinks, appliances, and more. Specialized Facebook groups are also ideal for gathering opinions on what you want to buy, as well as old-school online forums like AVS Forum, Tom’s Hardware Forum, and HVAC Talk. However, there are fewer active, dedicated forums at the moment, since more people use social media platforms. Therefore, my top recommendations are Reddit and specialized Facebook groups.

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Read Detailed Product Specs

One of the most effective shopping habits you can develop is taking the time to read detailed product specifications. Product specs aren’t interesting to read, but it’s the best way to avoid buying something that disappoints you the moment it arrives. Checking online reviews from other people is essential, but you won’t get the whole perspective. Especially if you’re always interested in getting your hands on the latest products, there may not be any detailed reviews online for you to base your judgment on.

Listings often highlight flashy features to capture your attention, but gloss over crucial details. For example, a company might claim its laptop is 50% faster than the last-gen model. Yet, the fine print reveals the comparison is skewed because the test involved a fully specced current model with the base version of the older model. For battery life estimates, you could discover that tests were conducted with a specific app open.

For kitchen appliances, for instance, it’s essential to know both the actual material used and precise measurements. Such subtleties can only be noticed if you read the product specs. Take your time and review the full specs of the product so you have the right expectations of what you’re getting into. Most one-star reviews on Amazon are typically from frustrated customers who had unrealistic expectations when purchasing the product.

You shouldn’t base your purchase decisions solely on Amazon reviews. Instead, take a few extra steps by checking independent review sites, watching YouTube video reviews of the product, scouting online forums for diverse user experiences, and reading detailed specs. All of these will help you find the right product for your needs in a sea of alternatives, most of which aren’t as good as their seemingly high-rated Amazon reviews suggest.