ASRock Giving Rebate Rewards for Newegg Customers Who Leave Verified Reviews

[Raevenlord]

A post is making the rounds on Reddit that calls readers' attention towards the fact that ASRock is giving additional rebates to customers who purchase a qualifying motherboard on Newegg. The fact that a given ASRock motherboard rose from around 10 to upwards of 50 customer reviews in almost no time gave the first warning bell; however, is there really something to be alarmed about?

Mail-in-rebates are something of a given in US stores, and companies can choose what kind of conditions must be met towards a customer being eligible for a mail-in rebate. Sometimes, these are product-oriented. Other times, a minimum expense threshold is defined, after which the customer is entitled to a rebate. ASRock is now adding a rebate solely on the condition that a verified purchaser of one of their motherboards on Newegg comes back to the site to put up a review. A detail that makes or breaks this action: the customers are in no way encouraged to post a positive review. In no way a positive or negative review affects a customer's eligibility. Only whether or not you made a verified purchase, and came back to leave feedback. Whether that is a 1-star rating or a 5-star one doesn't affect your eligibility. I for one think that this is a sound business practice, and that more companies should be doing this, as a way to demonstrate confidence on their products, and attract customer interaction. But don't take my opinion; just give us our own. What do you think of this strategy?



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[Batou1986]

No matter how you slice it this is paid reviews, paid reviews are never good.

 

[Luke51087]

I dont see the issue either, I was too lazy to do it my self, I would only have an issue with it if they rejected giving you money if you gave them a 1 egg.

 

[neatfeatguy]

I only review things if they really suck or if there is an issue that I feel other should be aware of. I rarely spit out reviews that are 5 star, perfect/positive. When I read through reviews on items, I don't read the ones with 5 stars and everything is perfect. I read the 3 and 4 star ones to see what kind of issues people had. Usually the 1 star ones are from DOA material and most other 1 or 2 stars reviews tend, from what I've seen, to be from people who don't know what hell they're doing to begin with.

 

[Luke51087]

I only review things if they really suck or if there is an issue that I feel other should be aware of. I rarely spit out reviews that are 5 star, perfect/positive. When I read through reviews on items, I don't read the ones with 5 stars and everything is perfect. I read the 3 and 4 star ones to see what kind of issues people had. Usually the 1 star ones are from DOA material and most other 1 or 2 stars reviews tend, from what I've seen, to be from people who don't know what hell they're doing to begin with.

Half of the reviews are from people that do not have a clue on anything tech. They do make for fun reading sometimes

 

[RejZoR]

If they also give rebates to 1 star/egg/whatever, I really don't see a problem. If anything, it encourages feedback in a highly visited, central point, which is easier for AsRock to monitor. It's better for them to get feedback from one place than having the need to chase disgruntled customers who are bitching over their products on blogs, forums and social media, scattered all over the internet.

 

[Halo3Addict]

No matter how you slice it this is paid reviews, paid reviews are never good.

I would classify it more as incentive. You get the rebate whether it's a bad review or good one, if I'm reading it correctly.

I should review purchases I make more often. It's time consuming to find quality reviews left by real customers. Most online reviews are one sentence, leaving absolutely no feedback (good or bad). Then there's the obvious users who get paid to leave a beaming reviews about how this product can do no wrong and cook you breakfast.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

No matter how you slice it this is paid reviews, paid reviews are never good.

It would only not be good if it were only for positive reviews. But that isnt the case here. It is just for a review in general that is either good or bad. So there isnt anything wrong with it.

 

[Hood]

The main problem with this is - rebates suck, and I never try to redeem them, because often they are denied even though you jumped through all the required hoops. They also always require you to cut out the UPC from the box, making returns impossible. Rebates are also always dated, and run out within a few days, so you must destroy the box and send it off right away, before having a chance to thoroughly test the hardware. Better to ignore rebates when making purchase decisions.

 

[ZoneDymo]

No matter how you slice it this is paid reviews, paid reviews are never good.

You mean like any professional reviewer?

 

[silentbogo]

No matter how you slice it this is paid reviews, paid reviews are never good.

