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Has there been any discussion on how to solve these sorts of issues recently? Clearly, going after the people doing them won't always work, as there will always

by reustle 11y ago

Has there been any discussion on how to solve these sorts of issues recently? Clearly, going after the people doing them won't always work, as there will always be another platform. Does a site like amazon only allow people who purchased the product through then leave a review? How about other sites?

akcreek 11y ago
It is very common for sites to allow non-verified purchasers to leave reviews. Amazon works this way. You'll see reviews on Amazon all the time where people specifically mention that they bought it somewhere else. I've always wondered why someone would leave a legitimate review on Amazon for a product they didn't buy from Amazon. Maybe the answer is that they aren't legitimate though. Some review software notes when a reviewer is a verified purchaser. I look for that when reading reviews because at least they have the product in question.
- mirimir 11y ago
  That makes no sense to me. I can't imagine feeling strongly enough (positively or negatively) about something that I bought locally (or wherever) to bother commenting on Amazon. What does Amazon get from accepting reviews that are likely fake?
- chlee 11y ago
  Sometimes companies would pay (or reimburse) for their "preferred" reviewers to purchase a product off amazon so they can leave favorable reviews as a "verified purchased". Sometimes the reviewers would be honest and say they are reviewing on behalf of company X. Sometimes not. Anyways, all of this is a roundabout way of saying that even reviews from verified purchasers may not be 100% honest.
rebootthesystem 11y ago
Reviews on Amazon are a disaster. It's a virtual battlefield where dishonest competitors hire hordes of people to post negative reviews about their competitors. Amazon could very easily put a stop to this by simply requiring that a person must have purchased the product on Amazon and have a purchasing history. Add reasonable heuristics (for example, you can't leave a review for a blender before it was delivered or for a weight loss product three days after you got it) and things could start to make sense. Amazon can definitely make reviews legitimate and useful again but they are not interested for some reason. I don't know what that is at all. Allowing non-buyers to leave reviews makes no sense.
- chx 11y ago
  They'd order the product and send it back.

by reustle 11y ago

akcreek 11y ago

It is very common for sites to allow non-verified purchasers to leave reviews. Amazon works this way. You'll see reviews on Amazon all the time where people specifically mention that they bought it somewhere else. I've always wondered why someone would leave a legitimate review on Amazon for a product they didn't buy from Amazon. Maybe the answer is that they aren't legitimate though. Some review software notes when a reviewer is a verified purchaser. I look for that when reading reviews because at least they have the product in question.

mirimir 11y ago
That makes no sense to me. I can't imagine feeling strongly enough (positively or negatively) about something that I bought locally (or wherever) to bother commenting on Amazon. What does Amazon get from accepting reviews that are likely fake?
chlee 11y ago
Sometimes companies would pay (or reimburse) for their "preferred" reviewers to purchase a product off amazon so they can leave favorable reviews as a "verified purchased". Sometimes the reviewers would be honest and say they are reviewing on behalf of company X. Sometimes not. Anyways, all of this is a roundabout way of saying that even reviews from verified purchasers may not be 100% honest.

rebootthesystem 11y ago

Reviews on Amazon are a disaster. It's a virtual battlefield where dishonest competitors hire hordes of people to post negative reviews about their competitors. Amazon could very easily put a stop to this by simply requiring that a person must have purchased the product on Amazon and have a purchasing history. Add reasonable heuristics (for example, you can't leave a review for a blender before it was delivered or for a weight loss product three days after you got it) and things could start to make sense. Amazon can definitely make reviews legitimate and useful again but they are not interested for some reason. I don't know what that is at all. Allowing non-buyers to leave reviews makes no sense.

chx 11y ago
They'd order the product and send it back.