"Do Blog Reviews Sway You Into Buying Figures?" Topic

At times a link to a blog review about a product that I have some sort of passing interest in will result in a purchase of said product. Do blog reviews help sway you into a purchase, needed or otherwise?

Not really. I don't follow blogs.

Not really, no.

Probably not, but I always like to see shiny new toys.

Not usually but sometimes…

If the pics are clear and representative it can be a contributing, even decisive, factor. I'm unmoved by words alone on this.

Rarely.

"Sway" probably not but certainly influence/inform to a degree.

Yes. Particularly those that show me something I've never seen before or perhaps show size comparisons, or give details of pack contents, etc.

OTOH, "podcasts" and video reviews I find almost useless as I never have sound "ON" on any of my devices and I am not going to bother turning it on just to hear somebody blather on about something. I just don't have the time.

Occasionally I will find something in a blog post that will make me go "ooooh I want!', and with the right info, will get it.

I've done a few figure reviews, etc, that I hoped have helped others to make decisions on some figures.

Often I will google for reviews or painted examples of something if I am on the fence about a purchase. But never have I read a review and impulse purchased an item

No. Mostly it's game requirements. If you want to get me to buy a figure not already on the agenda--and not many are, these days--you have to actually put the figure in front of me, so all I have to do is give someone money.

Fortunately, dealers are almost criminally incompetent at this.

If I happen to see the blog…
If it is a manufacturer or range I was unaware of…
If it is something I have a pressing need or desire for…
If it can't be made by my 3D printing friend…

Then, yes.

No

Occasionally, Yes indeed. Especially if there are size comparisons to other ranges included so I can get an idea of compatibility.

Absolutely. Whenever i get an interest in a new period (i.e. all the time) I google around to find all manufacturers in the relevant scale. Any blogs doing reviews or comparisons are checked out so that I can make a more informed choice.

What Iztvan said. And being an ADD gamer, sometimes a well crafted AAR blog or "how to" (paint, terrain, etc.) can get me interested in a genre .

Sure do. I find it very helpful when blogs do reviews and such. Gives me more information.

If by review you mean painted up, then yes.

In fact, the more I like a figure with an "average" paint job, the more likely I'll search them out for my own limited talents

Yes, they do, if they have decent photo's, and a good write-up on the products. Of course, this only applies to products I really think I can use in my games.

One critical thing I need to see, somewhere, before I will buy a product, is the actual size of the models. "Scale" is meaningless, as is a statement as to size ("28mm", for example). Every line, it seems, is suffering from scale creep, or scale drift. I need to know exactly how tall the figures are, before I can determine whether or not they will work for me. The only way I can make that determination, is with a ruler next to the figures! Comparing them to other figures, is meaningless, as I have no idea how tall the other figures are, either!

If the figures are useful to me, and the blog shows them next to a ruler, I can easily be swayed by the blogger's posts. I generally learn more about figures from bloggers, than I do their manufacturer's official sites -- the makers seem to have an aversion to putting a ruler in the figure photo's… Cheers!

No. I almost never buy a miniature unless I can see the physical object. The exception would be eBay purchases of miniatures in a range that I already own.

It's a yes for me. A good blog review by somebody independent of the industry usually means that the writer has stumped up their own money for the product and in my eyes are more likely to be honest about the figures or game looked at.

I find blog reviews of rules very helpful indeed, a good write up will often include a snapshot of the mechanics of the game, so often today rule books are stuffed full of pictures of nice figures with a rules section 4 pages long and cost 30 quid plus, great for helping my mind up.

They can also point me to obscure figure ranges I never heard of, the recent Steel Fist 28mm Italian Wars were alerted to me by this method (gorgeous but eyewateringly expensive).

Regards Ken
yarkshiregamer.blogspot.co.uk

No. Unless I know someone well their review count for little as an opinion is wholly subjective.i've read fishing reviews of things I wouldn't touch.

No.

Nope …