MSI underhand practices

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
MSI have been attempting to silence YouTube reviewers into withdrawing any negative opinions or even providing false data to show MSI products as better than they were found.

With this, they’ve offered payoffs to remove negatives or include bogus information, and in the extreme, have even threatened to sue the reviewers.

This blew up recently with a relatively small UK reviewer, TechTeamGB gave a very accurate and negative review of an MSI laptop.

All the bigger YouTubers have known this practice exists and are rallying around the smaller channels to expose the practice and try to get it stopped.

TechTeamGB original MSI Laptop review is here:

Larger channels defending TechTeamGB and exposing MSI further:



Based on this, I won’t be recommending any MSI products until they publicly apologise to TechTeamGB and the community at large and promise to stop these strong arm shady tactics.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Love the way GN simply didn't pull any punches. Fantastic support and shines MSI in an even worse light. My guess is the people responsible will currently be looking for another job.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Love the way GN simply didn't pull any punches.
That’s GN for you, they do crack me up, absolutely no messing. HWUnboxed actually used the term “we’re pretty p**sed off” which for HWUnboxed is pretty severe!
You don't like the negative reviews? You make your product better!!
Absolutely. And this is the whole point of 3rd party reviews, it’s not just for customers benefit, but they communicate directly with product teams to offer insights into correcting design flaws found on review samples which is why reviewers get early samples... that is in essence the entire purpose of a good partnership between company and reviewer. Obviously MSI have forgotten the basis of this relationship.

Big kudos to TeamTechGB for holding their ground despite pretty weighty threats. They instantly got a sub from me. We need more honest guys like that.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I was actually thinking about this more.

I wonder if there's a bit of a cultural disparity in play. Now, this is by no means a defence.... as I don't think there is one...... but what's seen as completely unscrupulous behaviour in the UK may be considered how business gets done in Taiwan. Spending money on perks, substantial money, has always been understood to be the norm. Red envelopes in China etc too.

It's one helluva misunderstanding though :)
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
New verified reports coming out that an MSI subsidiary is scalping their own brand new 3000 series cards on eBay and Amazon for DOUBLE the MSRP!!!

For me, this is the final nail in the coffin for suggesting MSI products, which on the whole I really like, I just can't get behind these shady practices:


 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Are they doing it for personal gain or are the proceeds heading off to MSI HQ?

If it's the latter then they're done IMO, if it's the former then my guess is most are doing similar practices but don't quite have the same spotlight on them that MSI does right now.

It's like you going to jail because your Daughters Boyfriend got caught stealing. If you're then gaining from the stolen goods then fair enough, but if you are completely unaware then it's a tough situation..... granted you should have a far better understanding of who your Daughter is with, but it's just not quite as straight forward.
 

Gavras

Master Poster
The entire review process on social media, you tube, Instagram, Amazon etc is broken.

MSI are likely the tip of an iceberg and their actions are in no way defendable.

There are very very few You-tubers, (cars, computers etc) that I would trust.

I have been to suppliers when they have had a You Tuber week, the gifts all around etc.

Then you have social media clowns, muppets, liars, etc trying to (or actually) blackmailing everything from guest houses, restaurant's to larger organisations, for free stuff, preferential treatment for positive reviews.

Also Industrial espionage is alive and kicking, with online reviews being used to put negative reviews on competitors products.

editted : to mod apologies on use of FWit word, however People does not apply to a large number of these scum.
 
Last edited:

Stephen M

Author Level
Certainly agree about broken review process. Few years back I pre-ordered a book by Lawrence Krauss on Amazon. This book had not been published but there were already a lot of one star reviews saying how awful and wrong the book was. In this case it was religious freaks having a go at a physicist who had a habit of conflicting with religious views but it does show how little is done to check reviews.
 

Stephen M

Author Level
Slightly off topic but another example of how badly these things are check/not checked is the awful way Facebook discriminate. In countries where there is a high level of prejudice against certain groups, the sort that can lead to violence against or death, the one way apostates in Islamic countries, Muslims in China or Christians in certain lands can safely communicate is through internet groups.

Facebook has, probably still uses as system whereby it only needs a certain amount of complaints or posts being flagged as inappropriate and that user is blocked. As extreme political and religious groups tend to be well organised it does not take long after a call to the "faithful" to get a user or site blocked. However, it is very difficult to get the block lifted as Facebook rarely listens to individuals. I actually like Mark Zuckerberg less than Steven Balmer.

During my time as and EFL teacher I used to show the likes of the TAILS OS and Tor system to a lot of students. It does amuse me to think that I am considered an undesirable element by certain people on the grounds of who I have helped, depending on view point I am either an apostate, a Muslim agitator, Christian Fundamentalist or, worst of all a Secularist (a common enemy who can unite all religions).
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Slightly off topic but another example of how badly these things are check/not checked is the awful way Facebook discriminate. In countries where there is a high level of prejudice against certain groups, the sort that can lead to violence against or death, the one way apostates in Islamic countries, Muslims in China or Christians in certain lands can safely communicate is through internet groups.

Facebook has, probably still uses as system whereby it only needs a certain amount of complaints or posts being flagged as inappropriate and that user is blocked. As extreme political and religious groups tend to be well organised it does not take long after a call to the "faithful" to get a user or site blocked. However, it is very difficult to get the block lifted as Facebook rarely listens to individuals. I actually like Mark Zuckerberg less than Steven Balmer.

During my time as and EFL teacher I used to show the likes of the TAILS OS and Tor system to a lot of students. It does amuse me to think that I am considered an undesirable element by certain people on the grounds of who I have helped, depending on view point I am either an apostate, a Muslim agitator, Christian Fundamentalist or, worst of all a Secularist (a common enemy who can unite all religions).
Facebook are plain awful, they are responsible for an awful lot of ills in the world and should have had judicial penalties years ago to stop their support of far right movements and promotion of conspiracy theorists.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Slightly off topic but another example of how badly these things are check/not checked is the awful way Facebook discriminate. In countries where there is a high level of prejudice against certain groups, the sort that can lead to violence against or death, the one way apostates in Islamic countries, Muslims in China or Christians in certain lands can safely communicate is through internet groups.

Facebook has, probably still uses as system whereby it only needs a certain amount of complaints or posts being flagged as inappropriate and that user is blocked. As extreme political and religious groups tend to be well organised it does not take long after a call to the "faithful" to get a user or site blocked. However, it is very difficult to get the block lifted as Facebook rarely listens to individuals. I actually like Mark Zuckerberg less than Steven Balmer.

During my time as and EFL teacher I used to show the likes of the TAILS OS and Tor system to a lot of students. It does amuse me to think that I am considered an undesirable element by certain people on the grounds of who I have helped, depending on view point I am either an apostate, a Muslim agitator, Christian Fundamentalist or, worst of all a Secularist (a common enemy who can unite all religions).
I'll bring the stake and the wood if someone else can bring the matches? 🔥
 
Top