Anybody else here run in to something like this?

I often buy repair related items (tools, etc) from Amazon, and I
consider the reviews an important decision element. While browsing
yesterday, I happen to stumble upon this non-repair related item when
doing a search with the word "emergency" in it

http://www.amazon.com/Writer-Emergen...DateDescending

I was curious so I read about it and noticed that the vast majority of
the 4/5 star reviews were clustered in March and November of 2015 and
that few if any of those reviewers were verified purchasers.

I've written a few hundred reviews for Amazon products so I though
nothing of writing a review questioning the review statistics of this
product. It was very brief simply questioning what had caused that
clustering of 4/5 star reviews around those very few time periods.

I was very surprised to find my review rejected. It was the first
rejection I have ever received for an Amazon review. Apparently
questioning the Amazon review process is a no-no. Amazon wrote

- Your review should focus on specific features of the product and
your experience with it. Feedback on the seller or your shipment
experience should be provided at www.amazon.com/feedback.

which sounds reasonable, except that to leave "feedback" you have to
actually buy the product. It also indicates to me that they devote a
lot of effort to identifying reviews that are critical of their
product review process.
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On 12/2/2015 6:58 AM, CRNG wrote:
Anybody else here run in to something like this?

I often buy repair related items (tools, etc) from Amazon, and I
consider the reviews an important decision element. While browsing
yesterday, I happen to stumble upon this non-repair related item when
doing a search with the word "emergency" in it

http://www.amazon.com/Writer-Emergen...DateDescending

I was curious so I read about it and noticed that the vast majority of
the 4/5 star reviews were clustered in March and November of 2015 and
that few if any of those reviewers were verified purchasers.

I've written a few hundred reviews for Amazon products so I though
nothing of writing a review questioning the review statistics of this
product. It was very brief simply questioning what had caused that
clustering of 4/5 star reviews around those very few time periods.

I was very surprised to find my review rejected. It was the first
rejection I have ever received for an Amazon review. Apparently
questioning the Amazon review process is a no-no. Amazon wrote

- Your review should focus on specific features of the product and
your experience with it. Feedback on the seller or your shipment
experience should be provided at www.amazon.com/feedback.

which sounds reasonable, except that to leave "feedback" you have to
actually buy the product. It also indicates to me that they devote a
lot of effort to identifying reviews that are critical of their
product review process.

Amazon wants to SELL products. They are far less likely to want to
encourage behaviors that work *counter* to that!

The fact that they even allow "unverified reviews" is a sleazy practice.
Gee, with the volume of sales that they report, they can't find
bonafide customers to testify regarding the products that they sell?

Verifying a purchase is also something that can EASILY be automated;
no need for a human to review the review to determine if it is
appropriate.

On 12/2/2015 7:58 AM, CRNG wrote:
Anybody else here run in to something like this?

I often buy repair related items (tools, etc) from Amazon, and I
consider the reviews an important decision element. While browsing
yesterday, I happen to stumble upon this non-repair related item when
doing a search with the word "emergency" in it

http://www.amazon.com/Writer-Emergen...DateDescending

I was curious so I read about it and noticed that the vast majority of
the 4/5 star reviews were clustered in March and November of 2015 and
that few if any of those reviewers were verified purchasers.

I've written a few hundred reviews for Amazon products so I though
nothing of writing a review questioning the review statistics of this
product. It was very brief simply questioning what had caused that
clustering of 4/5 star reviews around those very few time periods.

I was very surprised to find my review rejected. It was the first
rejection I have ever received for an Amazon review. Apparently
questioning the Amazon review process is a no-no. Amazon wrote

snip

Instead of writing a review, post a comment or two on some of those
reviews pointing out the issue. But you may first want to check the
review history of some of the reviewers you suspect. If they've got a
seemingly legit review history, it could turn out to just be a
coincidence. I've had reviews of mine accused of being fakes, where if
the reviewer had only read my review history, he'd have seen that I
have a legit review history.

Another possibility is that the seller provided a number of reviewers
with free or discounted products in exchange for a review, though they
should acknowledge that in their reviews.

On Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 9:09:08 AM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:
On 12/2/2015 6:58 AM, CRNG wrote:
Anybody else here run in to something like this?

