80 new ratings in 1 day
Discussion started by zabotlama
Hi,
Such interesting thing happened to me. I woke up. Open CGT and see more than 80 new customers ratings (everything from old sales and of course from different buyers). So suddenly I have 90 ratings in my profile - not complaining. :-D
Is it some mistake or Is it some new CGT feature that every sale from selling history had been automatically converted into Positive rating?
Answers
1
Some or a lot of those are ratings automatically created by cgtrader on purchases that were made some time ago and no reviewed yet.
As a buyer this sucks big time, because (a) now I have "positive" ratings associated with my nick that I never gave and (b) how can I trust a "positive" rating at face value?
If I were a seller/creator I would be skeptical of any review that does not contain appropriate text explaining the review (i.e. just a positive rating without any context/explanation). Although, with AI advances, it's probably just a matter of time until cgtrader can/will also create "fake" positive reviews with "text".
I understand your concerns. It also exposes sellers history and everybody (also other sellers) now can see how many times every model had been sold. In other words it makes sellings statistics public.
in 99% of cases when everything is good, buyers forget to leave a review
It's not a bug. I contacted cgtrader support and they informed me as follows:
"To improve model visibility and support our sellers and buyers, we've initiated a process where we automatically assign positive ratings to models that have been purchased and haven't received negative reviews within a specified period. This initiative boosts the search rankings and visibility of models, helping sellers gain more exposure and buyers make informed decisions."
0
As a buyer, I somehow don't feel "more informed".
0
@lasthawk
Even if that is the case, why would cgtrader then force a review?
Maybe a buyer does not want to review a product for reasons of their own (not just forgetfulness). Some products I buy and never bother to even download because the intended use did not materialize or I found a better alternative. Especially during 70%-off sales, I usually get assets that I "might" need or have a use for at some time in the future. 75+% of my purchases are still waiting for that day and until I actually checked/tried an asset, I'm not going to review it, even if that takes years or never happens.
Also, some of the automatic reviews are for products that are no longer even available here on cgtrader. So what is the point in that?
So, does the seller have to wait for years until you have the time or desire to leave a review?)
-2
@lasthawk
Yes, exactly. Having to do a review was not part of the purchase process; the seller got their money from cgtrader (I assume) and a review is an extra that should not be mandatory. If I was "forced" to give a review, it might not be "positive". Most of the stuff that I purchase that I don't like or has issues that the seller can't or won't fix, I am not even going to bother reviewing; getting my money back is not worth the hassle for an item that was less than 10 USD or so.
Given the choice: Do you think most sellers would prefer to (a) make the sale and either not get a review or have to wait for it for a long time or (b) not make the sale in the first place?
3
Hi everyone! :)
We recently introduced automatic positive ratings for models that were purchased but not reviewed, aiming to enhance model visibility and support our sellers by increasing the likelihood of their models being discovered and purchased.
This initiative was primarily designed to enhance our visibility in Google search results, significantly boosting our SEO and driving increased traffic and engagement on the platform. Additionally, it aimed to improve the shopping experience for buyers by providing more insights into the quality and popularity of models.
However, we've noted your concerns about the sudden increase in ratings. Consequently, we're temporarily removing the assigned ratings and pausing this initiative. We're dedicated to refining our approach and developing a solution that reflects your valuable input.
We aim to revisit and potentially reintroduce this feature, ensuring it meets the needs and expectations of our community. Your feedback is vital, and we thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Thank you for your patience and for being an integral part of our community.
Hi Judita, sellers are complaining that new models are not visible and the old models are unfairly being promoted to the top of the search results. How your newest invention will help to address that serious issue? It looks like we should forget about idea to create anything new and publish to cgtrader, cause it won't have a chance to sell anyways.
How about the "initiative" to fix the search engine first?
Uploading new assets is pretty much pointless at this moment.
0
@lasthawk
I'm not sure why it is any concern of yours what I will do or won't do, but let me say that I will probably have to give this whole thing some more thought. Anyway, I don't like people making up my mind for me or associating me (or rather my account name) with "opinions" that I may nor may not share, but never stated.
BTW: As a seller, do you appreciate getting "automatic positive reviews" on "old stuff" (most of the assets that got reviewed automatically today, I purchased 6 or 7 years ago) that don't really mean anything?
I'll tell you a short story. I haven't been able to buy anything here for over a year. Because... a bug. So problems like automatic reviews are simply ridiculous to me ._.
0
@lasthawk
You sell here, but you can't buy here? And cgtrader support cannot solve that problem?
Well, I do buy here, and have for several years to the tune of thousands of dollars each year (over a 1,000 assets in total so far), so yeah, I do care about this issue; I don't want to see the entire list "published" one day via "automatic review".
I will say this... that's just one of the problems xD
You're lucky if that's a problem for you.
2
I'm with @3d-noob and @LemonadeCG on this one. I understand the SEO point of view, but this is not the way. Delving too much into SEO can dehumanize and erode the market in time. This feels like cheating and search engines may bite, but customers see this is not right and their trust is more important.
0
As already said here this can have an impact on the value of the review itself but the models that need to be boosted are the models uploaded last year and being uploaded now, for me i think i mainly had positive reviews for the models uploaded in 2019 and 2020 which are already relatively doing well and relatively visible compared to last year and new models
-3
90% of all customers forget or have no interest in reviewing the product they have bought because they are too busy with their own project or for other reasons.
I don't think it's a bad thing if older models get a positive review 2 or 3 years after the sale.
