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Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

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Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#261

Post by chordalkeyboard »

filoleg wrote: post #241
jdmichal wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But this is life, and there's not really a difference between "arbitrary rule system designed for a game" and "arbitrary rule system designed for 5-star reviews". They're both just "arbitrary rules", and some people are going to Play to Win. So what are you going to do about them?

I think you and the parent comment are both missing the point of the example with the videogame (not in the least part, because the analogy was not really applicable at all). Having that "arbitrary" throw mechanic in the game was done intentionally to make the game more balanced and enjoyable for the customer. The only people complaining about it are very very early beginners, who don't realize that removing that mec…

The purpose of a system is what it does.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#262

Post by la6471 »

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…

Can you please post the link of the webcam here with the paid reviews.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#263

Post by Ericson2314 »

jorblumesea wrote: post #219

I never understand why this is done. All it does is completely undermine the entire ecosystem that took years and billions to make. What a shortsighted move. Even more confusing, Amazon LPs say they want to be customer and user focused. Are the end users not the real users here?

it doesn't undermine it if there is no alternative.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#264

Post by topkai22 »

ineedasername wrote: post #247
gowld wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That why it's not fun to play a game using a third party's rules. Fun games have rules approved by the players.

I'm confused-- It's not a 3rd party when it's the creator of the game. Unless you're saying no games created by someone else are fun? I don't think you're saying that-- it's just the implication I'm getting because I'm not sure what you mean. Because any game you don't create has rules established by someone else.

Of course the original creator sets the baseline, but there absolutely can be rules created past the original creation of the game. For example, my friends and I generally disallowed playing as Oddjob in Goldeneye back in the day. Totally valid within the context of the game programming, totally disallowed by social convention.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#265

Post by serf »

maxk42 wrote: post #210

I'm seeing similar things everywhere. I stood in line for a food truck a couple years ago that offered a promotion "$2 off your order if you show us your 5-star review of our truck on [site]." Obviously, you have to do this before you even order your food so I was intensely put-off by this. I gave them a 5-star review with no comment, received my discount, then after I tried the food I edited the review to 1-star wit…

>Every single game on the Google Play store does this now, too.

it will be a problem until the transaction is A-B with the merchant.

as long as there is a central entity between the two profiting somehow (yelp,google play, amazon, ebay, etc), it'll always be gamed like that, hoping the central party stays willfully blind to the gaming of the rules.

And the central party will stay willfully blind without legislation -- it affects their profits.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#266

Post by nextos »

maxk42 wrote: post #210

I'm seeing similar things everywhere. I stood in line for a food truck a couple years ago that offered a promotion "$2 off your order if you show us your 5-star review of our truck on [site]." Obviously, you have to do this before you even order your food so I was intensely put-off by this. I gave them a 5-star review with no comment, received my discount, then after I tried the food I edited the review to 1-star wit…

Google reviews are massively edited upon complaints. A while ago I rented a pretty nice and expensive apartment in Southern England. I was the first tenant and there were huge pipe leaks and other horrible construction issues, like a misaligned lift that kept trapping people inside. Neighbors next door, who owned apartments built by the same company, had different but equally annoying issues. And the company didn't do much to fix them.

After moving out, I left a pretty elaborate 1-star review in their Google profile. This triggered tons of very descriptive 1-star reviews, as customers were asked their opinion by a Google bot. After a few months, they were also deleted. Said company has been featured by Bucks newspapers as they bully locals that oppose their tactics to allocate land by bribing councils. I guess there's nothing like having aggressive solicitors.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#267

Post by bradenb »

maxk42 wrote: post #210

I'm seeing similar things everywhere. I stood in line for a food truck a couple years ago that offered a promotion "$2 off your order if you show us your 5-star review of our truck on [site]." Obviously, you have to do this before you even order your food so I was intensely put-off by this. I gave them a 5-star review with no comment, received my discount, then after I tried the food I edited the review to 1-star wit…

While I think you mostly played this right I also greatly dislike people leaving totally binary reviews. 1 star because they had sleazy review tactics? This is part of the problem. We need unbiased reviews now more than ever. So many people aren't going to share your principles so trying for force the issue by giving a misleading rating is not a good approach. I think it would have been much better to just review it based on the product you're purchasing and if you feel so inclined put a big "DISCLAIMER" at the top that people will read first that goes into your feelings on the matter.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#268

Post by teddyh »

donmcronald wrote: post #70
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…

China Export [1] are the only two words anyone should ever need to know about Amazon when it comes to safety and quality. 1. https://support.ce-check.eu/hc/en-us/articles/360008642600-H...

Fake urban legend: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#269

Post by sicromoft »

heavyset_go wrote: post #35
gnopgnip wrote: post #19

Product reviews are only for reviewing the product, not the shipping, or the seller's practices. There are other ways to report this to Amazon, and you can report it to the FTC

Each state's Attorney General's office usually has a department of consumer protection that will hear these complaints. I've reported Amazon to my AG more than once.

You can also report them to /dev/null, it will have the same effect.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#270

Post by thelandofrandom »

This is terribly frustrating - and rampant throughout the world of Amazon Reviews. Many sellers use this kind of hack to get ahead. I know it's horribly cliche to say "we need blockchain for reviews" but I believe some kind of independent review system would be a killer app, so to speak. From Google to Amazon, the review cannot often be trusted.
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