Amazon's Fake Review Problem • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon's Fake Review Problem

#291

Post by lightwin » Sun, Dec 17, 2017, 5:06 PM UTC

jacek wrote: post #39

The fake review problem on Amazon is much bigger than people think. Here are my two anecdotes: 1. I got bluetooth headphones on amazon (~$65). They had great reviews, but were very disappointing. I returned them and gave 2 star review. Representative from the manufacturer contacted me and offered me a pair for free. After I got them, they asked for positive review. I refused. That manipulation technique wasn't enough…

So looks like this product is now marked #1 New Release by Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077N5LCP3/

F rating on fakespot, and 1500 visibly fake 5-star reviews. Innocent customers have already started falling in trap and you can notice that from recently created 1 star reviews. How many customers will be burned before the overall rating will go down due to real reviews?

Re: Amazon's Fake Review Problem

#292

Post by yborg » Sun, Dec 17, 2017, 5:16 PM UTC

slackingoff2017 wrote: post #131

The problem is massive. Most people haven't noticed yet but it's only a matter of time. Eventually everyone gets burned at least once and Amazon becomes the new ebay. They need to get a handle on their supply chain and stop outsourcing so much of their product listings to shady third party sellers. Shady third party sellers go hand-in-hand with fake reviews. Most reputable brands don't want to get their hands dirty w…

Amazon is very aware of this, that is why they are pushing Prime like mad, selling items under their own brand, and now even buying Whole Foods to give them a physical presence (which is hilarious - for years the mantra has been brick and mortar is dead, Amazon will eat the world ... then Amazon buys a brick and mortar chain and it's genius). I could see them spinning off their whole online marketplace as a separate entity.

Re: Amazon's Fake Review Problem

#293

Post by stri8ed » Sun, Dec 17, 2017, 5:16 PM UTC

xellisx wrote: post #9

I usually look at the 1 star reviews first and see if the complaints are user error, unreal expectations or really a poorly designed product.

I don't know that this solves the problem, since competitors can just start leaving fake negative reviews on competing products.

Re: Amazon's Fake Review Problem

#294

Post by m1sta_ » Sun, Dec 17, 2017, 5:30 PM UTC

dizzystar wrote: post #242

mistermann wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Due to the unbalanced pricing policies of the United Postal Union and subsidies from the U.S. Postal Service, it costs people in China virtually nothing to ship small packages to the U.S. That, combined with the super cheap price they pay for the junk they ship, makes brushing a quick and cost effective way to move up the sales rankings -- which means everything for e-commerce merchants." I simply can't fathom why W…

Everyone US seller is, sort of, and Amazon is as well. Customers still expect their stuff in 2 days, expect easy returns, and expect QC at the warehouse, and that's something China cannot replicate. Fake reviews have been an easy exploit for sellers for a long time, and sellers will often buy from competitors just to leave verified bad reviews. It's an ugly game I don't have an answer to. Amazon recently introduced V…

Identity is the only solution.

Re: Amazon's Fake Review Problem

#295

Post by scholia » Sun, Dec 17, 2017, 5:53 PM UTC

dingo_bat wrote: post #212

jacek wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The brand is Bluedio. They have pretty good reviews considering the price. I have used Xiaomi before and was amazed by quality/price. I was hoping Bluedio, which is another Chinese brand would be also good. I was wrong. EDIT: Here's the fake review analysis for the headphones: https://www.fakespot.com/product/bluedio-f2-faith-active-noi...

For Bluetooth headphones, I just blindly get whatever Sony has at my budget. It has worked well for me till now.

I've never heard a Sony audio product that actually sounded bad, and I've owned a lot of them, including earbuds, headphones, MP3 players, cassette players, audio systems, Blu-ray, SACD and MiniDisc ;-)

They haven't all been the best sounding, or even the best value, but they've all had decent sound quality. Some of them have had exceptional sound quality.

Re: Amazon's Fake Review Problem

#296

Post by sound1 » Sun, Dec 17, 2017, 6:07 PM UTC

scholia wrote: post #295

dingo_bat wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For Bluetooth headphones, I just blindly get whatever Sony has at my budget. It has worked well for me till now.

I've never heard a Sony audio product that actually sounded bad, and I've owned a lot of them, including earbuds, headphones, MP3 players, cassette players, audio systems, Blu-ray, SACD and MiniDisc ;-) They haven't all been the best sounding, or even the best value, but they've all had decent sound quality. Some of them have had exceptional sound quality.

I have to agree. I owned several Sony audio products and listened to many (earbuds, amps and portable players) and they always sounded good for the money. I especially like the way their portable players sound, they seem to have really nice amps.

(Darn, had to create an account to post this comment)

Re: Amazon's Fake Review Problem

#297

Post by dizzystar » Sun, Dec 17, 2017, 6:39 PM UTC

nickjj wrote: post #284

dizzystar wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone US seller is, sort of, and Amazon is as well. Customers still expect their stuff in 2 days, expect easy returns, and expect QC at the warehouse, and that's something China cannot replicate. Fake reviews have been an easy exploit for sellers for a long time, and sellers will often buy from competitors just to leave verified bad reviews. It's an ugly game I don't have an answer to. Amazon recently introduced V…

I expect things in 2-3 days but realistically it never happens without paying a hefty premium. Amazon's shipping schedule is really bad because they hold your items hostage unless you pay for Prime. It's essentially blackmail to get your item in a reasonable time frame. As a non-Prime subscriber it usually takes 7-10 days to get an item if you use their free shipping or 5-7 days if you use the cheapest paid shipping…

The post I answered was about Chinese sellers. A good US-based 3rd party seller will ship ASAP and use USPS flat rate. Amazon is much more than Amazon warehouses and Prime.

Re: Amazon's Fake Review Problem

#298

Post by ryanSrich » Sun, Dec 17, 2017, 6:45 PM UTC

nasredin wrote: post #141

ajmurmann wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish that Amazon could split the market place off. I disliked it from the first day they introduced it. I want to buy from Amazon not some company I've never heard of. It's if course never gonna happen. It's too convenient for Amazon and most users probably don't even understand that they aren't buying from Amazon.

>I wish that Amazon could split the market place off. Recently Amazon made it much harder to select sellers. Now on some products, the page is so confusing that you don't know is it "Fullfilled by Amazon" or you are buying from someone in China. Race to the bottom and all...

Does filtering by prime only help? I've started only buying prime eligible items and I've seen quality increase slightly. Also, oddly enough I've found jet.com to be far superior to Amazon in both price and quality when they actually have the item I need.

Re: Amazon's Fake Review Problem

#299

Post by martin_andrino » Sun, Dec 17, 2017, 7:06 PM UTC

jacek wrote: post #39

The fake review problem on Amazon is much bigger than people think. Here are my two anecdotes: 1. I got bluetooth headphones on amazon (~$65). They had great reviews, but were very disappointing. I returned them and gave 2 star review. Representative from the manufacturer contacted me and offered me a pair for free. After I got them, they asked for positive review. I refused. That manipulation technique wasn't enough…

I bet you received a counterfeit item and you did not realize this. This post suggests that you may be suffering a textbook example of confirmation bias [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

Re: Amazon's Fake Review Problem

#300

Post by jasonlotito » Sun, Dec 17, 2017, 7:07 PM UTC

Amazon allows people known to sell reviews for money or product into their special review program (I forget what it's called, but it highlights someone as a good reviewer). I know this because a family member got caught and effectively nothing happened.