Trust Score Explained — How We Rank Suppliers
Trust Score is the number you see on every Thai Supply Hub listing — between 0 and 100. It's our composite ranking metric. Here's the formula and why it exists.
The formula
``` Trust Score = (Google rating ÷ 5) × 50 ← rating part, 0-50 points + log10(review_count) × 12 ← volume part, capped at 40 + (scraped review coverage × 5) ← bonus for analyzed reviews, capped at 5 + (avg review text length × 1.5) ← bonus for detailed reviews, capped at 5 ```
A perfectly-rated supplier with 10,000 reviews and high coverage hits ~95-99. A 4.0-star supplier with 50 reviews lands around 60-70.
Why volume matters
A 5-star rating with 3 reviews is statistical noise. A 4.2-star rating with 200 reviews is real signal. We use logarithmic scaling so 1,000 vs 10,000 reviews doesn't dominate the score — both indicate established operation; the gap to 30 reviews is what matters.
Why coverage matters
Some suppliers have 500 Google reviews but only 5 of them are publicly accessible (Google de-duplicates and limits depth). Coverage = % of reviews we successfully scraped. Higher coverage means our reading of the supplier is fuller.
Why text length matters
A reviewer who wrote three sentences saw the supplier more carefully than one who wrote "good." Average review text length is a quality signal for the review pool itself.
What Trust Score is NOT
- Not a Google ranking. We compute it; Google doesn't see it.
- Not a guarantee of quality. New, excellent suppliers with 10 reviews score lower than mediocre suppliers with 1,000 reviews.
- Not paid. Sponsored slots are explicitly badged separately.
How to read it
- 80-100: top-tier established supplier with strong public proof
- 60-80: solid mid-tier, worth shortlisting
- 40-60: smaller / newer / niche — verify directly
- <40: thin signal, do extensive due diligence before contracting
The full ranked list is at /best/highly-recommended.