I completely agree Torsten - if a blogger tells me that I should try a wine, I might be inclined to give it a go based on the description.
If I learn that the blogger was flown out to the winery, given a personal tour of the vineyard and cellars, a sumptuous dinner on the terrace and several cases of the product to take back, I might feel a little different about their recommendation.
If I then find the blogger had not bothered to disclose that fact because they had deemed it "too yawn-worthy", I would have serious resevations about their integrity.
I exaggerate to make a point, of course, and in the real world of course, the more likely scenario is simply that they got free entry to an event or a bottle of the stuff to try, but the point remains - the most reliable reviews will indicate whether the product reviewed was bought or a sample.
Needless to say, I always indicate this in my reviews.
In reply to A matter of context by torsten
Agreed
I completely agree Torsten - if a blogger tells me that I should try a wine, I might be inclined to give it a go based on the description.
If I learn that the blogger was flown out to the winery, given a personal tour of the vineyard and cellars, a sumptuous dinner on the terrace and several cases of the product to take back, I might feel a little different about their recommendation.
If I then find the blogger had not bothered to disclose that fact because they had deemed it "too yawn-worthy", I would have serious resevations about their integrity.
I exaggerate to make a point, of course, and in the real world of course, the more likely scenario is simply that they got free entry to an event or a bottle of the stuff to try, but the point remains - the most reliable reviews will indicate whether the product reviewed was bought or a sample.
Needless to say, I always indicate this in my reviews.