No negative review is basically a positive review, somehow :)
"No negative review is basically a positive review" - not always. When I buy something I often prefer not to leave review, than leave a 3 star rating, because the model had some mistakes which I have to fix. Customers usually leave reviews only if they are extremely annoyed or very very happy.
Totally agree @trimitek.
Oh top designer :D
hum3d
Weekly reputation: 14k
Models: 0
They still don't come via artstation
5
If SEO was the goal, why would the models (at least the automatic reviews I'm aware of) be (a) "old" (i.e. purchased around 7 years ago which means at least available for that long) and (b) several actually no longer available on cgtrader?
Also, for me it is also an issue of consent (in addition to the other problems, such as degrading the rating system). I did not consent to have my account linked to automated reviews, as far as I'm concerned this a breach of trust. If cgtrader introduced such a system and the buyer had the option to opt in (default should me "out"), then it would be a different thing. Personally, I would still prefer to make a case-by-case decision on whether and how to review, but at least an opt-in system would be an improvement over what happened today.
cgtrader should consider introducing an x out 5 stars system for a more gradual rating; at least I would then be more willing to review assets with which I'm neither, as trimitek put it, "extremely annoyed or very very happy".
With regard to posting actual negative reviews: I had at least one negative review (complete with explanation why the product was poor) deleted by cgtrader without explanation from them.
Also, as a buyer you have to explain a negative review but not a positive one. Both of these aspects tend to skew the ratings towards positive.
0
cgtrader already asks buyers to review their purchases via e-mail but that is shortly after the purchase (i.e. the same or next day). AFAIK there is currently no system to remind people to review specific assets purchased some time ago.
Also, personally I would not appreciate being reminded for every single item, perhaps multiple times, because that would sort of "flood" my e-mail account. What is more, if I got the feeling of being "hassled" by cgtrader for not reviewing any item in a timely manner, I'd probably find it difficult to not let my frustration influence the review and that would be unfair to the respective creator.
Most people who "consume" a product (e.g. purchase a 3D asset, watch a video on YouTube or buy physical products online) will not provide feedback of any kind. It is just the way it is, and something you just have to live with as a 3D creator, YouTuber, or online merchant.
2
As a creator, I understand why some do not like what @3d-noob states, but it is true. My experience confirms it and like it or not this is the human nature.
I believe part of the problem is that from the customer perspective this is a waste of time - he does not get anything in return for that effort at that moment.
If he was really happy with the model he may take the time to rate and comment, but otherwise it's more hassle free to just skip.
What comes to mind for improving this:
1. I believe the 'same or next day' reminder is too soon and may feel like hassling for the customer in some cases, he may not even have had the time to open and test the model yet. I think maybe a week will be a better option.
2. Make the rating process as easy and hassle free as possible - minimal number of steps - a dropdown menu with prefilled text for the most common comments with a few variations so it doesn't look all the same (most of the customers comments are almost the same anyway). Saving the customer the time to type can make the difference in some cases.
3. Giving the customer some kind of reward for leaving a rating - it can be symbolic - a badge (for a trusted rater for example or something similar. It can have tiers with some kind of benefits) or a small discount for a future purchases, just something that will make it from a hassle to something that may worth the time doing
I believe some of you can give more ideas, so we help CGT make the process better for all of us.
0
My personal opinion (as a seller) is that it absolutely does not matter. I do not observe that models which received positive rating would be sold more or models with negative less. It is also very individual. Somebody needs precise model and gives negative rating because of small issue and other can be satisfied with model of lower quality.
Also when other marketplace completely closed rating system it also brought any change.
As Lemonade already said main problem is with unvisible newly published models. This will not be solved by any rating system.
So we can discuss how to "force" buyers ro rate but I do not see no any significant benefit from it.
Unfortunately CGT is in recent months practically dead for me (for example only $20 earnings this month so far). So it is like discuss on sinking boat wheater the color should be blue or green.
There must be done something else - rating system is not the main issue right now. And even if it increased sales for example by 10% it would still mean nothing for me.
I agree with that. I personally took a big blow after the search engine change in April last year and had extremely low (several months even 0) sales for a almost a year. Lately it's looks like sales might go back to their previous average level though, so maybe there is hope (or it's just blind luck). I do not upload new models though and don't think I will anytime soon, because sales are nowhere near as they were several years ago and it's not worth the time creating at the current market prices.
Interesting experience. I personally did not have any 0 sales month in recent 5 and half years (last zero month was december 2018 with much more smaller portfolio compared with 2024). And also observed decline in sales after the search algorithm change. But it was still "only" decline and in autumn 2023 I was able to earn $200 monthly. Now it is not only decline but total death and absolute apokalypse. I can be "happy" if I will reach $50 which is nothing for me.
0
@trimitek
It's not like I don't review products. In fact, there are a few long (perhaps too long) and detailed reviews on my profile page, which may include suggestions for the creator(s) and heads-ups for buyers, such as those of 2024-02-08 and 2023-02-01 (Shuttle Atlantis). However, models that I review extensively tend to be in the 100+ dollar price range; for assets that are 10 USD or less, I'm much less likely to got to that length in terms of reviewing the item. ;-)
I completely understand. My suggestions were more targeted to the general customers that usually care a lot less.
0
However few they are, I value honest review of a real person, it’s already hard enough to believe anything these day’s.
And to be honest, I almost never review something myself, unless the product is so superb I feel need to express my congratulations. I like to think others do the same with regard to my work.
Anyways, apart form that, making barrier to review as low as possible can never hurt, in favor for quirk reminder mail few days after purchase, with some “how would you rate this model” and 0 to 10 scale click bar and some text window to leave a comment below it.
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