Why is Nutraplanet censoring reviews?

[Rugger]

How come the powers that be at Nutraplanet are censoring reviews? How can I come to a conclusion on a product if I know the negative reviews have been removed from the product page?

I have profound respect for Nutraplanet, especially the customer service, but this has me thinking about going elsewhere.

 

[Iron Lungz]

I agree, Rugger. The arguement that someone made is that the "negative" reviews were lies, but the "positive" reviews are not... I call bullshit on that.

 

[BifWebster]

I think people who work for companies
a) overhype their own products with the reviews
b) talk negatively about competition unjustly

It's obvious with some of the reviews coming out the week a product is launced, but other than that its too hard to really tell

 

[moklepaul]

Don't you have to purchase a product to be able to even write a review? I would agree the negative are just as worthy as the positive.

 

[neoborn]

Is this really happening? I would like an explanation immediately to this from Stryder please, thank you.

Stryder PM'd: 2:54PM EST Today

I vote with my dollars

 

[Iron Lungz]

It has in the past few days with USP asking for them to be removed.

 

[neoborn]

What products are having less than stellar reviews removed?

 

[Steveoph]

What products are having less than stellar reviews removed?

I was aware of an initial Prime review that was removed, but it appears there have been subsequent deletions. I'll try and bring this thread to Sam's attention for an official reply (Better than anything wishy-washy I can give you :hammer

 

[SokVichet]

I saw that one. It was up weeks before the release occurred. If that's the review you are referring to, I agree with the deletion. I also agree that reviews should be placed by those who've purchased the product, but the question is how do you verify/confirm that. You could bounce off of the user's history, which would limit reviews to those who've purchased from NP. Sounds fair to me.

 

[Steveoph]

I saw that one. It was up weeks before the release occurred. If that's the review you are referring to, I agree with the deletion. I also agree that reviews should be placed by those who've purchased the product, but the question is how do you verify/confirm that. You could bounce off of the user's history, which would limit reviews to those who've purchased from NP. Sounds fair to me.

For the old website, that was the policy implemented. It seems on the new site anybody can review a product if they log in, which may be unintended. I'll post when I hear more.

 

[Rugger]

I don't think it was limited to Prime IIRC.

 

[stryder]

As the founder and CEO of NutraPlanet, it has always been my mission to be completely transparent with my customers, and to run my business with absolute integrity and honesty. For those of you who know me personally, or have at least done business with NutraPlanet long enough know that my actions speak for themselves: proof

Regarding the recent events surrounding the alleged censoring of reviews, please allow me to explain before making accusations against my character and business ethics...

First and foremost, we manually read ALL reviews before allowing them to be submitted. This is a decision I personally made when constructing the site to make sure the reviews are credible and not fabricated or used as a spamming tool like other retail sites.

After the review is submitted by the author, we read the review in it's entirety and check to make sure the poster of the review has placed an order with NutraPlanet in the past. I require this to ensure that a spammer didn't create an account just to post a positive review for their company's product. Having said that, I PERSONALLY reviewed the 2 "negative reviews" in mention, and allowed it to be published on our site. Why do you think I did this? To make money...to scam my customers...to be shady? NO! I did this to offer unbiased opinions for our customers so they could make an informed decision on whether or not they want to try this particular product.

Now, the question remains...why were the 2 reviews deleted? This was because one of our board reps contacted us because numerous company reps bombarded him with emails stating that the reviews were fraudulent coming from a competing company. One of our administrative staff deleted the reviews without consulting me first because I was in Washington, DC over the weekend for the Inc 5000 conference and could not be reached.

I want to make it clear to EVERYONE who reads this thread, that NutraPlanet is founded on clear principles and morals...and I have painstakingly created this code of ethics and I require ALL my employees and representatives to adhere to them. I firmly believe that this is what absolutely defines who we are and separates us from every other supplement retailer in this industry.

 

[atjnutrition2]

I have known Sam personally for several years and have had the priviledge to work with him on bringing my product to the market for the past several months. I can tell everyone on here that there is NO more honest or ethical person in this business. I can assure everyone who posts on this board or who has ever purchased a product from Nutraplanet that you will not deal with a company led by a better person than Sam.

