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"you start approaching generalized AI to defeat them." This is, of course, bullshit. Human moderators could defeat them, Amazon is just not willing to hire the

"you start approaching generalized AI to defeat them." This is, of course, bullshit. Human moderators could defeat them, Amazon is just not willing to hire them. A seller reputation (including bans) could defeat them, Amazon is just not willing to lose the cheap knockoff stores. A listing fee would discourage a lot of the shadier stores, Amazon is just not willing to lose them. It's not that it's an insurmountable problem, it's an insurmountable problem if you combine it with boundless greed. We had the same problem a century ago. (Cf. the origins of the term 'snake oil salesman'). We solved the problem, through regulation. It's time we solve it again, through regulation. I can pretty much guarantee that making Amazon liable for damage from fake reviews will solve the issue. It won't happen in the US - regulation is up for sale here - but it will happen in the EU. It might just be enough to drag Amazon into sanity, kicking and screaming.

swsieber 8y ago
I hope it's not enough to drag Amazon into sanity. I hope somebody else comes along and beats the crap out of Amazon by offering what Amazon doesn't - honest reviews and rejection of straight up junk.
- Corrado 8y ago
  And maybe that's the way that Amazon goes down; quality over quantity. Hey, this is HN and we should be able to spot a deficiency in a business plan, right?! Here's how you go about toppling Amazon and building an empire: 1) open a store for online goods 2) take reviews seriously 3) profit!
  - pferde 8y ago
    Let's expand the plans a bit: 1) open a store for online goods 2) take reviews seriously 3) profit, for a while 4) get bought out by amazon or someone else who will then proceed to kill "2" 5) if resisted, be a target of coordinated media smear campaign and/or hacking attempts, each totally not ordered and covertly backed by amazon or another player whose piece of a pie you are eating 6) crack under pressure and just give up
    - ensiferum 8y ago
      Or in more likely scenario, die away and do a bankcrupt since nobody gives a shit about your crappy market place/online store
  - swsieber 8y ago
    Mmm... I was just hoping Amazon's competitors slowly gain an edge over Amazon and that Amazon's reputation is tarnished enough that it greatly impacts business.
insickness 8y ago
> It's time we solve it again, through regulation You had me up until here. The last entity I would look to to solve this first-world problem is the clumsy, over-bloated arm of government.
- groby_b 8y ago
  If you think this is a first world problem, you might want to look up the history of regulations, and how many people had to die due to shitty products before we finally said "enough is enough". We're heading that direction again. Our current flavor of capitalism strongly favors externalizing of all costs, and short of enforced liability for products violating standards will always opt for violating whatever low standards bar you set. (I'd also like to point out that the part of the government that is truly over-bloated is the one that the "lean government" people oddly never want to gut, the military)

swsieber 8y ago

I hope it's not enough to drag Amazon into sanity. I hope somebody else comes along and beats the crap out of Amazon by offering what Amazon doesn't - honest reviews and rejection of straight up junk.

Corrado 8y ago
And maybe that's the way that Amazon goes down; quality over quantity. Hey, this is HN and we should be able to spot a deficiency in a business plan, right?! Here's how you go about toppling Amazon and building an empire: 1) open a store for online goods 2) take reviews seriously 3) profit!
- pferde 8y ago
  Let's expand the plans a bit: 1) open a store for online goods 2) take reviews seriously 3) profit, for a while 4) get bought out by amazon or someone else who will then proceed to kill "2" 5) if resisted, be a target of coordinated media smear campaign and/or hacking attempts, each totally not ordered and covertly backed by amazon or another player whose piece of a pie you are eating 6) crack under pressure and just give up
  - ensiferum 8y ago
    Or in more likely scenario, die away and do a bankcrupt since nobody gives a shit about your crappy market place/online store
- swsieber 8y ago
  Mmm... I was just hoping Amazon's competitors slowly gain an edge over Amazon and that Amazon's reputation is tarnished enough that it greatly impacts business.

insickness 8y ago

> It's time we solve it again, through regulation You had me up until here. The last entity I would look to to solve this first-world problem is the clumsy, over-bloated arm of government.

groby_b 8y ago
If you think this is a first world problem, you might want to look up the history of regulations, and how many people had to die due to shitty products before we finally said "enough is enough". We're heading that direction again. Our current flavor of capitalism strongly favors externalizing of all costs, and short of enforced liability for products violating standards will always opt for violating whatever low standards bar you set. (I'd also like to point out that the part of the government that is truly over-bloated is the one that the "lean government" people oddly never want to gut, the military)