Asus is extending its Rate My Gear program, which offers customers cash rebates in exchange for posting "honest and genuine opinions" about their purchases on the retailer's website.

The program originally launched last year and was scheduled to run through January. However, Asus has now extended the time period for eligible purchasers to post user reviews on the retailer's website and apply for rebates, extending the program through June 30.

In exchange for submitting a review, Asus will transfer £25 to the eligible user's bank account. In addition, participants will be entered into a draw for a ROG gift bag including a ROG branded jacket and t-shirt, sticker set, lanyard, baseball cap, and a £50 Gamesplanet voucher.

This program is only offered in the UK and Ireland. Users can submit up to three reviews for cash rewards, with a cap of 1,000 for the entire program.

Eligible vendors include Amazon, Currys, eBuyer, Scan, Overclockers, and several others. The list of eligible products (PDF) is much longer and includes several models of graphics cards, motherboards, keyboards, routers, mice, PSUs, bags, cases, headsets, etc.

To be clear, Asus is not looking for overtly glowing reviews. Perhaps they are seeking reviews to enhance the credibility of their products. Anecdotally, seeing a product on Amazon with very few user reviews, even if they are favorable, can feel like a red herring.

Still, I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing. Cash is being given back in exchange for user reviews, and I'm not sure if the incentivized reviews will reflect the "genuine" opinions Asus is looking for.

Generally speaking, I try not to put too much trust in individual user reviews. Instead, I usually look at complaints to see if more than one person has reported the same issue.