 

[neoborn]

As the founder and CEO of NutraPlanet, it has always been my mission to be completely transparent with my customers, and to run my business with absolute integrity and honesty. For those of you who know me personally, or have at least done business with NutraPlanet long enough know that my actions speak for themselves: proof

Regarding the recent events surrounding the alleged censoring of reviews, please allow me to explain before making accusations against my character and business ethics...

First and foremost, we manually read ALL reviews before allowing them to be submitted. This is a decision I personally made when constructing the site to make sure the reviews are credible and not fabricated or used as a spamming tool like other retail sites.

After the review is submitted by the author, we read the review in it's entirety and check to make sure the poster of the review has placed an order with NutraPlanet in the past. I require this to ensure that a spammer didn't create an account just to post a positive review for their company's product. Having said that, I PERSONALLY reviewed the 2 "negative reviews" in mention, and allowed it to be published on our site. Why do you think I did this? To make money...to scam my customers...to be shady? NO! I did this to offer unbiased opinions for our customers so they could make an informed decision on whether or not they want to try this particular product.

Now, the question remains...why were the 2 reviews deleted? This was because one of our board reps contacted us because numerous company reps bombarded him with emails stating that the reviews were fraudulent coming from a competing company. One of our administrative staff deleted the reviews without consulting me first because I was in Washington, DC over the weekend for the Inc 5000 conference and could not be reached.

I want to make it clear to EVERYONE who reads this thread, that NutraPlanet is founded on clear principles and morals...and I have painstakingly created this code of ethics and I require ALL my employees and representatives to adhere to them. I firmly believe that this is what absolutely defines who we are and separates us from every other supplement retailer in this industry.

Thanks Sam. I was sure there was a good reason for this, just didn't want this issue to slip by without being addressed. Thank you.

 

[dsade]

I can vouch for how time-consuming the review err,, review process is.

given the value of the reviews posted, it is extremely important that only real reviews stay on there. When in doubt (especially for very negative reviews) it is always prudent to pull the review while the source is being verified.

I'm sure if the review turns out to be legit, positive or negative, they will be reposted.

 

[Rugger]

As the founder and CEO of NutraPlanet, it has always been my mission to be completely transparent with my customers, and to run my business with absolute integrity and honesty. For those of you who know me personally, or have at least done business with NutraPlanet long enough know that my actions speak for themselves: proof

Regarding the recent events surrounding the alleged censoring of reviews, please allow me to explain before making accusations against my character and business ethics...

First and foremost, we manually read ALL reviews before allowing them to be submitted. This is a decision I personally made when constructing the site to make sure the reviews are credible and not fabricated or used as a spamming tool like other retail sites.

After the review is submitted by the author, we read the review in it's entirety and check to make sure the poster of the review has placed an order with NutraPlanet in the past. I require this to ensure that a spammer didn't create an account just to post a positive review for their company's product. Having said that, I PERSONALLY reviewed the 2 "negative reviews" in mention, and allowed it to be published on our site. Why do you think I did this? To make money...to scam my customers...to be shady? NO! I did this to offer unbiased opinions for our customers so they could make an informed decision on whether or not they want to try this particular product.

Now, the question remains...why were the 2 reviews deleted? This was because one of our board reps contacted us because numerous company reps bombarded him with emails stating that the reviews were fraudulent coming from a competing company. One of our administrative staff deleted the reviews without consulting me first because I was in Washington, DC over the weekend for the Inc 5000 conference and could not be reached.

I want to make it clear to EVERYONE who reads this thread, that NutraPlanet is founded on clear principles and morals...and I have painstakingly created this code of ethics and I require ALL my employees and representatives to adhere to them. I firmly believe that this is what absolutely defines who we are and separates us from every other supplement retailer in this industry.

Thanks Sam. You got me back :chick:

 

[Kristofer68SS]

I certainly hope so....

I think purchasers only should be able to post a review on NP.......GOOD OR BAD...........

Users of the said compound can post there personal opinion on AM.........or anywhere else for that matter.

Thats my 2 cents.

 

[nattydisaster]

sensoring reviews yields worthless

 

[bkprice]

Reviews should only come from people who use the products, not some off hand opinion that waste everyones time.

