Why do people on amazon answer questions they don't know the answer to?

[LaserChild9]

So I was browsing amazon, casually looking at a tablet stand and decided to look at the questions and I noticed that there was an answer which may as well have just said "I dunno". Why do people do this? If you see a question that has been asked but you don't know the answer, why would you tell asker that you don't know?

I realised that this seems to happen a lot, I pick some random items and found some examples:

Question:hi will it fit the samsung galaxy tab s 10.5
Answer:I'm not sure to be honest I would ask amongst your peer group - I only bought when I got my fire tablet - sorry, cant be more specific!
Basically: Dunno, ask your friends.

Question:Hi I just purchased this watch and the temperature on the watch isn't accurate nor does it match temp
Answer:I don't know sorry it was a present
Basically: Dunno, but I did buy one for someone else once.

Question:How good is it for drilling masonry? Ive never had any good results with battery powered tools.
Answer:Not sure not tried masonry with it
Basically: I bought one of these but I don't actually know the answer you are looking for.

Question: Can the alarm be set to 'week days only'
Answer:Sorry don't know the person using it does not use the alarm.
Basically: My friend just uses the clock feature.

None of those answers are helpful at all, why would you respond to a question on amazon that you don't know the answer to?

[MonsieuRoberts]

Because they are e-mailed asking if they can answer it and are assuming some person is asking for their answer thoughts and not an algorithm.

Looks like this:



John Everyman gets that e-mail and thinks "Ooh, Amazon himself wants to hear what I have to say! Let me just fill in this box with my inane thoughts and boom, job well done!"

That's why so many are either irrelevant or just unhelpful.

[Forgettable]

Because stupid, that's why.

[LaserChild9]

Because they are e-mailed asking if they can answer it and are assuming some person is asking for their answer thoughts and not an algorithm.

But surely you would just read the question and think "I don't know the answer, I'm not gonna add anything to this"...

[MonsieuRoberts]

Because stupid, that's why.

This was a much more concise summary of my response.

[Rolow]

Because a vast majority of people in the world are just downright morons.

[Independent voter]

Doesn't the ranking system take care of this? Probably not of people take time to rank the responses.

[MonsieuRoberts]

But surely you would just read the question and think "I don't know the answer, I'm not gonna add anything to this"...

But social media has trained millions to think their opinions are desired on any and all topics, even those they have no context or understanding of.

I mean just look at the people on this forum who feel compelled to post a reply on every single thread they see, even if they have no clue what's going on. Reminds me of myself a few years ago actually.

[chazus]

But surely you would just read the question and think "I don't know the answer, I'm not gonna add anything to this"...

The same reason when people make polls on here asking "Do you like X or Y" and the response is "I don't like either" when they could have literally not posted. Sometimes people have a desire to make a response that isn't useful or relevant to the question.

[Jester Joe]

But surely you would just read the question and think "I don't know the answer, I'm not gonna add anything to this"...

Well, apparently not.

But yeah, Amazon does like to email you about every purchase, asking if you can leave a review, or if you can answer a question. They shouldn't clearly since it leads to such inane answers though.

[Aeula]

Dunno. Have you tried googling?

[StayTuned]

Dunno. Have you tried googling?

Are you a customer from Amazon, by any chance?

[thilicen]

This, and people reviewing products on the internet with "I like it / I don't like it" is why I drink.

[Travis B]

Another annoying thing is when people post reviews of products they haven't even tried. For example, I once saw an review of a video game on Amazon that said, "I don't have the game and I haven't played it yet, but the cover looks really cool and I'm looking forward to it! 5 stars"

[Video Games]

I don't know.

[Collegeguy]

Amazon pushes all of their automation on to sellers and "gasp" buyers as well. They save a buck and you have to deal with the bs.

Their auto-return authorizations is another sad example. Doesn't save anyone money, time, or grief but themselves.

[Dr Assbandit]

Unfortunately some poeple love to give their opinion even when uninformed. If I don't understand or am ignorant on a topic I'll just say that I'm not qualified to give an answer to that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

[Super Kami Dende]

This isn't a Amazon specific problem.

[Dr Assbandit]

I don't know.

Wrong answer! Always remember, "when in doubt, blurt it out!".

[Video Games]

wrong answer! Always remember, "when in doubt, blurt it out!".

because!!!!