Back-to-school season is here, and TikTok is teeming with viral product recommendations. Gone are the days of battling crowded aisles and long checkout lines at big box stores. Now, with just a few clicks, you can have almost anything you want delivered to your door before classes start, thanks to the convenience of two-day shipping from Amazon and other online retailers. But how can you be sure those rave reviews are reliable? That’s where Fakespot, your shopping sidekick, steps in.
Spotting unreliable reviews on TikTok’s trending products with Fakespot
Fakespot is a browser extension that is powered by AI to help millions of shoppers make better purchases. It analyzes product reviews in real-time across supported retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, giving you the lowdown on which product reviews seem credible and when you should proceed with caution. Whether you’re seeking product pros and cons or highlights, Fakespot has you covered. It even provides seller ratings for eBay and Shopify stores so you can shop with confidence.
How to read Fakespot’s Review Grades
Here’s how Fakespot’s grading system works:
- A and B: Reviews you can trust.
- C: Mixed bag of reliable and unreliable reviews — approach with caution.
- D and F: Probably unreliable.
Top TikTok back-to-school product categories on Amazon and their reliability
We took a deep dive into top back-to-school categories and analyzed their Fakespot product review grades. Here’s what we found:
Laptops
Impressively, nearly 83% of laptop reviews on Amazon appear to be reliable. A safe bet, especially if you’re shopping with the Fakespot extension and sticking to verified retailers. The Lenovo Yoga 7i, a popular choice on TikTok, gets a Fakespot review grade of A.
- Trending Product: Lenovo Yoga 7i
- Fakespot Review Grade: A
- Review highlight: “For the price, you can’t beat it.”
Water bottles
About 30% of water bottle reviews on Amazon appear unreliable. Staying hydrated? Just make sure you’re buying from verified retailers. The Thermos Hydration Bottle has been trending on TikTok and gets a B grade from Fakespot, meaning the product listing has pretty reliable reviews.
- Trending Product: Thermos Hydration Bottle
- Fakespot Review Grade: B
- Review highlight: “Easy to grip, fits in car cupholders.”
Keyboards and mice
While 34% of Amazon reviews in the keyboards and mice category appear to be unreliable, one popular gaming mouse still earns a solid B from Fakespot, so you can be more confident in the reviews.
- Trending Product: Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse
- Fakespot Review Grade: B
- Review highlight: “The razer deathadder v3 pro wireless gaming mouse ‘faker edition’ is a tribute to all gamers who seek excellence. It eliminates the shackles of wired gaming, allowing you the freedom to move and game as you wish without compromising on responsiveness or speed.”
Pillows
With 37% of Amazon reviews on pillows appearing unreliable, those trendy pillows still have potential. If you’re looking for a decorative dorm pillow, we found an option with reliable reviews for you to consider.
- Trending Product: Wedge Body Pillow
- Fakespot Review Grade: A
- Review highlight: “The item is well-made, very soft and comfortable. Even has a place to hold his cell phone.”
Backpacks
Fakespot detected concerns with nearly half – 47% – of the reviews on backpacks on Amazon. Despite this, we found a durable option with an A review rating from Fakespot. Nonetheless, before you snag any bag, let Fakespot give you confidence that those raves are reliable.
- Trending Product: Laptop Backpack
- Fakespot Review Grade: A
- Review highlight: “It was light but sturdy and has many pockets for storage.”
Chargers
Those fast chargers blowing up on TikTok? They might not be so fast after all. About 53% of Amazon reviews for chargers seem unreliable. However, this listing for a popular wireless charging dock gets an A from Fakespot, so you can be more confident in the reviews.
- Trending Product: Belkin 2-in-1 MagSafe Wireless Charging Dock
- Fakespot Review Grade: A
- Review highlight: “The base is heavy enough that you don’t pull it around while taking your phone off the charger — it feels like quality material.”
Earbud headphones and computer accessories
In the earbud, headphones and computer accessories category on Amazon, more than half appear to be unreliable reviews (58%) – so take a beat before you buy. But these noise-canceling headphones, a TikTok favorite, still get a B grade from Fakespot, meaning the reviews are more reliable.
- Trending Product: Sony WH-1000XM4
- Fakespot Review Grade: B
- Review highlight: “I love blasting my music. I enjoy barbershop music, and you can hear each individual voice so very well in great quality. I’m stunned.”
If you’re one of the millions of students gearing up for the new school year, don’t waste time scrolling through endless product reviews. Download Fakespot today, and spend your time soaking up the last bits of summer instead.
