I have been thinking about the review problem for a long time and while I think I have a practicable solution, I am not sure if there is any money to be made. If truthful reviews cost more than fake ones is there anyone out there to willing to pay the extra cost? Customers don't appear to want to pay anything nor sellers.
Consumers will pay for reviews they believe are truthful, like Consumer Reports.
But it's far more lucrative for sellers to pay for fake reviews, e.g. celebrity endporsements, magazine articles, youtube videos etc.
So much content out there is just lying about products for sale that I think a for-profit model for honest reviews will inevitably decide to open itself up to fake reviews or paid content. The pressure to do so is just to great and the rewards are hard to turn down.
Are you sure consumers will actually pay? Assuming Consumer Reports is truthful, what percentage of consumers actually pay for it?
My solution actually can't be opened to fake reviews, but it is expensive and I haven't been able to find a work around for that. Unfortunately quality costs.
Anyone got any thoughts?