Belkin Accused of Paying for Positive Product Reviews on Amazon

When buying something online, I almost always gravitate toward websites that provide me with customer reviews, like Amazon, Zappos, Overstock, etc.

It makes me feel just a little bit more secure that I'll like my purchase. But that doesn't mean I don't take each review with a grain of salt, especially since too many reviews can be overwhelming, and now I have another reason to be wary; the gadget accessories giant Belkin has been accused of paying for positive reviews of its products on Amazon.

If that's true of the retailer, then I'll experience another shock of suspicion; not only can I not trust actual reviewers because we might have different opinions, but I can't trust reviews at all because they might be fakes? Oy.

What's your opinion of online reviews, before and after the Belkin scandal?