4 ms·

My parents live in what is still a relatively rural area, it's unlikely you'd ever send something to their address on accident. They perpetually get kids toys s

My parents live in what is still a relatively rural area, it's unlikely you'd ever send something to their address on accident. They perpetually get kids toys shipped to their house. Address and name is correct each time. The package is clearly from Amazon. I'm relatively certain it is some part of weird review scam process. It's become a common enough thing that they just hand out the toys to who ever has young kids in the family.

reverendsteveii 1y ago
>I'm relatively certain it is some part of weird review scam process https://www.uspis.gov/news/scam-article/brushing-scam https://www.uspis.gov/news/scam-article/brushing-scam tldr - the seller initiates the sale themselves for w/e it is they sell to a second account that they own registered to a random address. They then ship a near-worthless item to that address and use that secondary account to write a glowing review for their original account. You get something for free that would be a bargain at twice the price and they get a 5 star review on their account. The only victim is anyone who trusts the review system.
- mrweasel 1y ago
  That's somewhat insane. The review would have to be worth more than the items, plus shipping.
  - reverendsteveii 1y ago
    Let's say the item is literally a single seed worth practically nothing and it costs $3 wholesale to ship. As a new shop, are a hundred 5 star reviews worth $300 to you or do you think you can more effectively spent that $300 on a different marketing plan? It's counterintuitive but it's actually perfectly rational.
  - epakai 1y ago
    Amazon runs the vine review program. There are frequently multi-hundred dollar items available to vine reviewers in exchange for writing a review. It seems a lot of companies value early reviews highly, or their prices are rather inflated.
- sidewndr46 1y ago
  Yeah, I haven't seen any negative impact of it. The only way I could see is if Amazon decides their address is somehow criminal adjacent & just blocks all shipments to it.
- echelon_musk 1y ago
  > You get something for free that would be a bargain at twice the price Free x2?
  - reverendsteveii 1y ago
    yes, that was the joke. 0 x 2

reverendsteveii 1y ago

>I'm relatively certain it is some part of weird review scam process https://www.uspis.gov/news/scam-article/brushing-scam https://www.uspis.gov/news/scam-article/brushing-scam tldr - the seller initiates the sale themselves for w/e it is they sell to a second account that they own registered to a random address. They then ship a near-worthless item to that address and use that secondary account to write a glowing review for their original account. You get something for free that would be a bargain at twice the price and they get a 5 star review on their account. The only victim is anyone who trusts the review system.

mrweasel 1y ago
That's somewhat insane. The review would have to be worth more than the items, plus shipping.
- reverendsteveii 1y ago
  Let's say the item is literally a single seed worth practically nothing and it costs $3 wholesale to ship. As a new shop, are a hundred 5 star reviews worth $300 to you or do you think you can more effectively spent that $300 on a different marketing plan? It's counterintuitive but it's actually perfectly rational.
- epakai 1y ago
  Amazon runs the vine review program. There are frequently multi-hundred dollar items available to vine reviewers in exchange for writing a review. It seems a lot of companies value early reviews highly, or their prices are rather inflated.
sidewndr46 1y ago
Yeah, I haven't seen any negative impact of it. The only way I could see is if Amazon decides their address is somehow criminal adjacent & just blocks all shipments to it.
echelon_musk 1y ago
> You get something for free that would be a bargain at twice the price Free x2?
- reverendsteveii 1y ago
  yes, that was the joke. 0 x 2