Don’t Get Caught Leaving A Fake Review On Amazon

Amazon has made it very clear that they are 100% focused on the customer by offering a large selection of products, low prices, and quick delivery.  To meet Amazon’s expectations as a seller, you need to earn the trust of the customer and Amazon itself. As a consumer, the two main factors of making a purchases are the price and the reviews.   If the product you are selling does not have brand recognition, reviews become even more important to earn the consumer’s trust.  The reviews are a way sellers can differentiate themselves from similar products, which helps customers decide on purchasing a product.   Amazon strives to protect the integrity of each review and has developed many processes to make sure each review is authentic.   However, not every system is flawless, and many companies try to manipulate the reviews by hiring services or using 3rd parties to write fake reviews.  

As a seller, you should be aware that if you are going to manipulate a review, you are playing with fire. If Amazon tracks that a review is not genuine, they will punish your account.  They have been known to send performance notifications to sellers that shut down their accounts, suspend the product, or take the ability away from anyone leaving a review.  Amazon has a very sophisticated system that will track purchases and reviews with people tied to the account.    I will use one example when a client of ours decided to have their sister purchase a product on Amazon and then leave a review.  Even though the family member had a different last name, the Amazon system could tie the review back to a family member or friend, which is prohibited according to the review policy in seller central.  Amazon sent a letter to the seller requiring an explanation, who wrote the review, and a guarantee it would not happen again.  The fact of the matter is that no one can prevent a family member from supporting another family member’s business. Still, they don’t want that family member writing a review because it is not authentic.  The account was penalized, and it was no longer allowed to receive reviews on that product.   The account still has not been granted for buyers to leave reviews even after the appeal to seller central. 

There are a couple of ways to help generate reviews on your products and to keep away the Amazon police from shutting you down.  The first way to get a review is to use the review request button inside of seller central. After the customer has purchased and received the product, you can ask them to review it.  Amazon claims they send out emails to the customer asking for a review but allow you to send a request one additional time.   Another option if you want to automate the process is to use an Amazon review service.  They will link to your Amazon account and send out the same request but in a different manner.  The nice part of using a service like this is that it is safe and automated, so you don’t have to go into each customer’s invoice and hit the request button.   A third way you can get customers to leave a review is by leaving a QR code in the box to scan the bar code, which will allow them to leave a review if they choose to. It just makes it easier for the customer to leave a review with their phone.   I would advise you to be careful and not offer any incentive with that bar code to leave a review; make sure it follows the rules outlined in the policies outlined in seller central.   The last and most effective way to get a review, if you are Brand Registered, you are eligible to use the Vine program that Amazon offers.  It is a great way to get trusted reviews on your products, but a price tag for each review comes with a price tag. 

In conclusion, you should never manipulate a review because you are putting your Amazon business at risk.  Amazon has cracked down on the fake reviews and gives some sellers no chance of an explanation and kicking them off the platform.  According to Cnet.com, Amazon had put resources into removing fake reviews and the accounts that post them, adding that it blocked 200 million suspected fake reviews before they were published in 2020. 

https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/how-amazon-works/creating-a-trustworthy-reviews-experience

If you have questions or need help generating real reviews please contact aicommerce for more information.  You have many options when it comes to selling your products online. Many brands and manufacturers use marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, Wayfair, and many others to sell their products because they know the consumer is already present.  The challenging part of selling on these marketplaces is managing the platform while following the rules and expectations set by the marketplace. For More Information about  Selling on Amazon or Selling On Walmart contact, aiCommerce.com eBay offers Promoted listings which are a type of eBay advertising that promotes your products to the top of eBay search results. Additionally, eBay offers display ads on its homepage and category pages.