Don’t forget that Amazon also routinely charges shipping costs that sellers have already rolled into their pricing. The first time Amazon moved away from the $25 free-shipping mark, I started looking elsewhere and found the same sellers at their own websites or on ebay, with zero shipping charges (I was looking for hard drives at the time). When I reached out to ask the sellers about it, they said they had no idea Amazon was up-charging their orders but they had no say in the final pricing.
Now that Amazon has once more abandoned the $25 free shipping I have stopped using them entirely (again). I’ll read the site for product reviews, then go find the same seller on ebay and get it for an honest price and free shipping.
* Sellers frequently farm good reviews by including cards in their packages that state “give us a 5 star review and get a full/partial refund!”
Sellers update their listings with good reviews with different pictures, descriptions, etc. which effectively creates a different listing while carrying over a large review count.
* Amazon doesn’t allow reviews after 30 days (?) from purchase, so items poor durability will not have that reflected in their reviews
It’s a damn shame, but between this broken review system and their incredibly low quality items and quality control, they’re not worth the money or headache to use. Especially since most of their products are no name Chinese garbage that are exclusively available on Amazon. They’re basically Wish, Tubi, or Alibaba.
Edit: Amazon must’ve updated their review policy since I’ve last used them, 2+ years ago. They explicitly ban monetary rewards for good reviews, and I don’t see a mention of review deadlines either. The only references I found about their review deadlines is a few Reddit posts from a year ago. So my bad!
If nothing’s changed though, they still sell hot garbage.
Sellers frequently farm good reviews by including cards in their packages that state “give us a 5 star review and get a full/partial refund!”
I order A LOT off Amazon and I have never gotten one of these, I’d know because I would absolutely do this. I’ve seen “Please leave a review” card but never with a promise of a refund
Sellers update their listings with good reviews with different pictures, descriptions, etc. which effectively creates a different listing while carrying over a large review count.
Can confirm, I’ve seen this, but I thought it was Amazon themselves for some reason lmao
Amazon doesn’t allow reviews after 30 days (?) from purchase, so items poor durability will not have that reflected in their reviews
I don’t think that’s true, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen reviews from people months after they ordered it
I’ve gotten cards that offer a free product for a good review, and cards that offer a gift card, but not an actual refund. I’ve been offered refunds to take down my bad reviews.
I’ve reported it once. I was emailed about 8 times from different email addresses with very similar text asking me to take down a bad review and they would refund me. A lot of asking for sympathy, we’re very small and a bad review is so devastating, blah blah. All the refund offers were a little more than what I paid.
After 3 requests I replied with something akin to, “okay, you say you’re trying to improve your product. I want something that works. How about instead of a refund, you send me an improved item, and if it works I’ll give a good review.” And they said they couldn’t. (Of course not, they’re just retailing stuff from some factory and they have zero say in development.)
I didn’t reply, and over the next few weeks I got the rest of the emails from them. So I reported it, sent Amazon screenshots and such. I haven’t looked but I assume they were given the heave ho. They probably just renamed themselves and restarted. But they didn’t email me again.
I takes like 2 minutes to report something. The fact that you can’t be bothered to report shady practices just allows them to run rampant. Even if you think it does nothing, why not just try to make the world a little better? It may actually change something
Honestly, at this point, you can barely trust reviews anywhere. They’ve all been corrupted to some degree, and LLMs are going to make them exponentially worse.
I got hit by the updated pictures and product problem you described recently. Used the “buy again” for a silicone set of wipers for my car (those last for years instead of the 2 seasons you get out of the rubber garbage the companies push). Rain x had updated the product to the latter one to make more money with the reviews of the older long lasting one on the inferior product. Had to return and buy from elsewhere. I can’t trust the “order again” functionality and at this point, Amazon and the companies there any longer (since they used the process to mislead customers).
Yeah I agree you can’t immediately trust the star rating, and you really need to read through the reviews to find the authentic ones. Even the bad reviews can’t always be trusted (I see a lot where folks complain about a product and go on to explain how their own idiocy or lack of knowledge led to the failure). I’ve actually noticed several lately that explicitly point out they were paid reviews so at least some folks are being honest about it. Usually when I read reviews I’m looking for more specific information, like when checking for a log cart recently I saw complaints that a small wheel size led to tipping. It would be nice if ebay had a more extensive and visible review system in place, but I’ll take what info I can find.
It’s such a shame. In it’s heyday there was a time where a five star review and more than a hundred reviewers consistently meant something was just awesome. I would sometimes buy stuff I didn’t need if a came across this combination jist because I knew I would end up with something cool. Not anymore ; now I’m skeptical of every single review.
Yeah, I’ve bought a few products that I had reservations on based on some bad reviews, and then when I got and used the item it was immediately obvious the reviewer didn’t read the instructions or try to troubleshoot in any way.
My favorite part is looking at the rating and seeing that all the 1-4 star reviews are missing. Sure, the product has 1.7 stars, and, sure, Amazon requires you to write a review with your rating, but somehow only the people who rated it five stars left reviews 🤔
Amazon promotes the shittiest, least honest reviews to the top of most products, though I guess if you know how to hunt for the rough 2-4* ratings you can technically find real reviews too.
