Do you trust Brand Ambassadors & Influencers?

[Jim Oaks]

I get it. It's cheaper to give your product to someone on social media, call them a brand ambassador, and give them a discount code to pass out than to pay an advertising company.

When you fill out an application to be a brand ambassador or to get a sponsor, they want to know what other companies you're working with / sponsored by. If you say anything negative about a product, the next brand that you try to get free stuff from might see it and turn you down. So, you can't always count on them to be 100% honest.

The product should sell itself. Show me how well it works.

Showing me all of the swag the company sent you and offering me a discount code isn't going to build brand trust.

 

[Shran]

Project Farm and Torque Test Channel on YouTube are sources I trust because they take similar items and test them objectively. They also pay for everything out of pocket. Totally unbiased.

It's pretty hard to complain about something you got for free or even discounted and I am skeptical in the first place there, what type of NDA did they sign? Was it a guaranteed positive review in exchange for a product? You never know. If someone got it for free and they say it's bad... it's probably REALLY bad.

I really don't trust reviews either. Harbor Freight and several other sites are notorious for deleting low ratings. I've personally had that happen and my review didn't violate their rules. Amazon is even worse, sometimes the reviews you read aren't even for the item you're looking at or they're something like "I haven't even opened the box yet but it's amazing!!!"

So in short, no, I do not trust either unless the source can be vetted for bias or I know them personally.

 

[sgtsandman]

Project Farm and Torque Test Channel on YouTube are sources I trust because they take similar items and test them objectively. They also pay for everything out of pocket. Totally unbiased.

It's pretty hard to complain about something you got for free or even discounted and I am skeptical in the first place there, what type of NDA did they sign? Was it a guaranteed positive review in exchange for a product? You never know. If someone got it for free and they say it's bad... it's probably REALLY bad.

I really don't trust reviews either. Harbor Freight and several other sites are notorious for deleting low ratings. I've personally had that happen and my review didn't violate their rules. Amazon is even worse, sometimes the reviews you read aren't even for the item you're looking at or they're something like "I haven't even opened the box yet but it's amazing!!!"

So in short, no, I do not trust either unless the source can be vetted for bias or I know them personally.

When it comes to reviews, I place little faith on the ones that are on the web site itself. I google for reviews from other sites instead.

You are spot on about Project Farm and Torque Test.

Channels like 4XOverland, who had sponsorships and lost them because they refused to be muscled into a positive review gain credit as well. The funny thing about him is, he had good things to report about the tires in question. He just complained about the size of tire they made him get. That got him the boot. If you are that dang touchy, perhaps I need to look elswhere for the product I want.

 

[Jim Oaks]

It's pretty hard to complain about something you got for free or even discounted and I am skeptical in the first place there, what type of NDA did they sign? Was it a guaranteed positive review in exchange for a product? You never know. If someone got it for free and they say it's bad... it's probably REALLY bad.

Well, you should be able to.....

The Thunderer tires that are currently on TRS-3 are great off-road tires, but I've always had problems with getting them balanced and the truck shakes at highway speeds. I would use them again on a truck I was using as an off-road truck, but not on a truck I'm going to be driving on the highway.

 

[Shran]

I think it takes a lot more thought to put an honest recommendation together for something that you got for free vs something you paid for. Price plays a factor it in too. I think people are more likely to poo poo a $1000 set of tires than a $400 set of tires.

Skyjacker is an interesting example, I was really unhappy with the 6" lift I bought from them in 2009. I bought a set of leaf springs later on that were also not great. Their tech support was pretty rude and short with me both times I needed them. I wouldn't take their products even if they were free... but a lot of others on here have had better luck. I guess it all just depends on who you talk to.

 

[MT_PLS]

I trust influencers as much as I trust the urge to fart after eating Taco Bell for three days straight. Politicians get trusted even less than that!

 

[Jim Oaks]

I think it takes a lot more thought to put an honest recommendation together for something that you got for free vs something you paid for. Price plays a factor it in too. I think people are more likely to poo poo a $1000 set of tires than a $400 set of tires.

Skyjacker is an interesting example, I was really unhappy with the 6" lift I bought from them in 2009. I bought a set of leaf springs later on that were also not great. Their tech support was pretty rude and short with me both times I needed them. I wouldn't take their products even if they were free... but a lot of others on here have had better luck. I guess it all just depends on who you talk to.

Interesting. I like my 6-inch kit that I put on the 1996 Ranger. My only complaint would be that I don't think I got a full 6-inches of lift on the front of 4.0 extended cab, but I would buy their kit again.