Happy to add my $0.02 here, I'm one of the co-founders of Yogi (https://meetyogi.com/), so we play in this space a lot :).
On one end, based on our analysis, Ring is definitely not a high performer when compared with the rest of the smart doorbell market (e.g. Arlo, Nest, eufy, et cetera). While the product does rank highly from a sentiment perspective when it comes to Setup/Installation (amongst the highest in the category), the two biggest negative areas for Ring revolve around the subscription (alluded to in other comments) and connectivity to other devices.
Now that being said, the fact that the product has a lot of 5 star reviews can be attributed to a few different points..
1) Amazon actually has differentiation between "ratings only reviews" and "reviews with text". So if you go to this link (https://www.amazon.ca/Ring-Video-Doorbell-Bronze-2020/produc...) and scroll down a little bit, you'll actually see ~2,700 total ratings but only ~800 with text. For a while now (but especially since the release of Alexa), Amazon has been making it easy for shoppers to quickly leave a "ratings only review". While this does lead to more ratings overall, our data shows that these "ratings only reviews" do tend to raise the average rating of a product quite significantly (its very easy for a user to click 5 stars and not justify their answer). Timing also plays a role, since Amazon often requests a review a few weeks after purchase which may not be enough time for someone to fully experience the product.
2) When Amazon shows a top line rating number on a home page, it's actually a total for all variations of the product on that page. If you navigate to the Amazon link I referenced above, go to the "All formats" filter and select the other option, you'll see that the specific product you're referencing only has a few hundred total ratings and a quick scroll through the most recent reviews will show a pretty poor performance overall (like you were alluding to).
3) Relevant in this case with Amazon as well, they'll also combine international reviews in their top line number. In this case this URL comes from Amazon Canada, but if you navigate through the reviews enough (or scroll far enough down on the main Amazon page for the product), you'll see reviews for other countries mixed in. While our data hasn't shown variation in country playing a huge difference in influencing average star rating (outside of fulfillment issues in a specific country, or bad versions in certain locations), it is still a noteworthy point.
4) This doesn't play as large of a role in this case, but promotional reviews can sometimes influence data as well. Amazon has a program called Amazon Vine where brands can send free products to shoppers in return for an "honest review". While these reviews do tend to have varying star ratings, our data does show that they tend to be more positive than normal reviews (which is to be expected since they come as a fair product).
While some folks have (justifiably) talked about getting inundated from a nefarious seller when they leave a bad review, more "legit" brands like Ring don't usually go with these methods. So that doesn't play as much of a role in this case, versus your Amazon only brands or foreign manufacturers.
Yogi | New York City, NY | ONSITE or REMOTE (in US) | Full Stack Software Engineers
At Yogi (https://www.meetyogi.com), we help companies decipher customer feedback. From surveys and product reviews to tweets and support requests, companies today are inundated with feedback from more sources than ever. Traditional methods of analysis can’t keep up with this ever-increasing volume, squandering the opportunity to make superior data-informed business decisions. That’s where Yogi comes to the rescue.
We’re a passionate and hard-working group of individuals who are driven to not only build a great product, but to have fun doing so. We emphasize getting things done over pulling hours in the office, independence over micro-management, and learning from mistakes over fear of making any. Plus, we’re backed by some of the best VCs and angels in NYC who are fully invested in our vision and team.
If you’re excited about not only working on interesting technology but also playing a huge role in the direction of our company, we want to meet you. We’ve hired from Who’s Hiring before, so you know we love fellow Hacker News readers!
* Our backend stack is primarily Python, React, and PostgreSQL. We run fully on AWS, with a focus on microservice based architecture. Frontend we run on React.
* Benefits and perks: competitive salary and stock options, medical, dental and vision insurance, 401k, gym stipend, generous hardware and software allowance, casual work environment, team-oriented culture, lots of career growth opportunities, and ability to make a tangible impact.
* Reach out via email at gautam [at] meetyogi [dot] com, and mention HN in the subject.
Hey HN,
The team at Yogi has been looking for ways to help out in the fight against Covid-19. Although it’s a drop in the bucket, donating to relevant causes seemed like a good first step and a way to make an immediate impact. We wanted to be data-driven about what causes we contributed to, so we put together this analysis.
We figured exposing it publicly may encourage others to donate as well. Would love your thoughts!
Yogi | New York City, NY | ONSITE | Backend Software Engineers
At Yogi (https://www.meetyogi.com), we help companies decipher customer feedback. From surveys and product reviews to tweets and support requests, companies today are inundated with feedback from more sources than ever. Traditional methods of analysis can’t keep up with this ever-increasing volume, squandering the opportunity to make superior data-informed business decisions. That’s where Yogi comes to the rescue.
We’re a passionate and hard-working group of individuals who are driven to not only build a great product, but to have fun doing so. We emphasize getting things done over pulling hours in the office, independence over micro-management, and learning from mistakes over fear of making any. Plus, we’re backed by some of the best VCs and angels in NYC who are fully invested in our vision and team.
If you’re excited about not only working on interesting technology but also playing a huge role in the direction of our company, we want to meet you. We’ve hired from Who’s Hiring before, so you know we love fellow Hacker News readers!
