Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#91

Post by nyxtom » Thu, Dec 17, 2020, 9:18 PM UTC

t-writescode wrote: post #77

nyxtom wrote: post #58

I wonder if anyone has done any analysis on marketplace diversity for a given product. One of the absolute sore points of buying anything on Amazon is when you run into the issue where the product clearly looks the exact same yet there are seemingly dozens and dozens of brands all with hundreds of 4-5 star reviews.

Isn’t that just a common, white-labeling manufacturer?

That would certainly make sense. I'd like to see if there was any "illusion of choice" type graphic that looked at all the white labeling brands and even Amazon's own private label brands for products into a graphic or visual.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#92

Post by zentiggr » Thu, Dec 17, 2020, 9:18 PM UTC

ardy42 wrote: post #56

pc86 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not saying Amazon needs to spend $20. You're saying Amazon needs to buy one of every product on Amazon that gets a complaint.

> You're not saying Amazon needs to spend $20. You're saying Amazon needs to buy one of every product on Amazon that gets a complaint. Amazon, being one of the largest and most successful companies in the world, can afford to do that and then some. Yeah, it won't be exactly $20, but it will still be a tiny amount for a company that size. I mean, "inspecting the products you sell for compliance" shouldn't be an option…

And we're back around to the quote "It's very difficult to make someone understand something, when their salary depends on their not understanding it."

Unless Amazon loses because of these misrepresentations, they're not going to care. Cash flow and sales volume up, and they'll let anything go unless it somehow causes lost sales at scale.

Always, always, buyer beware.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#93

Post by TheOtherHobbes » Thu, Dec 17, 2020, 9:19 PM UTC

rsync wrote: post #48

Now I remember ... The previous review practice that outraged me was when someone here at HN was producing very detailed analysis of LED bulbs (spectral analysis, etc.) and proving that lots of bulbs on Amazon had CRI and color temperature ratings that were way off . He then described how he posted that in some reviews and they were all taken down. Which is to say, crummy LED bulb on Amazon with an inflated CRI canno…

Amazon doesn't give a shit. Amazon only wants to sell more stuff, so of course it's going to take down objective negative reviews and whistle-blowing accounts of review payola.

This is a regulatory problem. If Amazon was a corner hardware store it would have been fined multiple times and the owner might well have been jailed by now.

But thanks to the magic power of Internet leverage and the fact that only giant trading blocs like the EU have any power over multinational malfeasance, Amazon continues to do this shit - and will continue to do it, probably even after it's broken up.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#94

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Dec 17, 2020, 9:21 PM UTC

donmcronald wrote: post #63

PaulHoule wrote: post #10

There is a basic problem that if you see an obvious problem with a product listing on AMZN but you didn't buy the product they could care less. Sometimes the listing is obviously a scam, sometimes it is is just something that could be better: somebody is selling a box of assorted TTL ICs for $30 which were ill chosen for any use than testing your logic tester. (e.g. with $30 of quad-NANDs you can build a lot) In the…

The thing that absolutely blows my mind is the way other retailers want to be like Amazon, so they've all added 3rd party sellers to their websites. It's impossible to find anything because search results are dominated by absolute garbage on every retailer's site. They've taken the worst part of Amazon and latched onto it like it's the magic sauce that's going to make them relevant again. The other thing that I find…

[deleted]

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#95

Post by ninju » Thu, Dec 17, 2020, 9:21 PM UTC

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #37

yenwodyah wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got the same kind of card ordering a laptop charger earlier this year. Tried to report it to Amazon. Got back a canned response telling me to report individual reviews. Amazon doesn't care.

Worse, there's no such thing as 'free' money. If they can pay us $20 per item to write reviews, they are over-charging us $20 per item. So whoever doesn't do this is over-paying $20. If you buy 100 items like this a year, you're burning $2,000. That's non-trivial money for most people.

Sorta true,

You were still willing to pay the listed price. The fact that you were subsidizing their reward program doesn't diminish the fact that it was cheap enough for you to buy.

