pintofoptimismQ: Noah, I am a long-time member of the AppSumo community, and I wanted to address a recent concern that has ...
been raised by several members, including myself. It pertains to the practice of using beta testers to artificially inflate product reviews on the platform which you seem to be okay with. Really?
As avid buyers who have supported AppSumo for years, we have come to appreciate the diverse range of products and the honest feedback provided by fellow community members. This feedback helps us make informed decisions about which products to purchase and invest our time and money in.
This recent product launch on AppSumo has raised ethical concerns. The influx of five-star reviews from beta testers who have never made a purchase undermines the trust and authenticity AppSumo has built. You are strangely promoting this behavior.
Here are a few reasons why this is ethically problematic:
Misleading: Allowing beta testers to provide reviews may mislead loyal AppSumo customers. Reviews from genuine users are valuable, but including beta tester reviews creates a false perception of quality. Can you not see how tone deaf your response is?
Manipulation of Ratings: The sudden surge of positive reviews skews the overall rating of the product, making it difficult for community members to accurately gauge its true value. This manipulation can lead to poor purchasing decisions and erode trust in the platform. By allowing this practice, the integrity of the review system is compromised, as it fails to accurately reflect the genuine experiences and opinions of actual AppSumo customers.
Diminished Community Voice: AppSumo has fostered a vibrant community of buyers who actively engage in discussions, provide feedback, and share their experiences. By prioritizing beta testers’ reviews over those of real Appsumo buyers, you risk marginalizing the voices of loyal community members.
Review Stuffing: The practice of allowing beta testers who have made no prior purchases on AppSumo to artificially inflate reviews is unethical. It creates a false sense of hype and popularity during the launch and it looks fake. It may lead to deceptive practices, where errors and shortcomings of the product are overlooked.
Instead, I propose the following steps to address this issue and maintain the integrity of the platform:
Implement and use a verification process to ensure that only genuine summolings can leave product reviews.
Encourage transparency by clearly distinguishing between verified buyers and beta testers in the review section. (which I would still frown upon)
Foster open dialogue with the community by actively addressing concerns and providing regular updates on any changes made to review policies & I kindly request that you reconsider the current policy.
By taking these steps, AppSumo can uphold its commitment to transparency, authenticity, and fairness. It will also strengthen the trust between buyers, sellers, and the platform itself.
We good?
JeremyRedman_TaskMagic
Jun 10, 2025A: Ok - I’ll address this lol. You clearly aren’t that aware that this is our 5th or 6th launch here and you do come across very ill informed on the whole process. And when I’m ill formed I normally don’t talk bc I don’t know what I’m talking about. But that’s just me idk. We’re about 2 years removed from beta testers. Lol. Beta testers aren’t leaving reviews, unless they buy later. I’m sure beta testers are just been around the block customers. Now I do believe and idk how you wouldn’t know about this as such an “AppSumo fan” let’s start with the BASIC…you can only leave a review IF IN FACT YOUVE bought the product. Did you know that? Please dont fill up our page here with your broken heart, uninformed comments and general pessimism. It ruins the experience for others and I’m honestly I just don’t like it. It’s probably you who need to be banned from AppSumo. Not the hard working beta testers who work hard to ensure quality. Stop ruining others joy
Hey you pint of optimism,
Your feedback is super valuable and its why our community has thrived for over a decade - negative or positive.
The whole premise of your review is reliant on the fact you are able to see who left the review, when they joined and how many deals they've bought... meaning - you got the info you wanted!
I'd love to hear of a review platform that's perfect. Amazon is flooded with incentivized reviews (which we try and tackle). Google has a base of early supporters and friends that kick off the businesses' rating. Capterra is all practically incentivized.
It's so difficult to balance the scales of getting people to review and showcasing those that are relevant. But like I mentioned, the very reason you left this comment is because of the transparency of the reviewers' history on AppSumo - and you're welcome to assess the review as you'd like - and you did.
Creating fake profiles for reviews is unethical. But imagine yourself launching a business and wanting to get some traction from your early adopters and not being able to! Sumo-ling... I'd hope you get a landslide of early supporters that showcase you're not a fly by night company and you have a ton of customers that are willing to attach their name to your product. There is weight to that.
At the end of the day, the product will speak for itself. The regular customer base you recognize in these threads will leave their reviews. And our "no matter the reason" refund policy ensures you don't buy a dud. There is little to no risk upon buying if the product doesn't perform to your expectations.
So I challenge you to try the product and leave an honest review of your experience. And I've chatted with this team - they're for real and want to hear your feedback on how to improve. As is the team at AppSumo.
Hope this helps qualm your concern and assure you no games are being played. We're all in this to grow together. So let's grow.
Feel free to email me ([email protected]) if you'd like to jump on a call and chat on how to improve customer trust as that is my #1 priority.
-Olman aka the Prime Minister
Please do not compare with scammers like Amazon. Avg sumolings is smarter than avg Amazon buyer. Best policy is to be 100% honest and avoid deception. Deception is effective solely among demographics with lower IQs.
Very well said.
I have been preaching about this very thing for a loooong time.
It go to the point where I used a previous deal to create a chrome extension that will allow me to color 'Up to x" review AND extend the questions and reviews so I can search properly as AS search box does not always feature the answer.
I literally use it here on Appsumo every day.
If you're in any of the groups, including the saucy one, it's posted with no obligations to make our lives easier and eliminate this type of issue. That goes for anyone.
PS - I didn't even know this was going on, when I saw Noah there I thought it was an Appsumo original.
PPS - This answer is a direct response to a posted reply. Please do not mod it away.
You forgot to mention one thing: how AppSumo censors and prevents critical emails to reach the reviews, arguing some false company policies to cancel bad opinions or feedbacks on a product.
Have in mind that AppSumo depends entirely on investors wanting to offfer their lauching here. Now, more than ever. That's why they are opening their business to "rental" apps (also called subscription apps).
Jeremy. I stand by my comments and the issue with trust and transparency here on Appsumo. Don't shoot the messenger two years later:) You’re clearly passionate, but dismissing valid concerns as “broken heart” and telling others to “stop ruining joy” is dismissive and unhelpful. True joy comes from honest, respectful dialogue, not shutting down feedback.
I have to agree with every word you mentioned, however I believe you better contact Appsumo customer satisfaction department about your experience with how their site/system works, but to post it as a question is some kind weird to me though.