I often buy repair related items (tools, etc) from Amazon, and I
consider the reviews an important decision element. While browsing
yesterday, I happen to stumble upon this non-repair related item when
doing a search with the word "emergency" in it

http://www.amazon.com/Writer-Emergen...DateDescending

I was curious so I read about it and noticed that the vast majority of
the 4/5 star reviews were clustered in March and November of 2015 and
that few if any of those reviewers were verified purchasers.

I've written a few hundred reviews for Amazon products so I though
nothing of writing a review questioning the review statistics of this
product. It was very brief simply questioning what had caused that
clustering of 4/5 star reviews around those very few time periods.

I was very surprised to find my review rejected. It was the first
rejection I have ever received for an Amazon review. Apparently
questioning the Amazon review process is a no-no. Amazon wrote

- Your review should focus on specific features of the product and
your experience with it. Feedback on the seller or your shipment
experience should be provided at www.amazon.com/feedback.

which sounds reasonable, except that to leave "feedback" you have to
actually buy the product. It also indicates to me that they devote a
lot of effort to identifying reviews that are critical of their
product review process.

Amazon wants to SELL products. They are far less likely to want to
encourage behaviors that work *counter* to that!


Except that they accept many, many negative reviews that clearly
say some of the stuff they sell is crap. The clear issue here is
that what he wrote wasn't a review of the product at all. It was
a review of the reviews, that's why it was rejected because it
doesn't meet their review guidelines.

On 12/2/2015 8:09 AM, Don Y wrote:

The fact that they even allow "unverified reviews" is a sleazy practice.
Gee, with the volume of sales that they report, they can't find
bonafide customers to testify regarding the products that they sell?

Just about everyone I've bought from on Amazon ends up requesting me
to write a review of the product I purchased. I have neither the time
nor the inclination to do so, and I suspect most buyers feel the same
way. Instead, I selectively review.

But there's a place for reviews by unverified purchasers. Often most
of the purchases are made at another retailer, not Amazon, and the
reviews serve to help people searching online for reviews and price
comparisons of those particular products. I see that all the time with
products that are predominantly purchased at Costco for much less than
what a third-party seller is offering them for on Amazon.com. And
unverified reviewers may have something useful to say about a product.
If you're ever suspecting a shill, check the reviewer's review history
on Amazon. You can usually figure out quickly if the person has a
history of something useful and apparently genuine to say about
products - or not.

On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 07:26:02 -0800 (PST), trader_4
wrote:

On Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 9:09:08 AM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:
On 12/2/2015 6:58 AM, CRNG wrote:
Anybody else here run in to something like this?

I often buy repair related items (tools, etc) from Amazon, and I
consider the reviews an important decision element. While browsing
yesterday, I happen to stumble upon this non-repair related item when
doing a search with the word "emergency" in it

http://www.amazon.com/Writer-Emergen...DateDescending

I was curious so I read about it and noticed that the vast majority of
the 4/5 star reviews were clustered in March and November of 2015 and
that few if any of those reviewers were verified purchasers.

I've written a few hundred reviews for Amazon products so I though
nothing of writing a review questioning the review statistics of this
product. It was very brief simply questioning what had caused that
clustering of 4/5 star reviews around those very few time periods.

I was very surprised to find my review rejected. It was the first
rejection I have ever received for an Amazon review. Apparently
questioning the Amazon review process is a no-no. Amazon wrote

- Your review should focus on specific features of the product and
your experience with it. Feedback on the seller or your shipment
experience should be provided at www.amazon.com/feedback.

which sounds reasonable, except that to leave "feedback" you have to
actually buy the product. It also indicates to me that they devote a
lot of effort to identifying reviews that are critical of their
product review process.

Amazon wants to SELL products. They are far less likely to want to
encourage behaviors that work *counter* to that!


Except that they accept many, many negative reviews that clearly
say some of the stuff they sell is crap. The clear issue here is
that what he wrote wasn't a review of the product at all. It was
a review of the reviews, that's why it was rejected because it
doesn't meet their review guidelines.

A new moderated list I belonged to had rules written (I was part of
writing the rules but I don't remember discussing this one.) that
didn't allow discussing the moderation. It was "off-topic".