It did not say anything about "only positive" reviews.
This is a simple publicity tactics, in which people are more prone to buy goods with more info, more ratings, more reviews.
E.g. it is more likely to see a person buy something with 1000+ ratings of 4/5 than 50 ratings of 5/5.
One of my local internet stores always has promos like that from MSI, ASUS, Lenovo etc.

 

[Gasaraki]

Don't see an issue. If they credit me some money to write a review, any review, I don't see an issue.

 

[cadaveca]

You mean like any professional reviewer?

Wait WHUT?!? There are "PRO" reviewers?


I'm gobsmacked.


Personally, I know that ASRock will use the information they get from this program, or they'd not have a budget assigned to it. I think it's great.

 

[HTC]

I'm still waiting for AsRock AM4 boards to arrive in Portugal ...

Still unavailable: only MSI, ASUS and Gigabyte boards available, and it's been 3 and a half months since launch

 

[R-T-B]

No matter how you slice it this is paid reviews, paid reviews are never good.

I don't know, if they don't pressure you to review positive/negatively, I don't see a real issue.

 

[ironwolf]

They have been doing this for a while. I noticed it a few months ago and did a big smh but didn't think it was a huge deal.

 

[rtwjunkie]

No matter how you slice it this is paid reviews, paid reviews are never good.

Actually, nothing gets paid if past ASRock reviews are any indication. For years I have seen hundreds of negative reviews on Newegg about their slowness or inability to actually provide rebates.

As to reviews, I actually review products I buy from them about 50% of the time, both good and bad. AsRock has always been pretty good at having representatives assigned to respond to reviews.

 

[neatfeatguy]

The main problem with this is - rebates suck, and I never try to redeem them, because often they are denied even though you jumped through all the required hoops. They also always require you to cut out the UPC from the box, making returns impossible. Rebates are also always dated, and run out within a few days, so you must destroy the box and send it off right away, before having a chance to thoroughly test the hardware. Better to ignore rebates when making purchase decisions.

I don't use many rebates, but all that I have, I have never not had one go through.

 

[Nkd]

Absolutely nothing wrong with it. I rarely ever go in and review if my experience is good. Its in human nature to burst out when there is a complain. I am guilty of it and there are certainly hell of a lot more people like me. I can not recall leaving a review for a positive experience. No need to waste time type of mentality. Yes I am guilty, if a brand paid me to leave a review regardless of my experience I would definitely do it 100% of the time as an incentive. I think this is a good move.

 

[Basard]

I'd go Brett Farve on ASRock for a rebate.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

With key words like "discounts", "rebates", "Incentives", and "Reviews" end up all in one sentence, it usually means there is some form of cash changing hands. If that some form of cash is in your favor, you have just been paid and are now expected to do something in return for that cash. You may not be "forced" to do anything, but you are still expected to, .. turn a trick.., for that favor.

It may be morally Ok to do what ASRock is doing with this, idk about ethical, but I will say this is not the first time some company has used this kind of twist to gain reputation.

 

[Arjai]

I see nothing wrong with this. They mention up front it can be good or bad, rebate for both. If they have not been getting enough feedback, this is definitely one way to get it.

Lot's of other companies use incentives for customers to report back. Often, companies will give out things for free, if you will write about their product. There are websites devoted to this "KIND" of thing.

Unlike those web sites this seems more legit, and I don't see the HARD connection of being PAID to review. That is more sinister than this, to me.

2cents.

 

[Caring1]

Great idea, it encourages more people to leave a review, not just those disgruntled customers that look for somewhere to vent.
I tend to leave reviews regardless of how satisfied I am with the product, and give my honest opinion, this will make my purchases an easier decision if I can save more.

 

[Relayer]

Considering that most people don't write about positive experiences but only the bad ones, I think it's genius.

It has the added benefit of making your product more competitive price wise. Seeing as how they give it equally for good and bad reviews, how can anyone claim they are "buying reviews"?

Whoever came up with this at ASRock deserves a raise.

 

[uuuaaaaaa]

I'm still waiting for AsRock AM4 boards to arrive in Portugal ...

Still unavailable: only MSI, ASUS and Gigabyte boards available, and it's been 3 and a half months since launch

There are AsRock boards over here! You can find almost all stack up to the Taichi and its Fatal1ty twin!