Of course it’s skewed… to the 5 stars. People who want free/discounted stuff don’t want to paint the product in a bad light so they will continue to receive other free/discounted stuff. I ignore all Vine and “received for free in return for my honest opnion” reviews because 99% of the time, the reviewers have NFI what they are talking about and are just fluffing.
This is a great article and as a person that does test sample products from amazon sellers I can say that I absolutely hate the fake reviews, it ruins the whole process. I take pride in my honest opinion and review of the products I test , I also update my review if something were to go wrong along the way with the item as well. Fake reviews just make it hard on those of us who are genuine and want to help the consumer get an idea of what they can expect from the product they’re looking at . I am one of the people that rely on word of mouth and honest reviews while shopping or looking at a business, it’s often what helps me decide .
We regularly survey reviewers to get a better understanding of their needs and how we’re doing when it comes to meeting them. Findings from the Reviewer Feedback Programme help us to improve the reviewing experience. For example 90% of reviewers said they would like to be able to see the final decision and other reviewers’ comments on a paper, so we added this functionality to EES.
Stay alert about negative reviews that are published about your business. Automated email notification helps increase your respond time to customer complaints, so you are in a better position to resolve product issues.
Well, there are cases when competitors are actually paying to peoples to leave negative feedback on other sellers which is definitely against the Amazon’s review policy. You can avoid negative reviews by tracking with Amazon negative reviews tracker tool such as AMZ Insight in order to instantly know whenever there’s a negative review arise on your listing.
As for the coupon codes saving you less than the stated amount…that is flat out bad business. I have never run into that problem, BUT I have had the problem of not reading the email fully before I entered the code. In a couple cases, the email sort of implied it would be free, but never really said it was a 100% off coupon code. In those cases, I ALWAYS reply the Seller and tell them that they need be upfront and crystal clear about the actual discount the code is applying. I suggest you all do the same so we can stamp out the vague emails and bad practices going on.
Other categories, like mobile, change quite a bit as new phones seem to be announced all the time, usually just a few days after you’ve already upgraded. You can bet we will update those product groups faster and more frequently.
Frankly, I’m glad they finally took it seriously. I have been feeling for some time now that Amazon was turning a blind eye to it all while honest reviewers were getting pummeled with downvotes and spending hours to do what someone else was paying others to do.
I cover this in the post “The Downvoting Game on Amazon Reviews. They are targeting Sellers and Reviewers that paid money to others to write bogus reviews and up/down vote reviews for them. This is a case of some serious offenses, not Amazon going after reviewers that fail to put that they got the item for free or at a discount. In short, it’s fraud and deception they are trying to stop.
A lot of the comments here show ignorance of the processes and motivation behind what reviewers do and say (especially in regards to Vine). First of all, Vine items aren’t “free” in a sense that Amazon issues a W-2 to reviewers. The item’s fair market value is the “income” and you have to pay taxes on it. Essentially, you pay your income tax rate on the total fair market value of the items. That is no small amount of money, especially when the fair market values on some items are oddly calculated (sometimes above the sale price – there seems to be no rhyme or reason). Most people will be paying 10-25% of the FMV for their Vine products.
3. Always tell the truth! Brands need truthful people to evaluate their products. If you lie, companies will not know if they need to make any improvements to their products. Also, you can get yourself removed from their program, and not get paid.
TestZon was only launched in 2016 and already shows multiple signs of being a great place to shop for nearly free. If it isn’t already, TestZon needs to be on your short list. They have products for almost every category imaginable and can test many for free including video game headsets, swim goggles, and clothing. If something isn’t free, you can find many other items for sale for only a few pennies.
Experienced sellers understand the importance of tracking product reviews. Studies have shown that buyers pay close attention to what other people have to say about the quality of an item. Additionally, Amazon uses product reviews in its algorithm for determining which items appear first in search results.
Avoid reviewing group promotional items under the group affiliate link they’re using. If you review a promo under a group affiliate link, it’s too easy to get tangled into a seller relationship block or wipe.
For high-end products worth at least $50, take a look at Giveaway Service. You do need to be approved by each individual seller before you can receive the discount. They also offer a lot of free giveaways too.
