3 ms·

This happens to me (here in California) regularly. When this happens I leave a review saying so, either on the product itself or on the seller's page. Amazon

This happens to me (here in California) regularly. When this happens I leave a review saying so, either on the product itself or on the seller's page. Amazon always deletes these reviews. So, Amazon knows about the practice, and approves of it. Not much you can do at that point.

slimsag 3y ago
Yep, I've posted more than a few 'Seller sent me a giftcard to bribe for a good review' - Amazon deletes them.
- kurthr 3y ago
  I've had better luck posting pictures with the "bribe" coupon in the picture next to the item.
quantumsequoia 3y ago
[flagged]
quantumsequoia 3y ago
Reason being those are supposed to be reviews of the product. The same reviews will be shown if a different seller is selling the same product. Seller-specific reviews hurt completely independent sellers Amazon has suspended big sellers like Mpow and Aukey for this practice, so they do take action on these tactics
- LeoPanthera 3y ago
  > Reason being those are supposed to be reviews of the product. I understand that, so I only leave reviews on the product if it's a single seller, selling their own product. I think "this product comes with a scam offer" is a valid review of the product. I also leave seller reviews, of the seller, on the seller's page. (Many people don't realize you can do this.) These are deleted too.
  - jehb 3y ago
    Once you realize the full scope of reviews that Amazon deletes, it's hard to take anything left behind as credible whatsoever. I went down a long odyssey recently of trying to get a refund for a food item that was four months expired the day it was delivered. Amazon refused. I escalated it. Amazon refused again. I tried to leave a bad review. Amazon deleted it. I reviewed the seller itself. Deleted again. Kept trying over and over again for several days, making ever so slight tweaks to conform to the policy. I came to the conclusion it was simply impossible to leave a negative piece of feedback.
    - notacoward 3y ago
      I left a mostly complimentary review for a home video camera (brand is EUKI) but also mentioned that the battery life was not as good as advertised. Not only was the review removed, but I am now blocked from reviewing any of that manufacturer's products. This is despite being in the top couple percent of reviewers overall BTW. The manufacturer can't block me that way; only Amazon themselves can. Conclusions about Amazon's trustworthiness (or ethics generally) are left as an exercise for the reader.
    - Incipient 3y ago
      Genuine question. Are you still buying from Amazon? If so, they made the correct call to treat you like garbage and protect their platform image. If you did stop buying from them, I hope more people follow your lead!
      - jehb 3y ago
        I have stopped using them for goods with an expiration date, and have severely curtailed my other purchases. It's a crap platform. I hope for a future where their monopoly position is litigated away so that there is a fair marketplace with other options for next day delivery for common household items. I prefer to shop in brick and mortar stores, but there's definitely a legitimate use case for next-day delivery of household supplies. I have a family member currently experiencing severe mobility issues who lives several hours away from me in a rural area, and unfortunately Amazon is the only way I can get things like household medical supplies to her door on short notice.
- epistasis 3y ago
  This makes little sense when the product is already filled with tainted reviews related to a seller. All those fake positive reviews also go along with the new product. Therefore the only logical thing to do is to associate these reviews of the practice with the original product, as an indication of review quality.
candiddevmike 3y ago
Amazon should publish the percentage of buyers who returned the item
grogenaut 3y ago
You can send a photo of the bribe to amazon CS and they'll do strikes against the seller.
- techdragon 3y ago
  But Amazon don’t make this obvious or as easy as writing a review. This is an incentive mismatch at work that just happens to work in favour of Amazon and their shitty sellers… cough enshitification cough If they actually wanted to manage the issue the option to report the product you received to CS would be right there as close to next to the leave a review button as possible.
- Incipient 3y ago
  Yeah, naa. Not really a thing. Especially for the junk non-brands. The Chinese sellers run rings around Amazon rules. They're completely ineffective for what they're meant to do. And honestly, Amazon wouldn't care. Why would they? It has been going on for a solid decade and hasn't hurt their platform reputation in the slightest. Amazon doesn't give a toss about anyone or anything outside of their platform image (and subsequent bottom line).

