No matter what she buys, Karen Schmidt first looks online to see what others are recommending.
She says, "I bought this pot rack online that I checked the reviews. I bought my daughter's cell phone online that I checked out the reviews."
But Consumer Reports ShopSmart cautions... not all user reviews are objective and independent.
Lisa Lee Freeman with Consumer Reports says, "Believe it or not, many of these reviews are written by employees who are posing as satisfied cutomers."
Lifestyle Lift... a chain of cosmetic surgery clinics was fined $300,000 because its' employees published positive reviews and engaged in deceptive commercial practices.
Freeman says, "Bloggers are another source of suspect reviews. They may be getting freebies or payments from companies to say positive things about their products."
Take the web site izea.com
Freeman adds, "Compensation can come in the form of cash, gift cards, points, products, or services."
The site brags it's gotten a million product mentions online with paid bloggers.
Some warning signs of suspect reviews ... there's no mention of personal experience with the item.
And the reviewer only lists the pros... not the cons.
Also be on the lookout for sponsorship disclosures. But they can be hard to spot find like this one from Coldstone Creamery.
Another suggestion... Don't stop at the first two or three reviews. At least one site.. yelp.com says it moves a positive review to the top spot if the business pays for it.
Bottom line... Be skeptical. Before you buy, check lots of sources.
Consumer Reports says new federal regulations requiring disclosure of financial arrangements is an important step.
But beware with so many bloggers and product reviewers... the new rules will be hard to enforce.