This is a bit worrying and annoying at the same time.

[#1]

I bought from Amazon a new Blood Sugar meter for myself as I could no longer get the strips for my old one at a reasonable cost.

On putting the rubbish in the bin I checked the Jiffy bag in which it arrived only to find a small leaflet offering me a years free supply of Test strips and Lancets for a positive review.

The one I chose didn’t have many reviews but was rated with 4.5 stars. Now I’m left wondering how many of those reviews are biased based on this free offer!

Can't trust anything these days.

[#2]

There was a report in The Guardian about this last month (quoting the Which consumer group).

[#3]

At one time Amazon actually gave certain goods free to regular purchasers providing they gave feedback on the product.

In all fairness these reviews which always seemed favourable did include a sentence a the end to say the item had been provided free but if you get something free surely you will give a good review in order to get more items free.

Fortunately Amazon has stopped this practice but they are in business to make as much money as possible so more good reviews equals more profit.

The only good news is that most items can be returned within 30 days.........but there have been cases where Amazon have closed the accounts of customers who have returned too many items.

[#4]

I registered with Argos purely in order to post a review, only to discover that you had to be invited by Argos to review one of their products.

[#5]

You should be able to obtain (free in the UK ?) Control Solution for your meter, which test the meter.

Control solution is a glucose solution that manufacturers produce with a set amount of glucose.

They calibrate the control solution with the meter so you can only use control solution with its own brand of meter, just like test strips.

[#6]

@ffox I did see a similar article regarding the reviews but the product I purchased only had a dozen as it was the newest release of the product but how many, if any, were biased, I guess I’ll never know.

@gleneagles I can understand some products being given away by the vendor for reviews that makes commercial sense and I have seen some reviews on Amazon where this has been declared, but not as many as there used to be. Or I'm just looking at the wrong products.

@Jonpe When I bought my bookcases a while back I was emailed by Dunelm with an offer where I had the chance of winning £250 if provided a review, I’d be entered in to a competition. But Argos are being a bit elitist don’t think?

Good idea about the control solution @Anonymous I’ll see if I can get some.

[#7]

@Anonymous, definitely get some control solution. When I was first diagnosed with T2 at the beginning of the year, being proactive I bought a test meter off Amazon. 2 weeks later the GP supplied one with strips and test solution. The one supplied by the GP comes out to being 0.1 of what it should read. The other meter when tested was 3.5 out. Gives one an idea how accurate these meters are.

[#8]

Thankfully I am not diabetic, I only bought this as part of my grand plan.

It is my intention to live forever or at least die trying so I am using this, my blood pressure and oxygen meters to keep one step ahead.

[#9]

Good luck with that idea. Being in hospital, I'm not so sure I want to live to a ripe old age. One man here, 94, bedridden, on oxygen etc etc. Not my idea of living. The family generally tend to peg out around 82yrs, with or without all these health gadgets.

[#10]

It is a joke @idonno, but I agree with you that is certainly not my idea of living he's only existing.

[#11]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thankfully I am not diabetic, I only bought this as part of my grand plan.

It is my intention to live forever or at least die trying so I am using this, my blood pressure and oxygen meters to keep one step ahead.

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Easiest way to live forever......just join one of the numerous religious socities, most promise eternal life.

Not for me though I could think of nothing worse than living for ever.

[#12]

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@Anonymous wrote:

It is my intention to live forever...

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Be careful what you wish for!

[#13]

Too right @mov, maybe The Matrix isn't that too far removed from reality.

Don't get me wrong, I think some of the stuff doctors etc do is impressive but sometimes one just has to accept the inevitable.

[#14]

It would be good to live a long life provided you were still mobile, had your sight and hearing and of course compos mentis but in reality what are the odds of that!