slimsag 3y ago

Yep, I've posted more than a few 'Seller sent me a giftcard to bribe for a good review' - Amazon deletes them.

kurthr 3y ago
I've had better luck posting pictures with the "bribe" coupon in the picture next to the item.

quantumsequoia 3y ago

[flagged]

quantumsequoia 3y ago

Reason being those are supposed to be reviews of the product. The same reviews will be shown if a different seller is selling the same product. Seller-specific reviews hurt completely independent sellers Amazon has suspended big sellers like Mpow and Aukey for this practice, so they do take action on these tactics

LeoPanthera 3y ago
> Reason being those are supposed to be reviews of the product. I understand that, so I only leave reviews on the product if it's a single seller, selling their own product. I think "this product comes with a scam offer" is a valid review of the product. I also leave seller reviews, of the seller, on the seller's page. (Many people don't realize you can do this.) These are deleted too.
- jehb 3y ago
  Once you realize the full scope of reviews that Amazon deletes, it's hard to take anything left behind as credible whatsoever. I went down a long odyssey recently of trying to get a refund for a food item that was four months expired the day it was delivered. Amazon refused. I escalated it. Amazon refused again. I tried to leave a bad review. Amazon deleted it. I reviewed the seller itself. Deleted again. Kept trying over and over again for several days, making ever so slight tweaks to conform to the policy. I came to the conclusion it was simply impossible to leave a negative piece of feedback.
  - notacoward 3y ago
    I left a mostly complimentary review for a home video camera (brand is EUKI) but also mentioned that the battery life was not as good as advertised. Not only was the review removed, but I am now blocked from reviewing any of that manufacturer's products. This is despite being in the top couple percent of reviewers overall BTW. The manufacturer can't block me that way; only Amazon themselves can. Conclusions about Amazon's trustworthiness (or ethics generally) are left as an exercise for the reader.
  - Incipient 3y ago
    Genuine question. Are you still buying from Amazon? If so, they made the correct call to treat you like garbage and protect their platform image. If you did stop buying from them, I hope more people follow your lead!
    - jehb 3y ago
      I have stopped using them for goods with an expiration date, and have severely curtailed my other purchases. It's a crap platform. I hope for a future where their monopoly position is litigated away so that there is a fair marketplace with other options for next day delivery for common household items. I prefer to shop in brick and mortar stores, but there's definitely a legitimate use case for next-day delivery of household supplies. I have a family member currently experiencing severe mobility issues who lives several hours away from me in a rural area, and unfortunately Amazon is the only way I can get things like household medical supplies to her door on short notice.
epistasis 3y ago
This makes little sense when the product is already filled with tainted reviews related to a seller. All those fake positive reviews also go along with the new product. Therefore the only logical thing to do is to associate these reviews of the practice with the original product, as an indication of review quality.

candiddevmike 3y ago

Amazon should publish the percentage of buyers who returned the item

grogenaut 3y ago

You can send a photo of the bribe to amazon CS and they'll do strikes against the seller.

techdragon 3y ago
But Amazon don’t make this obvious or as easy as writing a review. This is an incentive mismatch at work that just happens to work in favour of Amazon and their shitty sellers… cough enshitification cough If they actually wanted to manage the issue the option to report the product you received to CS would be right there as close to next to the leave a review button as possible.
Incipient 3y ago
Yeah, naa. Not really a thing. Especially for the junk non-brands. The Chinese sellers run rings around Amazon rules. They're completely ineffective for what they're meant to do. And honestly, Amazon wouldn't care. Why would they? It has been going on for a solid decade and hasn't hurt their platform reputation in the slightest. Amazon doesn't give a toss about anyone or anything outside of their platform image (and subsequent bottom line).