Don’t forget that Amazon also routinely charges shipping costs that sellers have already rolled into their pricing. The first time Amazon moved away from the $25 free-shipping mark, I started looking elsewhere and found the same sellers at their own websites or on ebay, with zero shipping charges (I was looking for hard drives at the time). When I reached out to ask the sellers about it, they said they had no idea Amazon was up-charging their orders but they had no say in the final pricing.
Now that Amazon has once more abandoned the $25 free shipping I have stopped using them entirely (again). I’ll read the site for product reviews, then go find the same seller on ebay and get it for an honest price and free shipping.
You can’t trust Amazon reviews either though.
* Sellers frequently farm good reviews by including cards in their packages that state “give us a 5 star review and get a full/partial refund!”* Amazon doesn’t allow reviews after 30 days (?) from purchase, so items poor durability will not have that reflected in their reviewsIt’s a damn shame, but between this broken review system and their incredibly low quality items and quality control, they’re not worth the money or headache to use. Especially since most of their products are no name Chinese garbage that are exclusively available on Amazon. They’re basically Wish, Tubi, or Alibaba.
Edit: Amazon must’ve updated their review policy since I’ve last used them, 2+ years ago. They explicitly ban monetary rewards for good reviews, and I don’t see a mention of review deadlines either. The only references I found about their review deadlines is a few Reddit posts from a year ago. So my bad!
If nothing’s changed though, they still sell hot garbage.
I order A LOT off Amazon and I have never gotten one of these, I’d know because I would absolutely do this. I’ve seen “Please leave a review” card but never with a promise of a refund
Can confirm, I’ve seen this, but I thought it was Amazon themselves for some reason lmao
I don’t think that’s true, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen reviews from people months after they ordered it
I’ve gotten cards that offer a free product for a good review, and cards that offer a gift card, but not an actual refund. I’ve been offered refunds to take down my bad reviews.
I’ve had the exact same experiences, never thought to report it though.
I’ve reported it once. I was emailed about 8 times from different email addresses with very similar text asking me to take down a bad review and they would refund me. A lot of asking for sympathy, we’re very small and a bad review is so devastating, blah blah. All the refund offers were a little more than what I paid.
After 3 requests I replied with something akin to, “okay, you say you’re trying to improve your product. I want something that works. How about instead of a refund, you send me an improved item, and if it works I’ll give a good review.” And they said they couldn’t. (Of course not, they’re just retailing stuff from some factory and they have zero say in development.)
I didn’t reply, and over the next few weeks I got the rest of the emails from them. So I reported it, sent Amazon screenshots and such. I haven’t looked but I assume they were given the heave ho. They probably just renamed themselves and restarted. But they didn’t email me again.
Anecdotal, but I’ve gotten one of these cards in an order.
Me too, for several purchases. I’ve never followed through with it though. I’d report them if I felt it did something.
I takes like 2 minutes to report something. The fact that you can’t be bothered to report shady practices just allows them to run rampant. Even if you think it does nothing, why not just try to make the world a little better? It may actually change something
I’m tired bro. Yell at me if you want.
Honestly, at this point, you can barely trust reviews anywhere. They’ve all been corrupted to some degree, and LLMs are going to make them exponentially worse.
I got hit by the updated pictures and product problem you described recently. Used the “buy again” for a silicone set of wipers for my car (those last for years instead of the 2 seasons you get out of the rubber garbage the companies push). Rain x had updated the product to the latter one to make more money with the reviews of the older long lasting one on the inferior product. Had to return and buy from elsewhere. I can’t trust the “order again” functionality and at this point, Amazon and the companies there any longer (since they used the process to mislead customers).
You can report the seller, and I am to understand that they take you seriously.
Yeah I agree you can’t immediately trust the star rating, and you really need to read through the reviews to find the authentic ones. Even the bad reviews can’t always be trusted (I see a lot where folks complain about a product and go on to explain how their own idiocy or lack of knowledge led to the failure). I’ve actually noticed several lately that explicitly point out they were paid reviews so at least some folks are being honest about it. Usually when I read reviews I’m looking for more specific information, like when checking for a log cart recently I saw complaints that a small wheel size led to tipping. It would be nice if ebay had a more extensive and visible review system in place, but I’ll take what info I can find.
It’s such a shame. In it’s heyday there was a time where a five star review and more than a hundred reviewers consistently meant something was just awesome. I would sometimes buy stuff I didn’t need if a came across this combination jist because I knew I would end up with something cool. Not anymore ; now I’m skeptical of every single review.
Yeah, I’ve bought a few products that I had reservations on based on some bad reviews, and then when I got and used the item it was immediately obvious the reviewer didn’t read the instructions or try to troubleshoot in any way.
To avoid the second one always sort the reviews by newest and keep an eye on the date
I haven’t had a problem reviewing after 30 days.
My favorite part is looking at the rating and seeing that all the 1-4 star reviews are missing. Sure, the product has 1.7 stars, and, sure, Amazon requires you to write a review with your rating, but somehow only the people who rated it five stars left reviews 🤔
Amazon promotes the shittiest, least honest reviews to the top of most products, though I guess if you know how to hunt for the rough 2-4* ratings you can technically find real reviews too.