* Our stack is primarily Python, React, and PostgreSQL. We run fully on AWS, with a focus on microservice based architecture.
* Benefits and perks: competitive salary and stock options, medical, dental and vision insurance, 401k, gym stipend, generous hardware and software allowance, casual work environment, team-oriented culture, lots of career growth opportunities, and ability to make a tangible impact.
* Reach out via email at gautam [at] meetyogi [dot] com, and mention HN in the subject.
Yogi | New York City, NY | ONSITE | Backend Software Engineers
At Yogi, we help companies decipher customer feedback. From surveys and product reviews to tweets and support requests, companies today are inundated with feedback from more sources than ever. Traditional methods of analysis can’t keep up with this ever-increasing volume, squandering the opportunity to make superior data-informed business decisions. That’s where Yogi comes to the rescue.
We’re a passionate and hard-working group of individuals who are driven to not only build a great product, but to have fun doing so. We emphasize getting things done over pulling hours in the office, independence over micro-management, and learning from mistakes over fear of making any. Plus, we’re backed by some of the best VCs and angels in NYC who are fully invested in our vision and team.
If you’re excited about not only working on interesting technology but also playing a huge role in the direction of our company, we want to meet you. We’ve hired from Who’s Hiring before, so you know we love fellow Hacker News readers!
* Our stack is primarily Python, React, and PostgreSQL. We run fully on AWS, with a focus on microservice based architecture.
* Benefits and perks: competitive salary and stock options, medical, dental and vision insurance, 401k, gym stipend, generous hardware and software allowance, casual work environment, team-oriented culture, lots of career growth opportunities, and ability to make a tangible impact.
* Reach out via email at gautam [at] meetyogi [dot] com, and mention HN in the subject.
Yogi | Full-Stack Engineer, Front-End Engineer, and Business Development | New York, NY | Full-time | Onsite | https://www.meetyogi.com
At Yogi, we help companies decipher customer feedback, from ratings and reviews to surveys and support requests. Companies are inundated with feedback, but when it comes to turning this data into actionable business decisions, most companies fall short. That’s where Yogi fits in.
We’re a passionate and hard-working group of individuals who are driven to not only build a great product, but to have fun doing so. We emphasize getting things done over pulling hours in the office, independence over micro-management, and learning from mistakes over fear of making any.
We just closed a seed round last month with some great investors, ranging from top VC firms to billionaire hedge fund owners. So we're ready to grow our team! We are looking to fill engineering and business development roles with folks who are interested in working on interesting technology and playing a huge role in the direction of our company.
Please email me directly for more info (mention HN in the subject): gautam [at] meetyogi [dot] com
On one end, based on our analysis, Ring is definitely not a high performer when compared with the rest of the smart doorbell market (e.g. Arlo, Nest, eufy, et cetera). While the product does rank highly from a sentiment perspective when it comes to Setup/Installation (amongst the highest in the category), the two biggest negative areas for Ring revolve around the subscription (alluded to in other comments) and connectivity to other devices.
Now that being said, the fact that the product has a lot of 5 star reviews can be attributed to a few different points..
1) Amazon actually has differentiation between "ratings only reviews" and "reviews with text". So if you go to this link (https://www.amazon.ca/Ring-Video-Doorbell-Bronze-2020/produc...) and scroll down a little bit, you'll actually see ~2,700 total ratings but only ~800 with text. For a while now (but especially since the release of Alexa), Amazon has been making it easy for shoppers to quickly leave a "ratings only review". While this does lead to more ratings overall, our data shows that these "ratings only reviews" do tend to raise the average rating of a product quite significantly (its very easy for a user to click 5 stars and not justify their answer). Timing also plays a role, since Amazon often requests a review a few weeks after purchase which may not be enough time for someone to fully experience the product.
2) When Amazon shows a top line rating number on a home page, it's actually a total for all variations of the product on that page. If you navigate to the Amazon link I referenced above, go to the "All formats" filter and select the other option, you'll see that the specific product you're referencing only has a few hundred total ratings and a quick scroll through the most recent reviews will show a pretty poor performance overall (like you were alluding to).
3) Relevant in this case with Amazon as well, they'll also combine international reviews in their top line number. In this case this URL comes from Amazon Canada, but if you navigate through the reviews enough (or scroll far enough down on the main Amazon page for the product), you'll see reviews for other countries mixed in. While our data hasn't shown variation in country playing a huge difference in influencing average star rating (outside of fulfillment issues in a specific country, or bad versions in certain locations), it is still a noteworthy point.
4) This doesn't play as large of a role in this case, but promotional reviews can sometimes influence data as well. Amazon has a program called Amazon Vine where brands can send free products to shoppers in return for an "honest review". While these reviews do tend to have varying star ratings, our data does show that they tend to be more positive than normal reviews (which is to be expected since they come as a fair product).
While some folks have (justifiably) talked about getting inundated from a nefarious seller when they leave a bad review, more "legit" brands like Ring don't usually go with these methods. So that doesn't play as much of a role in this case, versus your Amazon only brands or foreign manufacturers.