Those opinions are worthless and the people posting them do it to mislead people, which undermines the entire reason to have a review section.

NP has always been a good company and I am sure they know what it takes to keep it good.

 

[Iron Lungz]

The Prime review that states, "PRIME IS THA BOMB!!!!!!!!" should be taken down for the lack of intelligence and thought.

 

[thesinner]

After seeing what the product reviews bit looked like on an older competator site, I'm sort of glad NP is viewing over them and cutting off the fat.

No one needs to see the usual
"This product sucks. I took it and it didn't work. This stuff is crap."

I mean, it sounds like an 8-year old wrote it. It doesn't really provide any substance or details. I don't feel that's something I need to read. It's kind of an insult to any informed consumer's intelligence.

Then of course there was
"I never took this, but......."

and lastly, the infamous "review fights"
"username_____ is a doesn't know what he's talking about. If _____ didn't work for him, nothing will. It is the greatest supplement ever."

I remember reading a product review one time by a 16-year old, who gave ON Protein a terrible review because it didn't make him stronger. :wtf:

 

[warnerve]

As the founder and CEO of NutraPlanet, it has always been my mission to be completely transparent with my customers, and to run my business with absolute integrity and honesty. For those of you who know me personally, or have at least done business with NutraPlanet long enough know that my actions speak for themselves: proof

Regarding the recent events surrounding the alleged censoring of reviews, please allow me to explain before making accusations against my character and business ethics...

First and foremost, we manually read ALL reviews before allowing them to be submitted. This is a decision I personally made when constructing the site to make sure the reviews are credible and not fabricated or used as a spamming tool like other retail sites.

After the review is submitted by the author, we read the review in it's entirety and check to make sure the poster of the review has placed an order with NutraPlanet in the past. I require this to ensure that a spammer didn't create an account just to post a positive review for their company's product. Having said that, I PERSONALLY reviewed the 2 "negative reviews" in mention, and allowed it to be published on our site. Why do you think I did this? To make money...to scam my customers...to be shady? NO! I did this to offer unbiased opinions for our customers so they could make an informed decision on whether or not they want to try this particular product.

Now, the question remains...why were the 2 reviews deleted? This was because one of our board reps contacted us because numerous company reps bombarded him with emails stating that the reviews were fraudulent coming from a competing company. One of our administrative staff deleted the reviews without consulting me first because I was in Washington, DC over the weekend for the Inc 5000 conference and could not be reached.

I want to make it clear to EVERYONE who reads this thread, that NutraPlanet is founded on clear principles and morals...and I have painstakingly created this code of ethics and I require ALL my employees and representatives to adhere to them. I firmly believe that this is what absolutely defines who we are and separates us from every other supplement retailer in this industry.

very well said sam, just as I anticipated. :goodpost:

 

[RobInKuwait]

sensoring reviews yields worthless

Censoring is not worthless. If there are people posting reviews with malicious intent (sell their products over the one being reviewed) it hurts all who read the review.

Good choice Stryder. I wouldn't give all money to any other store :clap2:

 

[wontdie]

He had me at 'hello'.

Thanks Sam. You got me back :chick:

 

[RoadBlocK]

Wow after everything Nutraplanet has done for this place, the people here, the great deals, the special offers, the outstanding customer service, and the overall positive way the planet handles themselves, with honesty and integrity, now they get called into question.

Some of you guys got some big balls.

Heres a review for ya thats not 'censored'::


Not worth it! By: matthew
Review posted on: Fri Sep 19 09:11:40 -0400 2008
After giving this product a shot, I can honestly say that it is all HYPE. Maybe this review will be taken down because it's negative, which is shady for this site to do, but I encourage you all to read the claims being made. This sounds like it works better than illegal steroids, which is BS. It also states that it is a PH killer, BIG BS claim. Save your money and invest in protein and creatine. USPL is a dishonest company. They are giving free supplements away to people who come here and give positive reviews. If that doesn't tell you something, then nothing will.

How is this even a product review. Seems to me like this guy is attacking the company and not talking about the product at all. Seems like thats going on alot lately.

On a side note, if you base your buying choices on a 4-5 line review posted by an anonymous person on a web page rather than really researching what your going to spend money on, perhaps it would be better to just save up and buy a soloflex instead of buying supplements.

