One of the first free toys I received was from Utimi through their testing program. It initially looked like a way to try a toy and have them make changes to create a better product, but after reviewing my first toy with them, I received an email requesting that I change my review on their Amazon listing from 4 stars to 5 stars, or their boss would cut their pay.
That rubbed me the wrong way, since they did pay me $15 to make that review, so it feels as if they are just trying to pay for 5 stars and guilt-trip me to do it with the threat of their boss punishing them if I don’t.
Does anyone else have experience with Utimi? Is this usual? I’m starting to think I don’t want to work with them now due to this.
Yeah, it really caught me off guard! I’d rather give an actual review and not be used to inflate ratings. And the whole boss comment was weird too. Maybe it is the individual behind the email though and not the company as a whole!
I’ll probably do another one and see if the same happens. Scientific process this lol.
Utimi is its own business. They provide free testing in exchange for reviews on their amazon peoduct pages. But it was the begging for 5 stars that makes me cautious.
any company that is offering free toys in exchange for reviews on Amazon is a company I’ll never trust. It’s against Amazon’s TOS and can cost you your Amazon & PayPal accounts if you’re caught.
beyond that, it’s a really unprofessional to ask people to change reviews to be better. What else are they lying about, ya know what I mean?
maybe I’m in the minority here, but even when I’m paid my full review rates, I will never guarantee a brand/product a good review. It’s unfair to consumers to lead them towards buying products that actually suck.
I completely agree with @sydneyscreams4u’s point of view.
Asking reviewers to modify their opinions is really unprofessional. My suggestion to brands is that if they are confident in their product, they should work with more reviewers to create a more diverse and balanced overall set of opinions.
Personally, I believe every product has both pros and cons. As long as the pros outweigh the cons, and the downsides are ones I can accept, I’m comfortable standing behind the product.
maybe the person behind that email is new or not pr trained LOL. that’s a silly thing to say if true