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I'm a legit user of Amazon. My account is probably over 20 years old. I've ordered tons and tons of products. I've never reviewed anything, however I have recei

I'm a legit user of Amazon. My account is probably over 20 years old. I've ordered tons and tons of products. I've never reviewed anything, however I have received products containing "gift certificates" promising me a $10 reward for leaving a fake review (of the product I just purchased). How does Amazon stop me from accepting this bribe?

somenameforme 3y ago
I'm unsure if I'm playing devil's advocate or not, but should that not be allowed? That seems more about getting over the bias that people who are content with something are generally less inclined to leave a review than somebody who is unhappy with something. If you get something and it's complete crap, I doubt a $10 gift certificate is going to convince you to go write a positive review of it. If anything, that'll probably end up motivating you to write a negative review, with further mention of it.
- chongli 3y ago
  If you get something and it's complete crap, I doubt a $10 gift certificate is going to convince you to go write a positive review of it. If anything, that'll probably end up motivating you to write a negative review, with further mention of it. I think it is if the product itself is cheap enough. A $10 product where you get a free $10 gift certificate is essentially free. I think lots of people would be willing to leave a quick 5 star review in exchange for getting the thing they just bought for free, even if the product is kinda crappy. As long as it’s not totally broken and useless!
yardstick 3y ago
False flag operations? Amazon slips their own false review gift certificate in. If you use it, they flag you as an ignorable reviewer (shadow ban or whatever).
- chongli 3y ago
  What incentive does Amazon have to do this? Best case scenario: they ban and alienate a bunch of customers who bought stuff on the site. Worst case scenario: they spend tons of money on these false flag operations and end up removing a lot of bestselling products from the site, reducing sales overall.
  - yardstick 3y ago
    It would be a review shadow ban only. Wouldn’t stop them buying anything or leaving reviews. I doubt it would cost a lot of money from Amazons perspective. But yeah I agree Amazons incentives are not the same as their customers. They obviously have a lot of insight into what drives and lowers sales. Maybe, although I seriously doubt it, at some point they will see enough reduction in sales to take action against poor quality products and their mispresentative reviews.
creer 3y ago
You could report the bribe to Amazon, now and then. (If you believed they would do something about it.)

somenameforme 3y ago

I'm unsure if I'm playing devil's advocate or not, but should that not be allowed? That seems more about getting over the bias that people who are content with something are generally less inclined to leave a review than somebody who is unhappy with something. If you get something and it's complete crap, I doubt a $10 gift certificate is going to convince you to go write a positive review of it. If anything, that'll probably end up motivating you to write a negative review, with further mention of it.

chongli 3y ago
If you get something and it's complete crap, I doubt a $10 gift certificate is going to convince you to go write a positive review of it. If anything, that'll probably end up motivating you to write a negative review, with further mention of it. I think it is if the product itself is cheap enough. A $10 product where you get a free $10 gift certificate is essentially free. I think lots of people would be willing to leave a quick 5 star review in exchange for getting the thing they just bought for free, even if the product is kinda crappy. As long as it’s not totally broken and useless!

yardstick 3y ago

False flag operations? Amazon slips their own false review gift certificate in. If you use it, they flag you as an ignorable reviewer (shadow ban or whatever).

chongli 3y ago
What incentive does Amazon have to do this? Best case scenario: they ban and alienate a bunch of customers who bought stuff on the site. Worst case scenario: they spend tons of money on these false flag operations and end up removing a lot of bestselling products from the site, reducing sales overall.
- yardstick 3y ago
  It would be a review shadow ban only. Wouldn’t stop them buying anything or leaving reviews. I doubt it would cost a lot of money from Amazons perspective. But yeah I agree Amazons incentives are not the same as their customers. They obviously have a lot of insight into what drives and lowers sales. Maybe, although I seriously doubt it, at some point they will see enough reduction in sales to take action against poor quality products and their mispresentative reviews.

creer 3y ago

You could report the bribe to Amazon, now and then. (If you believed they would do something about it.)