 

[TruffleShuffle]

Whilst Sam and others have done well to describe the situation to us, there is still no mention of what action will be taken.

Personally i would like answers to the following questions:

a: Will it be enforced that only purchasers can review a product?
b: Will there be a sort of 'grace-period' where after a product is launched then no reviews can be added due to a lack of time to test the product?
c: Just as biased negative reviews are deleted, should positive reviews from either company reps, or from users being bribed to post positive reviews, also be deleted?

 

[Hyde12]

I like the Nutra review system. I like the way Nutra runs it because I would hate for it to be like the BN review system where any f*#*tard can say anything or even ask a question (that one really pi$$e$ me off).

 

[poison]

Geez, some of you folks are quick to threaten. 'Yank your business'? C'mon, after years of stellar service giving you what YOU want, that's pretty fast judgment there. Think about it: the hoopla is over USPLabs reviews, Prime specifically. That should be enough detail for you to figure out what's up.


USPLabs, creating Havoc across the intardweb. Wait, no, that's RPN. Um, you know what I mean.

 

[Kristofer68SS]

Whilst Sam and others have done well to describe the situation to us, there is still no mention of what action will be taken.

Personally i would like answers to the following questions:

a: Will it be enforced that only purchasers can review a product?
b: Will there be a sort of 'grace-period' where after a product is launched then no reviews can be added due to a lack of time to test the product?
c: Just as biased negative reviews are deleted, should positive reviews from either company reps, or from users being bribed to post positive reviews, also be deleted?

X2!

especially point a..........it just makes the most sense.......

 

[Mulletsoldier]

I certainly hope so....

I think purchasers only should be able to post a review on NP.......GOOD OR BAD...........

Users of the said compound can post there personal opinion on AM.........or anywhere else for that matter.

Thats my 2 cents.

I believe what Sam has said, is that he verifies that all reviewers have in fact made NP purchases in the past; that way, only purchasers' opinions are being displayed.

I feel all those - as long as they have purchased - should be allowed to post in full.

 

[Kristofer68SS]

I believe what Sam has said, is that he verifies that all reviewers have in fact made NP purchases in the past; that way, only purchasers' opinions are being displayed.

I feel all those - as long as they have purchased - should be allowed to post in full.

thanks mullet............ i thought so, but never got a direct reponse.

This is the only way it should be.......

Ya got to take the good with the bad,,,,,,,,,,,

As with ANYTHING you read...........its only worth the paper its written or typed on........unless you truly trust the source.

 

[Mulletsoldier]

thanks mullet............ i thought so, but never got a direct reponse.

This is the only way it should be.......

Ya got to take the good with the bad,,,,,,,,,,,

As with ANYTHING you read...........its only worth the paper its written or typed on........unless you truly trust the source.

A few months ago, TheMyth and I made a trade: RPM for ReCreate, I believe. At any rate, I wanted to read the reviews on NP to gauge what I should expect. I saw RIDICULOUS reviews such as:

"I took one dose and felt NOTHING. This **** is garbage. I like Hot Rox better!"

Now, that is unfathomably stupid for two reasons; firstly, you cannot judge a product based on one dose; secondly, if the first thing this user conjured was 'Hot Rox' being superior, they obviously did not take the product, or favor 'Hot Rox' a priori of RPM.

What does that type of review add? It gave me absolutely no insight to the product; conversely, a user saying "I just took my first dose of PRIME, I AM JIZACKED BIZATCHES!!" is equally as ridiculous. What insight does that give to a potential customer? In both cases, the review is dismissed as either intentionally slanderous, or intentionally supportive - both beyond the reach of rational expression.

While I probably should not be giving advice to potential negative reviewers: Make your review thoughtful, insightful, and properly worded if you truly wish to boycott a product!

 

[neoborn]

Wow after everything Nutraplanet has done for this place, the people here, the great deals, the special offers, the outstanding customer service, and the overall positive way the planet handles themselves, with honesty and integrity, now they get called into question.

Some of you guys got some big balls.

Geez, some of you folks are quick to threaten. 'Yank your business'? C'mon, after years of stellar service giving you what YOU want, that's pretty fast judgment there. Think about it: the hoopla is over USPLabs reviews, Prime specifically. That should be enough detail for you to figure out what's up.