Also they maybe doing this promotion as a loss-leader to build marketshare/brand recognition and are willing to work with lower net profit.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#96

Post by sumtechguy » Thu, Dec 17, 2020, 9:21 PM UTC

donmcronald wrote: post #63

PaulHoule wrote: post #10

There is a basic problem that if you see an obvious problem with a product listing on AMZN but you didn't buy the product they could care less. Sometimes the listing is obviously a scam, sometimes it is is just something that could be better: somebody is selling a box of assorted TTL ICs for $30 which were ill chosen for any use than testing your logic tester. (e.g. with $30 of quad-NANDs you can build a lot) In the…

The thing that absolutely blows my mind is the way other retailers want to be like Amazon, so they've all added 3rd party sellers to their websites. It's impossible to find anything because search results are dominated by absolute garbage on every retailer's site. They've taken the worst part of Amazon and latched onto it like it's the magic sauce that's going to make them relevant again. The other thing that I find…

What is more frustrating is the search stinks. Pick something that most places have.... say a DVD. Top 3-5 results will NOT be what you are looking for (sponsored links) or links to amazons 'prime selection' where they charge for a digital copy (if I wanted digital I would buy that). Then maybe the middle 3-5 items might be what you are looking for and the bottom 3-5 items will be 'sponsored links'. Finding things has become a pain. You have to play a game of get the title exactly right or it will not show you the thing. I have had items I marked down to look at later (not using the wishlist). Come back 3-4 days later and it will not even pop on the search at all. Find the exact title and ta-da there it is. Amazon has really gone downhill fast.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#97

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Dec 17, 2020, 9:21 PM UTC

Buttons840 wrote: post #52

willhslade wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been party to this scheme incidentally and the antenna I bought mentioned that they would only honour one purchase for a discount.

But how many products/companies are doing this? If there's 500 different products/companies offering $20 gift cards for 5-star reviews you can milk that for awhile and spread the word to others who are also in on the scheme.

[deleted]

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#98

Post by kevin_thibedeau » Thu, Dec 17, 2020, 9:21 PM UTC

rsync wrote: post #48

Now I remember ... The previous review practice that outraged me was when someone here at HN was producing very detailed analysis of LED bulbs (spectral analysis, etc.) and proving that lots of bulbs on Amazon had CRI and color temperature ratings that were way off . He then described how he posted that in some reviews and they were all taken down. Which is to say, crummy LED bulb on Amazon with an inflated CRI canno…

I bought a 3D printer that was missing a guide rod and couldn't be assembled. The package the rods were wrapped in had been opened apparently at the factory given that the rest of the contents were pristine and sealed. I posted a negative review that was never put on the product page. It wasn't worth my time returning it since I could order a replacement off eBay for less than RMA shipping.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#99

Post by Angostura » Thu, Dec 17, 2020, 9:22 PM UTC

hbosch wrote: post #81

ilamont wrote: post #16

I purchased the same webcam for my high school sophomore in September 2020, as school restarted (all online for him). The box contained a $20 "gift card" if I emailed proof of my 5-star review. It looks identical to the one I received (including the email address). Only the reward is different. I didn't try to write a review, I notified customer service in an attempt to report the seller. I documented everything incl…

I have to assume you meant the Amazon product with the url suffix "dp/B087NN41JH/". This seems to be the highest reviewed result for search term "webcam", at least on my page. Here on HN, we have a savvy audience that understands the problem on Amazon with counterfeits, fakes, and low-quality items. I don't usually have this problem myself, because I go out of my way to buy things from sellers that I recognize, such…

> But if so, they will just pop back up over night with a new name.

And that's fine. But if so they'll pop up again with zero reviews and have to work at rebuilding the scam.

This is a pretty shocking comment. Amazon suggests that Amazon reviews are worth at least something. If they are not then they should all be removed and we can go back following your strategy of "buying from companies that I know the name of, because they will be best". Now excuse me while I go and buy an IBM laptop.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#100

Post by z3t4 » Thu, Dec 17, 2020, 9:22 PM UTC

ljf wrote: post #30

PaulHoule wrote: post #10

There is a basic problem that if you see an obvious problem with a product listing on AMZN but you didn't buy the product they could care less. Sometimes the listing is obviously a scam, sometimes it is is just something that could be better: somebody is selling a box of assorted TTL ICs for $30 which were ill chosen for any use than testing your logic tester. (e.g. with $30 of quad-NANDs you can build a lot) In the…

I've totally given up on amazon, it is now impossible to know if what you are getting is of any quality - I wanted a good kitchen knife - but wading through the reviews and search was so painful. In the end I went to John Lewis and bought by price - hoping that gave me a good idea of quality and so far I am damn happy, which is far more than I can say for my last 20 or so amazon purchases.

When you find a good brand you stick to it. And if its a public company you can buy shares, and then tell everyone how good the products are and watch your investment go up, and earn money when they sell the goodwill.