I think, independent of Amazon, another way to combat fake reviews is to have a modern, social-media-enabled, subscriber/patron-supported "Consumer Reports" review service that:
- doesn't accept free products or endorse any particular brands, and buys products like an individual could
- tests products thoroughly, both short-term and longer-term, including what happens within the warranty period
- reviews big-ticket items frequently enough to stay current
- offers purchasing gotchas and decision tree for selecting a product
- does the math on Total Cost of Ownership, including calculators so someone can plug in their local values (utility costs, taxes, rebates) to make the best decision
- has concise maintenance/operating advice
- starts small and looks for good products within a category
- also seeks out lesser-known, independent manufacturers who stand behind their reputations and products that people might not find on their own
- teardown and grade for repairability like iFixit
- doesn't spew blog articles that are merely copies of press releases
- compare products to those to the past to see the trends in quality, repairability, features and relative cost
The problem is that going into a store, platform or IRL, without trustworthy information leads to more arbitrary decisions. And then when there is a more reliable system for deciding what to buy, it's not that hard to have a browser extension that tags items on various platforms with recommendation badges.
There are various sites that try to present some reviews in particular genres, but the depth and breadth is usually relatively shallow and incomplete. Then there are the zillions of "review" sites that don't actually even test the products and just put manufacturer specs into a grid, and you have no idea if they have undisclosed sponsors, kickbacks or other deals.
Granted, it would be a labor-intensive proposition, so I think the best model would be a worker-owned co-op.
In the UK you have described Which. They've been around for years and getting a "best buy" rating is generally seen as a big deal (certainly it will get you sales).
Their website does have a lot of blogspam type content now, and whether you trust their "experts" is up to you. But for generic household goods, they're probably less biased than the average comparison site.
- doesn't accept free products or endorse any particular brands, and buys products like an individual could
- tests products thoroughly, both short-term and longer-term, including what happens within the warranty period
- reviews big-ticket items frequently enough to stay current
- offers purchasing gotchas and decision tree for selecting a product
- does the math on Total Cost of Ownership, including calculators so someone can plug in their local values (utility costs, taxes, rebates) to make the best decision
- has concise maintenance/operating advice
- starts small and looks for good products within a category
- also seeks out lesser-known, independent manufacturers who stand behind their reputations and products that people might not find on their own
- teardown and grade for repairability like iFixit
- doesn't spew blog articles that are merely copies of press releases
- compare products to those to the past to see the trends in quality, repairability, features and relative cost
The problem is that going into a store, platform or IRL, without trustworthy information leads to more arbitrary decisions. And then when there is a more reliable system for deciding what to buy, it's not that hard to have a browser extension that tags items on various platforms with recommendation badges.
There are various sites that try to present some reviews in particular genres, but the depth and breadth is usually relatively shallow and incomplete. Then there are the zillions of "review" sites that don't actually even test the products and just put manufacturer specs into a grid, and you have no idea if they have undisclosed sponsors, kickbacks or other deals.
Granted, it would be a labor-intensive proposition, so I think the best model would be a worker-owned co-op.