I eventually quit the list but while I was gone, people rebelled and
forced them to loosen moderation and allow discussion of moderation
rules.

It struck me as a desire to be in charge, like a weak version of "no
one pushes the police around. Talk back to me and I'll mess you up."

There have been articles lately about how many of the negative reviews
are by people who have never used the product. I think it's a way for
some to vent their hostility to the world, something like ombers do
except less extreme. (and that if they couldn't forge reviews like
this, a few would become ombers and kill people) Article said you can
sometimes tell because the complaints are vague, spend time on the
story and not so much on the product.

On 12/2/2015 8:32 AM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
On 12/2/2015 8:09 AM, Don Y wrote:

The fact that they even allow "unverified reviews" is a sleazy practice.
Gee, with the volume of sales that they report, they can't find
bonafide customers to testify regarding the products that they sell?

Just about everyone I've bought from on Amazon ends up requesting me to write a
review of the product I purchased. I have neither the time nor the inclination
to do so, and I suspect most buyers feel the same way. Instead, I selectively
review.

I "give feedback" to vendors about products, not reviews for other
(potential/current) customers -- for much the same reason that I ignore
other folks' reviews of items.

For software products, "customer service" or "policies" -- i.e.,
things that can be relatively easily changed and put into effect
ongoing or retroactively (e.g., software upgrades for existing
customers), I try to give that feedback relatively quickly.

For material changes to products -- things that require time to
get implemented in "manufacturing" -- I take a much longer view,
letting my experiences with the product accumulate until I can
offer a more comprehensive review. In these cases, the current
product may NEVER benefit from my comments; but, some newer
product *may*!

(E.g., my review of our new vehicle will take many months to
complete. There's no chance my comments will affect other
2016 purchases. And, probably only the "easier fixes" will
see their way into 2017 model year offerings.)

But there's a place for reviews by unverified purchasers. Often most of the
purchases are made at another retailer, not Amazon, and the reviews serve to
help people searching online for reviews and price comparisons of those
particular products. I see that all the time with products that are
predominantly purchased at Costco for much less than what a third-party seller
is offering them for on Amazon.com.

Then why not simply state: "Buy this from Costco, instead of Amazon!"
For many folks, I suspect that's more valuable than "touchy, feely"
comments about an item.

And unverified reviewers may have something
useful to say about a product. If you're ever suspecting a shill, check the
reviewer's review history on Amazon. You can usually figure out quickly if the
person has a history of something useful and apparently genuine to say about
products - or not.

So, what is needed is a "review of reviewers"? : And, a review of review
reviewers??

On 12/2/2015 8:58 AM, CRNG wrote:
Anybody else here run in to something like this?

I often buy repair related items (tools, etc) from Amazon, and I
consider the reviews an important decision element. While browsing
yesterday, I happen to stumble upon this non-repair related item when
doing a search with the word "emergency" in it

http://www.amazon.com/Writer-Emergen...DateDescending

I was curious so I read about it and noticed that the vast majority of
the 4/5 star reviews were clustered in March and November of 2015 and
that few if any of those reviewers were verified purchasers.

I've written a few hundred reviews for Amazon products so I though
nothing of writing a review questioning the review statistics of this
product. It was very brief simply questioning what had caused that
clustering of 4/5 star reviews around those very few time periods.

I was very surprised to find my review rejected. It was the first
rejection I have ever received for an Amazon review. Apparently
questioning the Amazon review process is a no-no. Amazon wrote

- Your review should focus on specific features of the product and
your experience with it. Feedback on the seller or your shipment
experience should be provided at www.amazon.com/feedback.

which sounds reasonable, except that to leave "feedback" you have to
actually buy the product. It also indicates to me that they devote a
lot of effort to identifying reviews that are critical of their
product review process.


There is a review that was recently posted about the same thing you
write. Check the link you posted.
By PB on November 17, 2015
Beware of the dates of reviews. Many of them are written from March
29-31. It may be a bunch of employees trying to get a 5 star rating on
their boss' product.

On Wed, 02 Dec 2015 07:58:35 -0600, CRNG
wrote:




- Your review should focus on specific features of the product and
your experience with it. Feedback on the seller or your shipment
experience should be provided at www.amazon.com/feedback.


