Once people are not being objective, all you have left are commercial reviews. If your objectivity is being clouded by financial considerations- be that actual payment or free gear- than I think you have crossed the line.
And when I said “you” I did not specifically mean PilotDog, I meant anybody.
Take everything with a grain of salt , especially on the Internet. Nobody is completely neutral. It doesn’t matter who posted the review, I look at the pictures and specs way more than what they said. When it stops being fun, those people with the nice cameras stop posting reviews and we have less information to go around
I haven’t read all 3 pages but I wanted to add something…
Just a couple days ago Amazon had their “prime day” and there was this SAMSUNG 55” curved LED 4K UHD TV for just $650. It was a new item and immediately just after being released about 10 reviews showed up all of them 4 or 5 stars, fake obviously as no one could’ve own this product yet. People noticed this and started posting 1-stars reviews to complain about the fakery. Most of the negative reviews were deleted and more fake ones were added later to increase the score. By that time the item had 2.5 stars and now it has 4.5.
Did Amazon or samsung submitted the fake reviews?
See it here: Amazon.com
The review business is growing at an alarming fast rate, mainly because it has now become the deciding factor between buying or not, most of the times when I buy something from Amazon I don’t even bother reading the specs when an item has less than 4 stars, probably those stars are from fake reviews and I know that, but somehow they still manipulate me as a consumer and I will always go for the item with highest rating.
Everything revolves around money and fake review is the new advertising!
Lol review wars
No you’re right and it is tricky
I try to look past the stars but when it has 1 or 2 and a larger nbber of ratings I still skip it, 3 I skim through comments, no comments and it has no value whatever rating was given. But still yes it affects buying especially with a lot of options.
Yes all reviews need to have disclosure if the light was free/discounted for review.
But getting paid outright for doing reviews? I’ve never seen any reviewer state that! Although many reviews here are so detailed and technical I think the reviewer should be paid, but the strange thing is if they said they were I would probably be suspect! 
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Listing the cons in a review not only helps prospective buyers but can also help the Mfg or supplier:
If reviewers are given a product for free (or discounted) and also list the negative aspects (cons) of it in the their reviews, the Mfg. or seller shouldn’t exclude those reviewers from receiving products for future reviews, because it could help the company to fix problems or do better in future products. (if it’s a reputable company that cares)
If reviewing for a dealer/online shop it may help them to decide if they should continue to stock the model/brand or not.
It’s OK for reviews to be both objective and subjective (I believe most most are) a combination of a “description” and the reviewers “opinion”, which may be different from another buyers opinion.
+1 A valid point and very true.
I agree. You should say if a light or knife was provided for free or not. I do in my reviews, and I also disclose when I paid for the product myself. I don’t think there’s much of a difference in my reviews between stuff I get for free or not. I’ve had manufacturers upset about me for some rather innocuous opinions and on the flipside one or two trolls mad at me for another review. One review was just a loaner light that I paid to ship back. Anyway, I pride myself on being fairly neutral with my reviews- and honestly I think most of my subscribers appreciate this. My videos take a ton of time… and I do it because I like gear and I think it’s a useful service. In fact, it’s a form of entertainment for a lot of people- so I keep that in mind too.
The amount of free stuff I have got pales into comparison to the time I’ve sunk into the videos, and the thousands of dollars I’ve spent on camera, sound, and lighting equipment. I look at free stuff as $5 or $20 or $100 worth of things I don’t have to pay in addition to everything else that goes into making them. I’ve found that some Youtubers can get a steady income flowing with enough subscribers and views, and I’m working toward that goal of being my own boss and playing by my own rules.
Let’s look at it this way. A “free” $15 knife takes me approximately 5-10 hours of my free time to review. A free flashlight no matter the cost takes me 10-20 hours to review.
Thanks man! I have nothing to hide and will answer any question about my reviews honestly. A long time ago I had a dream of being a filmmaker, but now that I’m older and have settled down, these videos give me a creative outlet that I haven’t had for a while. Right now Google pays me because of ad sense, and that’s about it. I buy things that I think will make good reviews and accept donations that I also think will make good reviews. It’s a combination of two hobbies I have- outdoor gear and making entertaining videos. I literally spend all of my free time doing it. When I’m not working or spending time with my wife and new child. I am in some form or fashion working on videos.
And I won’t forget BLF… this place got me into another aspect of my hobbies. I am on this website more than just about any other- maybe Youtube and Reddit a little more. Thanks for the kind words!
Yes, I love watching most of your video reviews, even though I usually have zero interest in the product (especially knives). I view them for entertainment, which you’re great at. Oh, and the information is pretty good too. 
You see topic starter, most if not all do it as wished for? Another confirmation by Mhanlen, spot on!
EDITED OUT a piece of text addressing the negative things can said. It is very hardnot to address the B$ but BLF is a friendly place so I wish not to engage in pointless arguments.
Hello, please carefully review the BLF Rules and the information about arguing and usage of the Rude! button. Taunting others to click your Rude! button is tantamount to asking me to permanently ban your account.
Jerry Jerry!!!
> getting paid for reviews
Someone mention movies?
It’s like those mail order pharmacy sites and the ones promising to “expand your mail ego” — there are always more out there popping up.
https://www.google.com/search?q=paid+for+posting+reviews
In the US, the FTC goes after the biggest pockets and the ones where complaints come in.
In other news, actual real water-snake oil was and is a legitimate [Chinese] medical treatment — it was the counterfeiters who ruined the product’s reputation.
I’ll be happy to just do this full time instead of a regular job. Don’t know if it’ll happen or not, but maybe.
That’s what I go for. I hope I pack enough stuff into them to keep people interested. Song and movie references, jokes, something interesting to look at… I kind of throw a lot of things in there and hope it keeps things moving along.
Man you make funny yet informative videos
We watched your G700 video several times with the whole family and even my wife not knowing much about flashlights liked it.
you make quality and here in this topic show (again) the correct ethics and down to earth mentality.
So yeah sure the channel will grow!
Oh yes, reading this post reminded me of something:
Several years ago I got into a conversation with a female cousin-in-law and as usual, some small talk were made as what is she was up to lately.
She talked about working at home, getting paid about posting a review about TVs, sold online by a dominant on-line only store. I didn’t bother to ask who pays her, the manufacturer or the on-line marketer.
I wondered how on earth can she properly review the latest TV when:
1. Sending to her the TV itself for review would cost perhaps as much as the TV itself.
2. How on earth can she possibly give a ‘proper’ because I know, and she knows, that she is not qualified to do so.
Making the story short, her answer was simple: She just reads some of the reviews made by the others, copy/paste the specs of the manufacturer, then changes some of the subjective observations by the others to some synonymous terms generally used by reviewers, and viola, a new review!
OK, I did as requested, with the exception of threads that you started, since they contain other users’ posts.
the biggest issue i have with seller provided samples is the high probability of being sent a “golden sample”
which will not likely represent what the average buyer will receive.
these things should be stealth purchased and shipped to whoever is doing the review.when i think of getting an item to test it usually gets purchased at retail.if not i conspire with my wide web of friends to act as a purchasing agent.bypassing golden samples.
and i see far too much whining about folks benefiting from the free samples.
my time is always worth more than these trinkets.many others who do reviews are the same.
most of what i report here was for my own use or items we are thinking of stocking for the vape guys that come in the shop.
i simply dont want potentially deadly junk on my shelf!
you guys just get the benefit of my research.
thanks a lot! I’m glad people get enjoyment out of them- it means a lot!
the link to that video should be posted everywhere those lights are discussed.
instant classic!