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Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

arstechnica.com

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Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#21

Post by smitty1110 »

Raed667 wrote: post #8

From the article listed (a toy drone) [1], reviews range from talking about car oil, stickers for kids, a plaque for finishing a race, honey, something about horses (?).. What is this mess !? And how is this not Amazon's top priority? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P14T1Z2

Because they take a percent off the top as the payment processor. And even if you return an item, they're not going to return that fee. When the seller fulfills the order it's even better ,amazon has almost no cost for the entire transaction. They won't care until people start ditching them in large numbers, not the trickle the dissatisfied in these comments (myself included) represent.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#22

Post by MichaelApproved »

alkonaut wrote: post #11

Amazon reviews are about as useful as Youtube comments. You can read them for entertainment but don't expect anything useful about the product, and don't base a purchase decision on them.

Not entirely true. Yes, Amazon is flooded with fake reviews but I still look through them.

Photos and videos in reviews are extremely helpful.

There are also many in-depth reviews that are trustworthy.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#23

Post by pjc50 »

TravisLS wrote: post #18

There's a somewhat pervasive idea that advertising and brand recognition are coercive tools that will ultimately die out, replaced by better objective information about products. I'm kind of partial to this idea myself. But increasingly we seem a long way from achieving this. Amazon reviews have become such garbage, I've fallen back to pretty much relying on name brands as my placeholder for product quality. There's…

If anything, the last few years of politics have convinced me that objective information is more likely to die out, replaced by advertising, brand recognition, and coercive tools.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#25

Post by Raed667 »

smitty1110 wrote: post #21
Raed667 wrote: post #8

From the article listed (a toy drone) [1], reviews range from talking about car oil, stickers for kids, a plaque for finishing a race, honey, something about horses (?).. What is this mess !? And how is this not Amazon's top priority? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P14T1Z2

Because they take a percent off the top as the payment processor. And even if you return an item, they're not going to return that fee. When the seller fulfills the order it's even better ,amazon has almost no cost for the entire transaction. They won't care until people start ditching them in large numbers, not the trickle the dissatisfied in these comments (myself included) represent.

I'm assuming through their (in)famous hiring process, that they have smart/competent people around. They for sure know that this kind of thing will turn people off the platform long term.

Devil advocate: Could it be that the problem is actually quite complex due to whatever reason?

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#26

Post by loloquwowndueo »

lesinski wrote: post #24

Here’s why Wirecutter can make an entire business out of credibly reviewing products

And then wreck it by putting most reviews behind a login wall (sure it’s free but I don’t want another account). Reader mode to the rescue!

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#28

Post by MaxBarraclough »

TravisLS wrote: post #18

There's a somewhat pervasive idea that advertising and brand recognition are coercive tools that will ultimately die out, replaced by better objective information about products. I'm kind of partial to this idea myself. But increasingly we seem a long way from achieving this. Amazon reviews have become such garbage, I've fallen back to pretty much relying on name brands as my placeholder for product quality. There's…

> replaced by better objective information about products

I don't have much to add here, but economists call this perfect information.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#29

Post by cambalache »

I was a heavy Amazon customer 8-10 years ago. I only bought stuff sold directly by Amazon, and that was not hard to do, since +90% of the products had that option. The other day I was just checking the price of an article for my mom and I was shocked how different is now, the proportion has totally changed, +90% of the articles are not sold by Amazon and by the "stores" name it looks they are barely better than random dropshippers. So if you buy 3-4 articles instead of dealing with a single established company you are dealing with many unknown vendors. The probability of getting lemons rises up dramatically.

Amazon has gotten complacent due to its quasi-monopoly. I think now it is the time for a serious competition to take business out from them. One of those brick-and-mortar ex-giants, the ones who were displaced could make a comeback. If I buy online I want to deal with recognized companies who have a track record of shipping real products and honoring the warranties, not with some randoms hidden behind not recognizable names.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#30

Post by kube-system »

pjc50 wrote: post #23
TravisLS wrote: post #18

There's a somewhat pervasive idea that advertising and brand recognition are coercive tools that will ultimately die out, replaced by better objective information about products. I'm kind of partial to this idea myself. But increasingly we seem a long way from achieving this. Amazon reviews have become such garbage, I've fallen back to pretty much relying on name brands as my placeholder for product quality. There's…

If anything, the last few years of politics have convinced me that objective information is more likely to die out, replaced by advertising, brand recognition, and coercive tools.

I feel like this could be said any time over the past 100 years, at a minimum.
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