Don't believe all you read in Amazon reviews.

glasskuter · May 27, 2024

I'm madder than an old wet hen. This morning I got an email from Amazon stating I had been blocked from leaving reviews. I spend a lot of money each year buying books and products from Amazon and try to review as many as I can. I've always been thorough and honest in my opinions and give reasons why my review is either a positive or negative one.
In recent months, my negative reviews ( 3 star or less increased (especially for books I've read as most have been very poorly written). Their AI has detected this so now Amazon has blocked me from leaving any reviews at all.

IMO this negates their entire review system. You're seeing only what Amazon wants you to see. This is a real disservice to the buyers of their products. If they don't want honest reviews, why do they have a review system at all.....other than to get buyers to spend money on bad books or products.

Really no sweat off my back. I can spend that time drinking a margarita under my shade tree. But you can bet Amazon hasn't blocked me from BUYING. But now that I know their review system can't be believed to be impartial to both sellers and buyers, on principal alone they won't be seeing as many purchases from me. I know my business won't be missed but in the long run I'll be saving money because I rarely order without tacking on things I really don't need.

dencal · May 27, 2024

What is so annoying is that each time I purchase something online from various retailers, the constant nag nag to review.....why should it be necessary to publicise for their benefit.....especially if they do not print bad reports.

Winuser · May 27, 2024

Have you tried contacting them to find out why?

glasskuter · May 27, 2024

I emailed them.

antspants · May 27, 2024

dencal said:
What is so annoying is that each time I purchase something online from various retailers, the constant nag nag to review.....why should it be necessary to publicise for their benefit.....especially if they do not print bad reports.

I’ve never been nagged and I live in the Amazon store, I am a shopaholic.

glasskuter said:
I emailed them.

Possibly just a false Flag.

Winuser · May 27, 2024

glasskuter said:
I emailed them.

I hope it was a mistake on their part. What good is it to have product and/or merchant reviews if they have to be positive reviews.

Winuser · May 27, 2024

antspants said:
I’ve never been nagged and I live in the Amazon store, I am a shopaholic.

I have to admit that I do my best to keep them in business.

antspants · May 27, 2024

glasskuter said:
. This morning I got an email from Amazon stating I had been blocked from leaving reviews

When you review, do you quote sizeable excerpts from the books? Could possibly be a problem if AI is scanning?

Winuser · May 27, 2024

antspants said:
When you review, do you quote sizeable excerpts fro the books? Could possibly be a problem if AI is scanning?

If so, I can see how AI would send a plagiarism flag to Amazon.

glasskuter · May 27, 2024

I don't quote any part of a book.
With books, I write what I liked and what I disliked. I consider each of the following and explain why. I praise when I like it and I critique when I don't.:
1. the plot (or lack thereof)
2. the characters
3. character development
4. author's writing style and his/her ability to draw me in to the story.
5. how cohesive a book is put together
6. believability of the dialog
7. If there are enough of them... grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. (the editing or lack thereof)

But how I rate is not important. Book ratings are subjective and most readers know this. My issue is Amazon does not want their authors gigged by mediocre or bad reviews no matter how much honesty, respect and care a reader puts into writing it. Why, because it eats into Amazon's profit.

A Guy · May 27, 2024

I miss the days when reviews were real

5ccbf018acc59-funniest-amazon-reviews-10-5cc8045fa47e9__700.jpg

A Guy

dencal · May 28, 2024

dencal said:
What is so annoying is that each time I purchase something online from various retailers, the constant nag nag to review.....why should it be necessary to publicise for their benefit.....especially if they do not print bad reports.

Two NAG NAGS received in the last week.
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labeeman · Jul 31, 2024

I only read the bad reviews I want to see what problems it has as I cannot believe the good reviews.

ringel05 · Sep 23, 2024

I have on a couple of occasions bought something that had good reviews in the thousands only to send it back because it sucked.

Winuser · Sep 27, 2024

ringel05 said:
I have on a couple of occasions bought something that had good reviews in the thousands only to send it back because it sucked.

I do read the reviews but I always take them with a grain of salt. I have read reviews of a product and somehow some of the reviews steered off to a different product. There was one review for a product I did buy that if I had posted it I would have hid in shame. It was for for a 12 volt defroster heater for a automobile. They gave it a bad review because it caused their battery to go dead. I wonder why. I didn't give it a review but with my knowledge of automobiles it did work exactly as I expected. It worked but because of the amperage needed and being plugged into a 12 volt power outlet, I could only use it for about 5 or ten minutes. The wires were getting to hot.

ringel05 · Sep 29, 2024

Winuser said:
I do read the reviews but I always take them with a grain of salt. I have read reviews of a product and somehow some of the reviews steered off to a different product. There was one review for a product I did buy that if I had posted it I would have hid in shame. It was for for a 12 volt defroster heater for a automobile. They gave it a bad review because it caused their battery to go dead. I wonder why. I didn't give it a review but with my knowledge of automobiles it did work exactly as I expected. It worked but because of the amperage needed and being plugged into a 12 volt power outlet, I could only use it for about 5 or ten minutes. The wires were getting to hot.

I read many of the reviews both positive and negative. Both typically say more about the reviewer and not the product. Generally when an item has over 500 (mostly positive) reviews the chances are better the product is good. Not always but generally.

Vsynced · Oct 6, 2024

Amazon isn't what it used to be. I would rather buy from Temu and Ali Express. Same cheaply made stuff at 1/3 the price. They even have all the same scam products like Amazon does, so most people should feel right at home.

AugPal · Nov 22, 2024

My wife wanted a Waffle maker. She showed me the one she wanted and I ordered it. When it showed up it was nothing like what portrayed on Amazon. It was a piece of junk. I left a negative review stating everything that was wrong with it.

Then I get an email promising a $10 Amazon gift card if I removed my review. Then a week later I get an email promising a $20 Amazon gift card if I removed my review.

I didn't remove it.

elbmek · Nov 23, 2024

I wanted usb to C cable. The image shows 'up to 6m'. I ordered 3m and got only 1m.As someone quite rightly stated, Amazon is not what it claims to be anymore. But, here in UK, I dont know of a viable alternative.

Vsynced · Nov 23, 2024

elbmek said:
I wanted usb to C cable. The image shows 'up to 6m'. I ordered 3m and got only 1m.As someone quite rightly stated, Amazon is not what it claims to be anymore. But, here in UK, I dont know of a viable alternative.

Do you have local shops that have the items that you're interested in? I could see them being more expensive by going this route, but at least you can see it before you buy it, and you won't get stuck with the wrong item.

The difference in price may be justified in that you don't have to deal with the hassle of sending your item back and waiting for a refund or exchange. You'd also be supporting local businesses.

If not, what about Ali Express or Temu? Both have a local shipping section on the US version. I'm not sure if it's the same for UK buyers, but it's worth checking out.

Don't believe all you read in Amazon reviews.

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