How BuyWise Trust Scores work

The pipeline

Retailer or seller → evidence collection → evidence analysis → Trust Engine → score (0–100), risk level and confidence → explanation with the supporting evidence.

Evidence sources

• Retailer-published policies: return windows, buyer protection, cash on delivery, grievance contacts — recorded with source links and a review date.
• Public web evidence: search results about reviews, complaints, refunds, delivery, customer service and fraud reports. Each result is classified by topic, sentiment and severity, and weighted by the reliability of its source. A page that merely contains the word "scam" is not treated as evidence of a scam.
• Review platforms (optional, e.g. Trustpilot via its official API) when configured.
• BuyWise community reports: moderated purchase experiences; verified purchases carry more weight.

Scoring

Evidence is grouped into factors — returns & refunds, delivery reliability, customer service, product authenticity, fraud & complaint patterns, business transparency and payment security. Each factor score is a weighted average of evidence sentiment, where weight = source reliability × analysis confidence × recency. Negative evidence is amplified by its severity. The overall score is a weighted mean of the factors; strong, corroborated fraud evidence caps the score.

Confidence and risk

Confidence reflects how much evidence exists, how many independent sources agree and how many factors are covered. With little evidence BuyWise reports "Insufficient evidence to confidently assess this retailer" instead of a risk verdict. Risk levels: 75+ low, 55–74 medium, below 55 higher risk based on available evidence.

Independence

No commercial input reaches the Trust Engine. It has no access to affiliate, advertising or subscription data, and this separation is enforced by automated tests. Retailers cannot pay to change a score.

Wording

BuyWise never states that a business is a scam. Scores describe the balance of available evidence and are refreshed periodically. If you believe a score is wrong, submit a purchase experience or contact trust@buywise.co.in.