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Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online

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Re: Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online

#102
post #30

Amazon loves fake reviews as long as they are 5 star. The more it looks like people buying stuff using amazon are happy, the better that marketing is for Amazon. Look at all these people who are so happy to be buying stuff on Amazon, so much better than the alternatives. Amazon could clean this up and then watch the average drop. From the removal of the fake fives but also it makes it look more "socially accpetable"…

Disruptive solution proposal: Get rid of the review system entirely. Stars, comments, user pictures; eliminate all of it. For everyone. There. Problem solved.

Good idea. Just list percent returns instead.

Re: Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online

#103
post #30

Amazon loves fake reviews as long as they are 5 star. The more it looks like people buying stuff using amazon are happy, the better that marketing is for Amazon. Look at all these people who are so happy to be buying stuff on Amazon, so much better than the alternatives. Amazon could clean this up and then watch the average drop. From the removal of the fake fives but also it makes it look more "socially accpetable"…

My mother-in-law no longer buys anything of significance from Amazon after being burned with counterfeit materials. I carefully check reviews, use fakespot, etc. There is a point where the eroding of trust will be significant enough to affect the bottom line. Eventually most people know to not trust Amazon reviews, soon it will be.

How are so many people buying counterfeit stuff on Amazon? What are they buying? Why would someone copy it? Are they just looking at price?

Re: Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online

#104
I'm just spitballing, but what do you guys think about this as a fake-resistant review system?

To list your product on Amazon as a seller, you pay $500 per year as a "review incentivization fee." The algorithm randomly selects buyers and emails them 1 month after their purchase. They are offered $10 to write a review. The chance of being randomly selected as a reviewer auto-adjusts to target a goal of 50 reviews per year, and no one except those people is allowed to post reviews. Also, reviewers can update their reviews later if their impression of the product changes.

If a seller wanted to keep farming reviews, they would now have to buy up the vast majority of their own inventory in the hopes of being selected. Also, my system prevents people who are experiencing one-in-a-million problems (or who are just habitually disgruntled) from dominating the conversation.

Re: Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how exactly does that solve the problem?

Because the truth is that the reviews are probably almost all fake. Who the f**k IRL takes the time to log back in and leave a product review when the product arrives? I've never done it, and I used to buy from Amazon quite a lot.

I do it. It’s easy because the site prompts me to do it. And I’m happy to help future buyers.

Re: Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online

#108
post #104

I'm just spitballing, but what do you guys think about this as a fake-resistant review system? To list your product on Amazon as a seller, you pay $500 per year as a "review incentivization fee." The algorithm randomly selects buyers and emails them 1 month after their purchase. They are offered $10 to write a review. The chance of being randomly selected as a reviewer auto-adjusts to target a goal of 50 reviews per…

Sellers already pay people to write reviews– and compensate for the product. How is this system any different?

> If a seller wanted to keep farming reviews, they would now have to buy up the vast majority of their own inventory in the hopes of being selected.

They already have 100 people buy their product and fully pay for it for a review.

Re: Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online

#109
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disruptive solution proposal: Get rid of the review system entirely. Stars, comments, user pictures; eliminate all of it. For everyone. There. Problem solved.

I don't think reviews are bad, but I think 5 stars is. Should just be thumbs up, thumbs down. Maybe a "meh" in between. Alternatively, ask for ratings as 5 star, treat 4 as a meh, and anything 3 or below as a thumbs down.

There are lots of weird things that happen in reviews (from real people). I've often come across three-star reviews which say:

"Product was awesome, but shipping took three days, not one".

There are other reviews I've found useful, for example ones that point out minor flaws. That ability would be lost if you had a simple "good/bad" reaction only.

Re: Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online

#110
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disruptive solution proposal: Get rid of the review system entirely. Stars, comments, user pictures; eliminate all of it. For everyone. There. Problem solved.

I don't think reviews are bad, but I think 5 stars is. Should just be thumbs up, thumbs down. Maybe a "meh" in between. Alternatively, ask for ratings as 5 star, treat 4 as a meh, and anything 3 or below as a thumbs down.

No please don’t Netflix the Amazon reviews. There is a huge advantage in granularity. Everything in life isn’t so binary, where you either loved or hated it. There is so much gray area in between that makes ratings useful. Netflix neutered their whole rating system when they introduced the thumbs up and down system.
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