Anyway, I left it at that and really didn’t give it too much more thought but about 2 weeks after updating my public profile I received my first email with a request to review a novel…I was totally surprised and delighted. Its been about 2 months now since I followed the advise here and I am now getting on average about 10-12 requests a week now ranging from beauty products, bluetooth wireless headphones, knitting needles and crochet hooks (incidentally I had mentioned on my profile one of my hobbies being knitting and crochet), clothes like summer dresses and tops, photography props for babies, kids accessories, Remote Control Dog Training Collars (I have 2 small but very barky dogs so this was ideal!!), LED fairy lights, books, both novels and children’s stories, vitamin supplements, Latte Coffee Mugs, etc etc. I am blown away at how well following your advise Tristan has worked. I’ve also been approached by 2 companies who are launching new brands on Amazon and are requesting reviews for their new products upon launch. I have only to date had to decline 2 requests, these were for products that neither I nor my family would make use of and I don’t think there is any point in accepting products just for the sake of it being free!
2. Send follow-up emails after an Amazon purchase asking for feedback. Amazon asks for feedback following a purchase, but it’s a generic email with nothing special. Instead, send personalized review requests; ideally you want to send them shortly after they’ve received your product so its awesomeness is still fresh in their minds. You can even use a site like FeedbackFive to automatically send customized feedback request emails. Make it really easy for users to leave a review by including a link.
Yes it took awhile for me to get anything too Remi. The key is to keep completing their surveys and once you do start getting products to review make sure to do the different task they would like you to do. Do that, you’ll be bombarded with a bunch of great products!
Savvy shoppers almost never purchase a product without knowing how it’s going to work for them. They read the good, the not-so-good, and the downright ugly to make the all-important decision: should I pull out my wallet and take the plunge?
Do you know if the email that you put on your public profile needs to match the Amazon-registered email? I would really love to put an email to be contacted on but would like to use a disposable one for when it eventually gets picked up by spam bots.
It looks like their engine does that: “…every analysis does two simultaneous things: we analyze every single review posted and we review each reviewer and every review that reviewer has ever posted on that account.”
At this point, I was deeply leery of buying any dongle off of Amazon. But I was much more curious about the reviews themselves. Clearly, these reviews were unreliable. But how did they get there? And was there a way to sort out the sham reviews from honest feedback?
The best reviews are posted by people who are trying to find a solution to a problem or to fulfill an actual need, not just say whatever for a freebie. Most of the “honest and unbiased” reviews just regurgitate color options and product specs.
You seem like a smart person, so I think you could understand the algorithm, but it would take a lot of time like it would for anyone else and understanding it wouldn’t give you the ability to change it or have any value worth the time it would take you to research it.
For over 5 years, I have been approached by authors, publishers, product manufactures and distributors to read/try their products and then write a review on Amazon. It has often been a rewarding experience in that I get to try products I love, and ones that I would have never bought but seem interesting.
AMZRC has wider inventory than most because their seller fees are lower. The savings are passed onto you, the shopper, with more coupon codes. This means more people can try out a single product and there are more discounted and free products to choose from!
wow, louida, you have a nice picture in the meet me. and the other small one under hello is a good one too. its nice to meet you. you are a really nice person. you deserve to be thanked for all of your help. you are so kind.
Unlike Amazon’s in-house Vine review program that is invitation only, anybody can apply to become a shopper on these Amazon review sites. If you like trying out products and leaving honest feedback, you are an excellent candidate for reviewing products sold on Amazon.
I just got OB tampons through them get something I can’t use now since i had surgery to fix some women issues. I have been quite a bit from crowdtap lately I am going to be getting some shampoo and conditioners and hair color here soon.
6 Months on I am currently ranked 173 on Amazon UK, and as a result I am contacted everyday by third party sellers offering me free samples in return for my honest review, unfortunately as of yet I have not been invited to join the Vine program. The vast majority of companies that contact me are based in China who’s product are stocked in UK Amazon distribution centres and are usually delivered next day via Prime, but some items are sent from China or Malaysia.
5. Solicit the top Amazon reviewers. Amazon holds a list of their top reviewers – a compilation of esteemed reviewers who are valued for their insightful and objective critiques. Many of these top Amazon reviewers also hold titles such as “Top Ten Reviewer,” or “Hall of Fame Reviewer,” which are displayed alongside their making their reviews ultra-valuable.
Amazon, Wal-mart, and Target aren’t just popular retailers — their websites also serve as resources. Thousands of people flock to these sites daily to research products by way of customer reviews. Many big stores like these are used as search sources when others don’t include enough information for shoppers to make an educated decision.
Do you have one main Twitter account or multiple accounts for each company? Would there be a conflict with writing reviews/feedback on products for different companies (i.e Influenster, Smiley360, etc) on the same account?