Better than all the rest (u-rate-it.com)

Member Name: star500

Product:	u-rate-it.com
Date:	22/12/02 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick and simple to use, Personal messaging, friendly atmosphere, You can add sub-categories and items instantly, There aren't any ??? showing up when you paste from Word

Disadvantages: Few members make it a bit quiet

I have noticed here on dooyoo that there have been quite a few reviews of a new consumer opinion site called "U-rate-it.com" so I decided to have a bit of a nosey and take a look. In fact, it was the glowing review by wampyrii that actually persuaded me to type the URL into my browser and see what was happening over there. And I am so glad that I did.

For those of you who were around when dooyoo was in its infancy (I've been here since June 2000) then u-rate-it may bring back a few memories - except it is a hundred times better than sites like dooyoo and ciao were when they first started out.

The first time I accessed the site, I had my mouse poised in preparation to "kill the pop-ups" because I figured that like the other consumer review sites around I would be bombarded with those annoying ads as soon as I'd opened the page. But - nothing - not a pop-up in sight - hey I liked this place already!

The layout of the site is quite basic with very few banner ads or affiliate links. It took me no time at all to access the FAQ which was easy to read and pretty much answered most of my questions. I had a quick look around a few categories and decided to take the plunge and sign up.

The sign up process was unbelievably easy - they just want your email address, username and password and that was it - the whole process took seconds. After checking my email and clicking on the activation link I was a fully fledged member of U-Rate-It.

Just as I was checking out the features of the site I received a Personal Message in my Inbox (on the site) welcoming me and saying that they looked forward to reading my reviews - I thought that this was a nice touch because, although there weren't many members around to say hello, at least the administrators were friendly.

At the moment it doesn't have as many categories as dooyoo has but their main ones are CDs, DVDs, Movies, Games and Websites
. Recently new categories such as Books & Magazines, Televison and Shopping have just come online and more are been added daily. Within each category you can add items instantly. Yes I did say instantly - no need to email site administrators or wait for weeks for your item to be uploaded - you get it added there and then and can submit your review.

Although there aren't any payments for submitting reviews at present, there is a Token System whereby you get tokens for writing reviews, commenting on others, having your review read and introducing friends. These tokens give you entries into their prize draws - there is a monthly draw for free DVD rentals (which I won for December!!) and a regular one to win a £50 Amazon gift voucher. I believe the next Amazon draw takes place in February.

I suppose the lack of payment may make a lot of people not bother with the site as there isn't any financial reward but they say they are going to offer payment for reviews some time in the New Year. I for one don't mind about not being paid - I'm just glad that there is an alternative to the big review sites out there and this one seems VERY promising.

I won't go into detail as how to submit or edit reviews, add categories, etc as is it easy enough to do and the site is simple to navigate and use. Basically if you have used any of the other review sites, then you should be able to get the hang of this one quite quickly.

In my opinion what makes u-rate-it stand out from other, similar review sites is its speed and online support. The site loads quickly as it isn't bogged down by constant pop-ups or banner ads and it is easy to add an item if there isn't a category for it. A lot of the time, one of the site's administrators is online and you can send personal messages and emails with any suggestions, comments and the like and they are replied to very quickly. I believe that the feature for commentating on a r

eview was suggested by a member one day and the next day it had been added - pretty impressive, eh?

One major advantage that I'd like to point out is that when you submit a review and paste from Word, you don't get those annoying ?? everywhere unlike some other review sites around...

At the moment there are very few members around and as a result not that many reviews either - but it is early days yet and once the membership grows, the site will certainly give dooyoo and ciao a run for it's money. An advantage of the small membership of the site is that you can register pretty much whatever username you want and secondly, you have a higher chance of getting something in the prize draws.

I have to admit to spending a fair bit of time on there even thought I am not the most prolific at writing reviews. I like to keep the site open in the background when I am browsing other sites or doing research for work so that if a new member happens to come by or a new review is submitted then I can take a look.

It would be a shame if this site was overlooked and didn't become as popular as other review sites as it really has a great layout, some fantastic features and a friendly online team. Even if only a few dooyooers read this review and take a look it would be great. And forget about not getting paid for submissions because, realistically how much money do you really make from places like dooyoo or ciao anyway?

Come on - take a look - you know you want to!!

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[Incidentally if you are looking for me over there you won't find me under star500 as I go by my real name but I'm sure our paths will cross at some point]

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