One of the great things about products found on Amazon’s shopping web site is the unbiased reviews that were provided by users for users. But, it seems that some sellers have done something a little naughty. They’ve taken it upon themselves to feed fake reviews to potential customers. Asking for fake reviews isn’t a good idea, as Amazon is, and has been, suing those sellers that are buying good reviews for their products.
Previously, Amazon has sued to stop websites that sell fake Amazon reviews, along with individuals offering to write fake reviews. Now, the newest batch of lawsuits that have been coming out of Amazon have been geared towards the companies that are buying fake reviews for their products.
It was reported by TechCrunch this week that three new lawsuits were brought against sellers where the fake reviews made up 30 to 45 percent of the overall reviews. TechCrunch says that the defendants are Michael Abbra of California, Kurt Baur of Pennsylvania and a Chinese company called CCBetter Direct.
Amazon commented on these cases by saying:
While we cannot comment on active litigation, we can share that since the beginning of 2015, we have sued over 1,000 defendants who offered to post fake reviews for payment. We are constantly monitoring and will take action against abusive sellers by suspending and closing their accounts and by taking further legal action. Our goal is to eliminate the incentives for sellers to engage in review abuse and shut down this ecosystem around fraudulent reviews in exchange for compensation. Lawsuits are only one piece of the puzzle. We are working hard on technologies that allow us to detect and take enforcement action against perpetrators while also preventing fake reviews from ever surfacing. As always, it is important for customers to know that these remain a very small fraction of the reviews on Amazon and we introduced a review ranking system so that the most recent, helpful reviews appear first. The vast majority of reviews on Amazon are authentic, helping millions of customers make informed buying decisions every day.
The rules in this type of a case are fairly straightforward. Amazon has sellers agree to the following:
You may not intentionally manipulate your products’ rankings, including by offering an excessive number of free or discounted products, in exchange for a review. Review solicitations that ask for only positive reviews or that offer compensation are prohibited.
By breaking selling policies, the sellers may find themselves without much recourse. The seller policies make it clear that any dispute or claims will e resolved by binding arbitration and won’t go to court and that each party waives their right to a trail.
Basically, if you want to avoid any prob;ems with Amazon, you better make sure that your good reviews are earned and not bought. If you want to be sure that you’re adhering to Amazon’s rules, read the full Participation Agreement.