CitySquares is allowing merchants to opt-out of being subject to reviews on their site. The catch? You'll need to pony up $5.99 a month to opt-out.
It's a catch-22 scenario. Opt-out of reviews and kill the negative reviews or stick it out and hope for some good ones. If you opt-out, some consumers may wonder if you have something to hide.
Plus, if you're a small business, you better hope this idea doesn't catch on. Can you imagine having to shell out $6 a month to a bunch of different sites? It adds up.
Still, it could be worth it if you find that you're losing hundreds or thousands once a nasty review gets up there. And of course, reviews aren't necessarily honest. They could be fake ones set up by the competition.
CitySquares' plan isn't perfect, but it does show the continued need for innovation in the ratings/reviews space.
Would you pay to opt-out of reviews? Let us know in the comments below.
Related Reading:
CitySquares Tweaks Their Search (and Rocks Online Reputation Management in the Process!)
CitySquares Expands to 50 States
CitySquares.com is Fastest Growing Search Site
