I don’t see why. Fake reviews don’t benefit Amazon. The review information is a value-add for them, and fake reviews detract from that.
Hell, if it actually is able to reliably detect fake reviews on Amazon – which I doubt, but let’s roll with it – Amazon might buy the company that does the fake review detection to get it so that they can filter it.
I don’t agree with the assertion that fake reviews don’t benefit them, but I may be missing something. Reviews help drive consumer behavior and more reviews lead to more sales from those who are unable or unwilling to be more discerning. (Amazon takes a cut)
For others, it the idea or presence of fake reviews might drive them to a “trusted” Amazon Basics alternative, also leading to sales with a higher margin for Amazon.
Additionally, recycling listing ASINs is a common tactic that Amazon could stop and is a source of “fake” (or at least, irrelevant in content and misleading in score) reviews. There’s minimal enforcement of rules for review integrity, such as verified purchases or quid pro quo “warranties” and “free gifts” for 5 star reviews.
All the evidence I see points to Amazon preferring the status quo.
I tried posting a negative review that mentioned a quid pro quo (offered a gift card in exchange for a 5 star review) and Amazon removed it for not being relevant to the product. So baseless 5 star reviews are allowed but not 1 star reviews.
I’ve had that happen as well, but technically they’re right, bitching about the seller isn’t relevant to the end product. That’s why there needs to be a seller rating section for them, with independent reviews / scores based on them as sellers which shows next to their seller names, same idea as eBay feedback.
Agreed. And it’s not limited to the (excellent) points you made.
Amazon’s domination of the market is not merely the platform; they have 10+ years of user submitted content which, originally, made them a source for product information and research. For many of us, that power has faded, as we are aware that a large percentage of reviews are fake. But for many, many more, they aren’t aware of this.
Personally, I know “a lot” of reviews are fake - a vague number between “a bunch” but not “all” - I only know this information in general; I don’t know which specific reviews are fake. Knowing that will definitely change my shopping habits - and probably not for their benefit.
For the Moms and Grandpas, this information will be new - and incredibly damaging to Amazons reputation.
(Unfortunately I’m pretty sure they use Internet Explorer/Chrome so maybe it won’t help.)
“Brushing” scams seem way too common and easily executed through Amazon in order for them to not be turning a blind eye about it, imo. My mom was sent random LED lights for months through their return program despite never ordering them or hardly using amazon at all before she figured out what was happening. It feels like at least 5% of all my purchases come with a policy breaking email from the seller contacting me asking me for a five-star review in exchange for a free gift. Or even just contacting me 6 months later from a totally unrelated purchase and offering me a gift for no reason in exchange for a five-star review. Oh, they’ll sure reimburse the money it costs to buy it! Because they really just want that five-star review! And Amazon seems to be happy allowing five-star reviews for products that are given away for free and even has a tag to let other users know, but just this method is frowned upon? I doubt it.
I don’t see why. Fake reviews don’t benefit Amazon. The review information is a value-add for them, and fake reviews detract from that.
Hell, if it actually is able to reliably detect fake reviews on Amazon – which I doubt, but let’s roll with it – Amazon might buy the company that does the fake review detection to get it so that they can filter it.
I don’t agree with the assertion that fake reviews don’t benefit them, but I may be missing something. Reviews help drive consumer behavior and more reviews lead to more sales from those who are unable or unwilling to be more discerning. (Amazon takes a cut)
For others, it the idea or presence of fake reviews might drive them to a “trusted” Amazon Basics alternative, also leading to sales with a higher margin for Amazon.
Additionally, recycling listing ASINs is a common tactic that Amazon could stop and is a source of “fake” (or at least, irrelevant in content and misleading in score) reviews. There’s minimal enforcement of rules for review integrity, such as verified purchases or quid pro quo “warranties” and “free gifts” for 5 star reviews.
All the evidence I see points to Amazon preferring the status quo.
I tried posting a negative review that mentioned a quid pro quo (offered a gift card in exchange for a 5 star review) and Amazon removed it for not being relevant to the product. So baseless 5 star reviews are allowed but not 1 star reviews.
I’ve had that happen as well, but technically they’re right, bitching about the seller isn’t relevant to the end product. That’s why there needs to be a seller rating section for them, with independent reviews / scores based on them as sellers which shows next to their seller names, same idea as eBay feedback.
Agreed. And it’s not limited to the (excellent) points you made.
Amazon’s domination of the market is not merely the platform; they have 10+ years of user submitted content which, originally, made them a source for product information and research. For many of us, that power has faded, as we are aware that a large percentage of reviews are fake. But for many, many more, they aren’t aware of this.
Personally, I know “a lot” of reviews are fake - a vague number between “a bunch” but not “all” - I only know this information in general; I don’t know which specific reviews are fake. Knowing that will definitely change my shopping habits - and probably not for their benefit.
For the Moms and Grandpas, this information will be new - and incredibly damaging to Amazons reputation.
(Unfortunately I’m pretty sure they use Internet Explorer/Chrome so maybe it won’t help.)
“Brushing” scams seem way too common and easily executed through Amazon in order for them to not be turning a blind eye about it, imo. My mom was sent random LED lights for months through their return program despite never ordering them or hardly using amazon at all before she figured out what was happening. It feels like at least 5% of all my purchases come with a policy breaking email from the seller contacting me asking me for a five-star review in exchange for a free gift. Or even just contacting me 6 months later from a totally unrelated purchase and offering me a gift for no reason in exchange for a five-star review. Oh, they’ll sure reimburse the money it costs to buy it! Because they really just want that five-star review! And Amazon seems to be happy allowing five-star reviews for products that are given away for free and even has a tag to let other users know, but just this method is frowned upon? I doubt it.