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Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

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Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#281

Post by csnover »

xnyan wrote: post #248
csnover wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does Amazon even allow FBA sellers to be registered in another country like this? Forget about counterfeiting and taxes, what about basic issues of safety and liability? A family member of mine recently bought a wearable electronic device from Amazon.com. I got a phone call from them asking what charger to use because it came with a USB cable and a note saying to use only a 1A charger. (Hang on, that’s not how US…

> because it came with a USB cable and a note saying to use only a 1A charger. I might not understand, but current-limited power supplies are a real thing. In America/UL speak its called LPS (limited power supply, the limit being current/amperage).

I’m not a hardware engineer, but my understanding is that a USB device isn’t supposed to draw that much current without performing either negotiation or sensing. Including a note that the user must use a 1A charger suggests that the device is violating the USB spec and will try to pull 1A no matter what. It then makes me worry about what other power safety systems are absent, since it’s a device with a lithium battery that gets strapped directly to a body part.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#282

Post by jorblumesea »

bradenb wrote: post #267
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…

That's not really the point. Having companies remove paying customer reviews because they [3rd parties] don't like low start reviews just feels shady and a terrible format for any kind of ecosystem.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#284

Post by theamk »

jrockway wrote: post #120
toxik wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... and give away $20 gift cards to people who leave 5-star reviews!

There is something about how the human brain works that makes us hate this. It happens in games a lot; the community will complain that a certain character is broken and that they hate playing against it... but won't actually go play the character themselves to exploit the brokenness for their own gain. Seems silly to me. (Buying reviews might actually be illegal though, so that's a strong argument to not do it.)

Yes, this is called “not being a jerk”.

Doing something which is technically legal, benefits you, but causes other players to “hate playing” is not a good long term strategy. This normally ends with either the person being rejected, or, if the rest of people are nice, the group itself disbanding.

Nothing silly about this.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#285

Post by wavefunction »

Eh, I got an insert in a product I purchased offering me a set of magnetized screwdrivers if I sent their social media a screenshot of my positive review. Not exactly paid but it incentivized me to take a picture of my already positive review and send it to the company.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#286

Post by istjohn »

lemoncucumber wrote: post #246
robotnikman wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best place to find reviews it seems is through subscription paid independent reviewers. Consumer reports is one that comes to mind (they are also non-profit), as well as rtings. If you are looking for reviews for more niche products though, your pretty much on your own when it comes to finding out if its good or not.

A decent free option for reviews is Wirecutter from the New York Times. I've yet to buy anything that they recommended that was outright bad, and they have a surprising breadth of categories that they review. They make money through affiliate links, but they claim that the writers/reviewers have no knowledge of which companies have affiliate relationships with the Wirecutter so it doesn't bias their picks.

I've bought USB cables on their recommendation only to find their top pick had quality issues. The most frustrating part was the way they ignored feedback in the review's comment section. My critical (but calm and reasoned) comment was even deleted. I do look at their reviews, but they are not decisive for me.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#287

Post by AlexITC »

joshuaissac wrote: post #252
AlexITC wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having written several browser extensions, I have been thinking on building another one for people to comment on any website. Which ends up being useful for reviews. And, while I like the idea, there are two main details preventing me from pursuing it: - Moderating content provided by users is exhausting/costly. - I see no other way than ads to fund it, while it can potentially work as a paid app, it won't work until…

There was a similar add-on called Dissenter written by people associated with the American right-wing social network Gab, and it was banned from the Mozilla and Chrome add-on stores, citing policy violations.[1] 1. https://hub.packtpub.com/mozilla-and-google-chrome-refuse-to...

> When asked for more clarity on which policies Dissenter did not comply with, Mozilla said that they received abuse reports for this extension. It further added that the platform is being used for promoting violence, hate speech, and discrimination, but they failed to show any examples to add any credibility to their claims.

Wow, thanks for sharing the post.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#288

Post by jdmichal »

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…

I think we're mostly in agreement. The only thing I disagree with is that, based on the article, we are de facto in a system where paying $20 for a 5 star review is one of the rules. I base this on the fact that it's happening.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#289

Post by pmiller2 »

joombaga wrote: post #233
pmiller2 wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not relevant. You were talking about seller reviews, not product reviews before. Why are you trying to avoid the question? Do you think choosing a reputable seller is a "secondary" concern after choosing a product? If so, why?

> Why are you trying to avoid the question? I wasn't trying to avoid a question. Sorry if I missed one. > You were talking about seller reviews, not product reviews before. I was actually talking about both types of reviews. Amazon will remove illegitimate product reviews if their existence is made known through seller feedback mechanisms, and seller reviews are one such mechanism. > Do you think choosing a reputable…

I don't think most people consider having a reputable seller a secondary consideration. Take a look at Prime, for instance. There's literally no reason to have a Prime membership other than getting free shipping from a reputable seller.

Re: Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews

#290

Post by thewebcount »

twblalock wrote: post #158

Paid reviews have been a weapon on Amazon for a long time. False accusations of paying for reviews would also be weaponized. What would stop a dishonest seller from smearing a competitor, by paying people to write reviews on the competitor's product page which falsely accuse the competitor of paying for reviews?

Nothing would stop them from trying it, but I think it would ultimately be a lot less effective. I think your average consumer would write a 5 star review for $20 back. I don't think your average consumer would write a 1 star review for a competitor for $20 back. Some would, but I think it would be far fewer.
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