In recent years, I’ve encountered a problem while shopping online. Here’s the issue: Whenever I attempt to buy something on the internet, my first step is to check the item’s reviews on sites like Reddit and niche forums. This method used to work well for me. However, in the last 5-7 years, I’ve observed that even Reddit’s reviews have become unreliable due to infiltration by shills and companies pushing their subpar products.

So, I started exploring other sites, but the problem worsened. If these sites weren’t filled with AI-generated content, they were often run by individuals attempting to earn commissions from Amazon. Their reviews were superficial and lacked neutrality and usefulness. This led me to an idea: If I’m facing this issue, surely others are too?

To address this problem, we need to diagnose it first. The core issue is that “reviewers” and retailers are essentially on the same side. While the reviewer may pretend otherwise, both parties ultimately want the sale, even if the product isn’t the right fit for the customer. This built-in conflict of interest makes online “reviewers” akin to car salespeople in a dealership.

Now that we’ve identified the problem, how can we solve it? One solution is to be independent from retailers, to be retailer-agnostic. Being independent allows us to be neutral, and neutrality gives us credibility, which can be monetized.

So, the idea I came up with is to create a discount club similar to Rakuten and Swagbucks, offering cash back services where customers are incentivized to make purchases and get rewarded simultaneously. Essentially, we’re adopting the tactic credit card companies use to generate profits. The more customers buy, the more fees and cash back are generated. Customers are happy because they receive rewards for every purchase and gain access to a platform with genuine, commission-free reviews.

My discount website will charge $19/year, and in return, members will receive trustworthy reviews on products they care about, a price tracker that scours the entire internet for the cheapest prices, and 1.5% cash back on purchases with limits.

The only challenge I need to address now is preventing customers from gaming the system — subscribing, making a purchase to get the 1.5% cash back, and then returning the item to essentially obtain free rewards. One potential solution is to enhance the value of my platform, making customers value their “good standing” in the club more than engaging in such shady behavior. I’d love to hear your thoughts or alternative solutions if you have any.

An approach that won’t work is creating affiliate accounts with retailers, as this would introduce a conflict of interest automatically. Additionally, most affiliate programs, including Amazon’s, prohibit offering features like finding the cheapest item from the internet, limiting the features I could provide to my subscribers.

You might be saying, ‘Hey, offering 1.5% cash back for purchases, isn’t that expensive?’ The answer is yes, but you have to remember that we need to view this from the perspective of a customer. For this platform to succeed, we must ensure that the customer is receiving more value than they are giving up; otherwise, they won’t care. Especially in the beginning when we are unknown and lack leverage (i.e., branding), customers have no reason to trust us over the competition. However, by providing our customers with high value from the start, these customers will be happy and more likely to spread the word, contributing to the growth of our website.

The 1.5% cash back will be limited to certain categories, much like credit cards do. We should always learn from the best in the game, and we’ll make sure our customers have tiers as well. If a particular customer is consistently buying a lot of products, not returning them, and is a good member, we’ll increase their reward to 3%, and we will also include some special gifts or free products on their birthdays and membership anniversaries. Conversely, if a particular customer exhibits the opposite behavior, we will consider limiting or banning them and refunding their subscription.

Let me know what you think — is this a bad idea, good, or just meh?