I know it may seem like a small thing to you guys, but to me its everything. I like to know that the system isn't being corrupted, its up to us, as consumers /users, to keep an eye on things so that they don't get out of hand and to warn others if something is wrong. I believe most here care very much about this community and the board sponsor.

What if this was happening and Stryder didn't know about it, suddenly masses of people leave NP all because some employee was running around with a vendetta etc? Just saying 'what if'.

Personally I have alot of faith in NP and Stryder. I did not once believe that this wouldn't be taken care of successfully, plus its Stryders right to be able to stand up for his company and his customers.

No one is blowing this out of proportion but merely saying "hey here's a problem, why is this happening?" so perhaps give props to the people bringing these problems into the light to be dealt with and resolved.:woohoo:

 

[neoborn]

A few months ago, TheMyth and I made a trade: RPM for ReCreate, I believe. At any rate, I wanted to read the reviews on NP to gauge what I should expect. I saw RIDICULOUS reviews such as:

"I took one dose and felt NOTHING. This **** is garbage. I like Hot Rox better!"

Now, that is unfathomably stupid for two reasons; firstly, you cannot judge a product based on one dose; secondly, if the first thing this user conjured was 'Hot Rox' being superior, they obviously did not take the product, or favor 'Hot Rox' a priori of RPM.

Perhaps a flagging system could be put in place so that people who see these sh!tty reviews can send in an alert for review. Also before going to perform a review the user is give a form page that give specific questions to be answered then a small comment box for additional comments etc. That way, perhaps, people would have a better idea as to what kind of reviews they are looking for.

 

[Mulletsoldier]

Perhaps a flagging system could be put in place so that people who see this sh!tty reviews can send in an alert for review. Also before going to perform a review the user is give a form page that give specific questions to be answered then a small comment box for additional comments etc. That way, perhaps, people would have a better idea as to what kind of reviews they are looking for.

Great concept! Could this be applied, Sam?

If, for example, a consumer decides that his/her $55 is worth more than PRIME, I only wish for them to make that choice based on legitimate assumptions. Corollary to that, I would only want them to make an affirmative choice on PRIME mediated through the same legitimate pathways.

 

[TruffleShuffle]

Great concept! Could this be applied, Sam?

If, for example, a consumer decides that his/her $55 is worth more than PRIME, I only wish for them to make that choice based on legitimate assumptions. Corollary to that, I would only want them to make an affirmative choice on PRIME mediated through the same legitimate pathways.

I would like to take this one step further.

I think that its an excellent idea but there would be a large number of 'taggings' going on and it would take alot of time out of NP's staff.

Therefore i would suggest that NP appoint 'review moderators'. External moderators outside of NP, like forum users, who have the time and inclination to respond to these concerns and maintain and enforcethe review system.

review moderators would be required to agree to a set of terms and conditions which would state that they:

a: Are not a rep for any supplement company, nor have they been for (say) 2 years.
b: Have no affiliations with any supplement company.
c: Will not accept any gratuities from any supplement company.
d: As such, will run no sponsored logs whilst working for NP.

Breach of these rules would result in an immediate loss of privileges and a review of..errr... well reviews, moderated by them.

Now i think very few people would put in the time needed just for fun, so their work incentive could be that they would recive a greater number of/better free samples with their NP orders. Or that they reicive access to a special private discount code to use with their orders.

all in all, it equates to a lesser workload for NP staff, for little to no cost. It also helps to re-affirm public belief in the review system and finally allows for a fast reviewing procedure with several people simply deicated to moderating reviews rather than NP staff having on their 'to-do' list.

 

[verner]

We Will Be reviewing and Upgrading the review system soon. There has been in house discussion as to the best way to go about it, and it will take some time. In my year+ working at nutraplanet I have only had to delete 1 or 2 reviews that were unreadable due to the amount of cursing in it. As someone before said, we do not want the review system to become like BN, although they can be funny to read. I actually want to keep the legitimate sounding reviews from people that did not buy on our website. I hope we will be able to differentiate between customers who have bought the items from us with a simple "This customer brought this item at nutraplanet" tag. This way we can keep the legit sounding ones who did not buy from us, and it is up to the customer to decide which to believe.

