Amazon Sues 1,000 People Over Fake Reviews

[DewChugr]

No one's talking about this?

Amazon Sues 1,000 People Over Fake Reviews

The e-commerce giant hopes to crack down on bogus product reviews across the site.

Posted: 10/19/2015 12:55 PM EDT | Edited: 10/19/2015 07:25 PM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Internet users increasingly rely on online customer reviews when making spending decisions, whether they're buying an iPhone case on Amazon or hiring an Uber ride in their hometown. But just how much can you trust those reviews?


A new lawsuit in which Amazon accuses more than 1,000 people of offering to post bogus glowing write-ups for as little as $5 apiece might give you pause.


The case, filed in Washington state court Friday by the nation's biggest online retailer, casts light on what appears to be a burgeoning practice: the commissioning of paid, fake reviews that masquerade as testimonials from ordinary people.

 

[Vadym]

Yah - it's funny.

They're suing the service providers of Fiverr. Not Fiverr. Not people buying the reviews. The providers.

Just putting that into context if you enjoy the power of Amazon reviews.

 

[Fraggler]

If a vendor says a product is awesome but in reality is shit, are they going to be sued next?

 

[Vadym]

Yeah, but its not the same as a vendor not overstating his product - and the reviews over-embellishing it for him.

 

[FillWerrell]

That's kind of a weakness in the amazon platform, I think. I mean, I understand how reviews provide trust for the consumer, but can't you just pick any listing and leave a review? Even if you haven't purchased the product? To me that's shady as hell.

Important: Before you can post a review, you need to have an Amazon.com account that has successfully been charged for the purchase of a physical or digital item. Free digital downloads don't qualify. You don't need to have purchased the product you're reviewing. There's a 48-hour waiting period after your first physical order has been completely shipped, or your digital item has been purchased, before you'll be able to submit your review. If you've purchased a digital gift for someone else, the 48-hour waiting period doesn't begin until the gift has been redeemed.

What the fuck shit is that? I'd have to assume the next logical step for amazon is to limit reviews to people who've actually purchased the item.

 

[richcookies]

Goodluck catching up with them. More like a good PR move if you asked me. Can they force fiverr to give up the true names of the reviewers? Highly doubt that without a good legal battle for many years.

They should just limit reviews to verified purchases. What about television advertising with all the celebrity endorsements and most do not even use the same products. Everyone is part of the same hypocrisy.

 

[jackfitz]

Good luck in hunting down lots the the services providers in third party countries.

 

[DexterMorgan]

The verified purchases with video reviews are where it is at in terms of conversion from my view as a frequent Amazon user. I've watched a lot of video reviews and it seems like Amazon "power reviewers" will often just say they have been provided with the product by the company for the video review. Seems like a good strategy for a company active on Amazon.

Goodluck catching up with them. More like a good PR move if you asked me. Can they force fiverr to give up the true names of the reviewers? Highly doubt that without a good legal battle for many years.

They should just limit reviews to verified purchases. What about television advertising with all the celebrity endorsements and most do not even use the same products. Everyone is part of the same hypocrisy.

I read an article on this saying that it is basically just a "yo we are seriously going to sue even individual low-level providers doing this" fear-tactic aimed at prevention. Just knowing that they're willing to proceed with that tactic now and more in the future has to make some vendors reconsider.

Only so many marketplaces with active buyers that are willing to let these kinds of fake review services advertise in the future too. Yelp, TripAdvisor etc all going through similar prevention strategies in addition to all the technical changes they make trying to prevent people scaling this kind of thing.

 

[kingofthewiki]

Aren't you essentially paying users to review when you offer them a discount! Fake or not - if a product sucks it will eventually fail

 

[BigPow]

Setting standard is nice. But I think it's not the review that cause problem but rather a product that not satisfy the buyer.

 

[bluechinagroup]

Setting standard is nice. But I think it's not the review that cause problem but rather a product that not satisfy the buyer.

Fuck off you idiot.

 

[vladsirius]

Amazon needs to be sued too for its questionable practices.

 

[A Cop]

Well, that is a good news if u ask me.

I mean, why the hell should i read the reviews if they are not honest, how should i know who am i dealing with? Just i question myself, how do they know that they are fake??