I called that "5-minute rule" for online reviews a joke until my $40 coffee grinder died in 3 weeks
Last month I bought a $40 burr grinder off a site with mostly 5-star reviews, and about 20 of them said the same thing: "works great, buy it." I almost skipped the one-star reviews like I usually do, since I figured those were just angry people. But I read them anyway, and three separate people said the motor burned out right around the 3-week mark, which is exactly what happened to mine. That got me curious, so I went back and looked at the 5-star posts, and half of them were posted on the same two days with the same odd phrasing. I felt dumb for not checking sooner. Now I sort by newest and read the worst reviews first before I buy anything over $30. Does anyone else have a rule for spotting reviews that seem planted, or is it just me being paranoid now?