How do you choose a "star rating" for your reviews?

Basically, I consider 1 star to be something that I was either disappointed in, something that broke, didn't please me, or just generally dissatisfied with the toy. 5 stars I consider to be something that totally rocked my world and I found no flaws in it for MY personal use.

Anything in between are varying degrees up or down from 1 or 5.

Generally, though, I stick with 3-4 stars unless the product is totally disappointing or totally awesome.

Personally, my system is: (doesn't include Descriptive Reviews! Just ones I do on my own)

4 stars---this product is completely pleasing, and delivers everything it promises. (most of the products I review receive 4 stars)

3 stars---this product delivers what it promises, but there are some drawbacks that users might want to know about before they make their decision. (I gave Olga 3 stars, for example, because the steel tarnished when not washed immediately. Also, even though I loved the book Inside Him, I gave it three stars because the writing was more literature-like than erotica-like in many places, and I didn't think it exactly delivered "what it promised.")

2 stars---this product has some significant drawbacks, or it left me frustrated every time I picked it up, but it still is quality-made and people who have different bodies from me will still be able to enjoy it (I gave 2 stars to Ina and SaSi.)

1 star---there is no redeeming feature to this product, for any user. (The only 1-star review I've written is of my first toy, a jelly DP vibrator from Nasstoys.)

5 stars---this is incredible, and I rarely give them out. This is something that blew me out of the water and even if you weren't considering it you should look at it Right. Now. (Things like the Tantus Alumina Motion and the NobEssence toys I've tried, along with the Pure Plug Medium earned this rating.)

This is really a hard question for me because 99% of the time I'm going to give the toy the benefit of the doubt that it will work for someone else and give it 3 to 4 stars.

However, I just gave MiMi, a much-loved vibrator a 1 star review today. I kept going back and forth on my decision and leaning towards giving it 3 or 4 stars because it is such high quality.

Here is why I rated it so low though. I wanted it to get attention and I wanted to make people think about MiMi. Everyone raves about how good MiMi is and it has something like 23 5 star reviews and 12 4 star reviews and a couple of 3 star reviews. Many folks might look at MiMi and just automatically buy it (much like I did) based upon those ratings.

In my review though, I was very careful to point out that MiMi is a high quality toy, that the silicone is awesome, etc. etc. I didn't knock it for quality.

But MiMi is designed for INDIRECT stimulation and many women need DIRECT stimulation. However, they may not realize it until after they spend a bunch of money on MiMi and wonder why it doesn't work.

Had MiMi been a $20 vibrator, I'd have given it 3 or 4 stars and not thought twice.

But MiMi isn't cheap and I didn't want someone plunking down $100 or so for a product that might not work for them.

So - I gave it one star to grab folks' attention and hopefully make them think about what would work well for them.

I knew I'd take some hits on voting for doing it this way - but I didn't care. I felt like I needed to do it because I remember how disappointed I was every time I tried to use MiMi and kicked myself for spending so much on it.

I hope I make sense.

Yes, it makes sense. By giving it a one star rating, you're making it far more likely that it will be read by potential buyers.

I don't have a defined system, but generally a toy that I can find flaws in won't get 5 stars. The lingerie item I just reviewed was a little $20 babydoll - very cute, excellent value for money - but it only comes in One Size and Plus Size. If it had proper sizes to make it available to more women, I would have given it 5 stars.

I also consider price. A luxury priced toy has a lot more to live up to in order to earn the same rating as a budget toy.

Mostly it's just a gut feel thing.

Price, usability and features are what I base my stars on. If it is priced accordingly to the use and features one can get out of it, the higher the stars. Also versatility is very important to me, I get bored with the same thing every toy. Uniqueness helps, and flaws in design, features or weakness brings the rating down. I start every item at a 3 and adjust from there.

I very rarely give a 1. If something broke, or is completely misrepresented, then I will give it a 1. If something is an absolute must have, blew my socks off or just totally exceeded my expectations, then I do a 5. From there, it really depends on the product and how generous Im feeling.

I usually give out 3s or 4s though.

My star system has evolved as I've been a reviewer. It used to be that if a toy performed well--even if not for me, I'd assign it a high rating. I'm much more subjective now (even on descriptive reviews). If a toy has skyrocketed to my favorites list, it get a 5--maybe. If a toy is completely unusable, it gets a 1. Everything else? Somewhere between the two.

I just rate for quality, effectiveness, and ease of use of the product for what it is trying to accomplish and for the value vs. price.

I own a toy I'd give 1 star. It's not from EF, it was my first vibrator ever and it was atrocious and not worth even $10. Bleh.

Thinking of them in terms of grades is good. 5 stars is an A plus ect. I also assign 2 stars to items I won't use again.

I'll usually give five stars to things that exceed my initial expectations of the product or really blow me away. Things that everyone should have or at least try. There can be some minor issues, but they have to be very minor in comparison to performance. No major problems with the motor or materials or things like that.

Four stars goes to really good but not quite excellent products. There was one or two things that stopped it from being mind blowing or a must have item.

Three stars goes to things that are just okay or average. They aren't good, but aren't bad either.

Two stars goes to products with a lean to the bad side. There's some problems with it but it's not utter junk. There may be some redeeming qualities.

One star is just plain junk. It either didn't work at all, the materials were awful, it broke quickly, etc. Usually serious quality or performance issues. I think I've only used this twice.

Most everything I review falls in 3-5 stars lately because I've gotten pretty good at picking out things that will work for me. I also tend to buy from luxury brands for the most part, so I don't usually have to rate lower on quality (aside from some lingerie).

5stars- I usually give out more to lingerie, but I do give it to toys, but it means that I really loved this product and there was nothing but good things to say about it. I think it will work for most people that it is designed for and is just great. I did give it too my Fantasy Elite toy, but that was because that toy was so versatile that it made up for the lack of vibrations.

4stars- This is more widely used by me. I give 4 stars to items that are good, but some draw backs. There is something about the item that does not work or is flawed. However it is still worth while.

3stars- I give out three stars to an item that is just ok. If there is nothing about it that is great or good, but it still works, it is ok.

2stars- this product is not good or ok, this is bad. It doesn't work great and I do not think that most will like this product. So many things are wrong with it that it is worthless. (I think I have never give out 2 stars, maybe at the beginning before I developed my style.)

1star- This is reserved for items that are absolutely terrible. They could cause bodily harm and are poorly designed. (I have never given this out, except maybe before I developed my style.)

There's obviously some variation here and there, but this is how I'd break down my ratings:

5 stars- This is awesome, one of my favorite products. Can't really think of any ways to improve it.

4 stars- A great product, but either has a few minor flaws or just plain isn't something I'd rank among my favorites.

3- Pretty average. A nice item, but not a must-have.

2- I didn't really like it, but maybe it will work for someone else, or it had some redeeming qualities.

1- This sucks, and I really doubt anyone else will like it, either.