Fake review factories that run on Facebook and post five-star Amazon reviews

Post by TheCoelacanth » Mon, Oct 22, 2018, 1:18 PM UTC

shostack wrote: post #156

mancerayder wrote: post #131

A colleague recently pointed me to fakespot.com, where you paste the URL of a product (like an Amazon product) and (it seems) it does an ML type analysis to score the likelihood of fakeness in the aggregate of reviews with a score and then highlights the likely fake ones and why it thinks what it thinks. There's surely a market for verification for customers as much as there's one for the criminally-minded sellers.

Which begs the question of why Amazon isn't offering this themselves, or doing it in the background in a way that prevents this from being the problem it is. I have to wonder at some level if in the short term this boosts their sales figures, but long term erodes trust in buying from them and diminishes their stranglehold. I used to trust Amazon reviews to the point I'd often not read a ton or research reviews else w…

Post by zarriak » Mon, Oct 22, 2018, 1:33 PM UTC

Someone1234 wrote: post #16

zarriak wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon doesn't deliver the things you bought. I don't understand why you are buying luxury goods off of Amazon when you aren't able to distinguish between counterfeit goods. There is a reason designer stores exist. There are many reasons that Amazon as a company and service are bad but almost none of what you describe is a valid complaint.

Amazon logistics deliver at least 1/3 of the items I purchase from them. A "Prime" branded van literally pulls up to my house and someone who I assume works for Amazon drops the package on my stoop. > I don't understand why you are buying luxury goods off of Amazon when you aren't able to distinguish between counterfeit goods. I read this sentence four times and still don't quite understand it. Particularly in respon…

Post by ceyhunkazel » Mon, Oct 22, 2018, 1:39 PM UTC

nonninz wrote: post #263

jwillmer wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you mind adding an option to change amazon country?

This. In Europe each country (with an Amazon presence ofc) has its own website, each with its own stock and sellers. Buying from the US website is often a no-go, because of the shipping times and the customs fees, and also buying from other european countries is often bad as you forego free shipping and returns. But anyway thank you for your product, it's already pretty useful for brand products. :)

Post by mbesto » Mon, Oct 22, 2018, 1:44 PM UTC

simias wrote: post #237

x0054 wrote: post #111

Amazon is going downhill quickly. I target shoot with a compound bow as a hobby, and as a result I usually buy a set of arrows a year. In 2015 when I would search for "target arrows" on Amazon the first page results would be for legit American companies who make exceptional arrows for about $30 per set of 6. Now, and for the last 2 years if I search for "target arrows" I get pages and pages of Chinese crap arrows (I…

It's really baffling to me how despite being one of the largest companies in the world and being centered around e-commerce Amazon doesn't do anything about these issues weakening their core product. I say "do nothing" not "fail to stop" because I haven't seen any evidence that Amazon does anything at all to prevent or discourage these behaviors. I wonder if it's because they push the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it…

Post by bluGill » Mon, Oct 22, 2018, 1:47 PM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #206

macintux wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For any product I care about, I do my best to find online retailers who specialize in that category. I'll buy disposable stuff off Amazon, or something I literally cannot find anywhere else, but that's about it. I broke my rule last week to buy a CB radio that was about 66% the usual retail price, so of course the seller rewarded me by having it delivered 600 miles away (either that, or USPS seriously messed up) and…

I much preferred the convenience of a single source which already had all my payment details setup, delivery addresses set up, and which I knew wouldn't give me any bullshit with returns. Fulfillment should be a commodity, and I don't want to have to deal with how different brands have structured their own fulfillment.