 

[strategicmove]

We Will Be reviewing and Upgrading the review system soon. There has been in house discussion as to the best way to go about it, and it will take some time. In my year+ working at nutraplanet I have only had to delete 1 or 2 reviews that were unreadable due to the amount of cursing in it. As someone before said, we do not want the review system to become like BN, although they can be funny to read. I actually want to keep the legitimate sounding reviews from people that did not buy on our website. I hope we will be able to differentiate between customers who have bought the items from us with a simple "This customer brought this item at nutraplanet" tag. This way we can keep the legit sounding ones who did not buy from us, and it is up to the customer to decide which to believe.

Nice post, my friend! Peaceful journey!

 

[warnerve]

the review system is simpler/quicker, but one thing you guys could consider is doing away with the reviews and offering a link and simple instructions for how to do a quick product search here. like i said, review is quicker/easier but a lot less useful than a full review/log and plus this drives up traffic for AM itself. i personally buy a lot of supplements and have never taken even more than a few seconds to read over reviews for products on NP, BN, or any other site; quite simply, they all come across as extremely biased cause they are generally very positive or very negative

 

[Kristofer68SS]

We Will Be reviewing and Upgrading the review system soon. There has been in house discussion as to the best way to go about it, and it will take some time. In my year+ working at nutraplanet I have only had to delete 1 or 2 reviews that were unreadable due to the amount of cursing in it. As someone before said, we do not want the review system to become like BN, although they can be funny to read. I actually want to keep the legitimate sounding reviews from people that did not buy on our website. I hope we will be able to differentiate between customers who have bought the items from us with a simple "This customer brought this item at nutraplanet" tag. This way we can keep the legit sounding ones who did not buy from us, and it is up to the customer to decide which to believe.

I really think one of THE most important aspects of honest user feedback is proof product was purchased.......One method to getting closer to that truth is to verify product purchase cross-referenced to NP account. This will be a claim, few other retailers can make and may even further differentiate NP from the rest.

Regardless of how well a review is articulated, it shouldnt be the basis of it making the cut.......... or should it?..........

My 2 cents.......

I like the concept of a set of standardized questions that must be completed prior to the listing of a review.

 

[mattikus]

We Will Be reviewing and Upgrading the review system soon. There has been in house discussion as to the best way to go about it, and it will take some time. In my year+ working at nutraplanet I have only had to delete 1 or 2 reviews that were unreadable due to the amount of cursing in it. As someone before said, we do not want the review system to become like BN, although they can be funny to read. I actually want to keep the legitimate sounding reviews from people that did not buy on our website. I hope we will be able to differentiate between customers who have bought the items from us with a simple "This customer brought this item at nutraplanet" tag. This way we can keep the legit sounding ones who did not buy from us, and it is up to the customer to decide which to believe.

I think this is a good idea. The customer should always be able to decide what to believe. Funny how some companies like to claim any negative review is from a competitor. If this is true, and it probably is to some degree, then there is a possibility of having just as many b.s. positive reviews. There is really no way to ever be sure of how honest a review could be.

That being said, I have faith in NP and stryder. I don't believe there is any conspiracy going on with the review system here, and would honestly like to see the written review system used more than it is.

 

[Hank Vangut]

i posted this statement in another thread where people were upset we deleted a negative prime review.....

it's fine to post both negative or positive reviews as long as they appear to be legit.

this one was clearly false as USP knows they were not a beta tester and NP knows they did not purchase prime through them.

if you wish to post a phony review.....fine.
just make sure it fools everyone into believing it to be true.

just remember, reviews are only as reliable as those who post them.

 

[Dizmal]

From what I noticed. The bad "reviews" that are no longer there, weren't even reviews. It was more of a spam complaining about the missing "bad" review.

If you have complaints about that, bring it here, into the forum. Not in the review section of the product. That is for reviews of the said product. It is not were complaints about the operation of the site should go to.

It should have been common sense for the nay sayers. Instead of spamming it with even more worthless 1 star "reviews" that said nothing about the product anyway.

 

[Force of Green]

Mullet, check ur PM box.