Buying GSM cell phones has become so much easier in many ways now. It’s amazing what this little thing called the internet – of which the WWW is just one part, actually, even if folks commonly use the two terms interchangeably – has done to transform the world. Though initially devised to further academic endeavors (actually, it was originally developed for American political leaders as a communications network that can survive a nuclear attack), it’s now become a popular way to buy and sell, all over the world.

A assortment of GSM cell phones exist online, more so than any single old-fashioned brick-and-mortar storefront can stock. Thanks to the web, shopping for your next handset is a simple matter of logging on and reading a few reviews. Word-of-mouth is viral online and a whole lot more powerful. These reviews are necessary since marketers can even manage to fool Google every so often. But even much of what seem like reviews can be nothing more than plants by those marketers, misleading content planted by them to create a favorable impression of their clients and their products or services! Yes, it’s a never-ending game of cat and mouse between consumers who are looking for honest reviews and the online marketers who keep trying to present the products they represent or the retailers they work for in the very best light possible, which in many cases is just an complete lie.

Even the most reputable consumer review sites are not immune to such manipulation. Lucrative goods such as mobile handsets are subject to such abuses as a matter of course. Is there a way to defend oneself?

Indeed, many – many things. The most important thing to do is to talk to the retailer. Yes, actually talk, over the phone. Do you notice the same person always picking up? Do they answer the phones at all? Is there even a telephone contact listed on their site? An address? A real one, or just one of those mail-forwarding places?

And despite the planted reviews, you can still trust the majority opinion on the most reputable consumer review sites. That’s because scammers and bad businesses don’t have the money it takes to sustain a first-class reputation management (that is, disinformation) campaign – they’d rather steal what they can shafting the unlucky passer-by! So reviews sites are still important; just make sure that those are reputable, too!