You stepped over their line, They just don't a food fight.
I wrote a review on a new gasket set, stating it came with the box
sloppily taped shut, one gasket was bent, and another one missing.
Amazon posted it, but some jomoca wrote a response that I "shouldn't
give a bad review" for that reason. I set him straight.
Wrote another review on a wall register, which came bent, because it
was shipped in a cheap envelope. Some jomoca responded that I should
read the amazon review guidelines, and change or delete the review.
Both reviews are still there. There are plenty of Amazon groupies
"monitoring" the reviews.
BTW, both reviews also got a response saying there was nothing wrong
with it, and one saying the review "guidelines" should be changed.

On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 15:05:21 -0500, Sarg
wrote in

snip...

There is a review that was recently posted about the same thing you
write. Check the link you posted.
By PB on November 17, 2015
Beware of the dates of reviews. Many of them are written from March
29-31. It may be a bunch of employees trying to get a 5 star rating on
their boss' product.

Thanks for the reference. I found it. I wonder how the Amazon
sensors let that through?
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On Wed, 02 Dec 2015 09:24:19 -0600, Moe DeLoughan
wrote in

snip...

Another possibility is that the seller provided a number of reviewers
with free or discounted products in exchange for a review, though they
should acknowledge that in their reviews.

That's what I'm guessing here.

I also consider the total number of reviews an important factor. I'm
a bit skeptical about an item that has 46 reviews vs. an item with
4600 reviews.
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On Thu, 03 Dec 2015 00:15:07 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote in


snip...

You stepped over their line, They just don't a food fight.
I wrote a review on a new gasket set, stating it came with the box
sloppily taped shut, one gasket was bent, and another one missing.
Amazon posted it, but some jomoca wrote a response that I "shouldn't
give a bad review" for that reason. I set him straight.
Wrote another review on a wall register, which came bent, because it
was shipped in a cheap envelope. Some jomoca responded that I should
read the amazon review guidelines, and change or delete the review.
Both reviews are still there. There are plenty of Amazon groupies
"monitoring" the reviews.

BTW, both reviews also got a response saying there was nothing wrong
with it, and one saying the review "guidelines" should be changed.

I've never read the guidelines, but have posted about 300 reviews.
This was my first rejected review and it has caused me become a bit
skeptical of items have a low ( 100??) number of reviews. In the
future, when considering purchasing a item that has a low number of
reviews, I'm going to take a much harder look at those reviews.

--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

CRNG wrote: "This was my first rejected review and it has caused me become a bit
skeptical of items have a low ( 100??) number of reviews. In the
future, when considering purchasing a item that has a low number of
reviews, I'm going to take a much harder look at those reviews. "


Also: Beware of products with "halo" review ratings. This
is where there are a lot of 5 & 4 star ratings, few 2 & 3
star - but almost as many 1-star ratings as 4 or 5:


5 - ========
4 - ====
3 - ==
2 -
1 - ======= (!)

Anything with over 1,000 reviews and
ratings like below should be a great
buy:

5 - ==========
4 - ===
3 - ==
2 - =
1 -

On 12/3/2015 7:39 AM, wrote:
Anything with over 1,000 reviews and
ratings like below should be a great
buy:

5 - ==========
4 - ===
3 - ==
2 - =
1 -


Right, it is how I made my decision as to whether or not to buy a "My
Pillow"

On 12/2/2015 10:32 AM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
On 12/2/2015 8:09 AM, Don Y wrote:

The fact that they even allow "unverified reviews" is a sleazy practice.
Gee, with the volume of sales that they report, they can't find
bonafide customers to testify regarding the products that they sell?

Just about everyone I've bought from on Amazon ends up requesting me to
write a review of the product I purchased. I have neither the time nor
the inclination to do so, and I suspect most buyers feel the same way.
Instead, I selectively review.

Basically what I do.

Would like to add that Amazon will often request a review before you
have opened the package or just opened it.

I wrote one on a wifi printer giving it good marks for ease of set-up.
Then a couple of months later, had some troubles with it but could not
go back and change my review.

Might add that it is easier to deal with Amazon themselves rather than
some of their listed suppliers. I tend to stay away from the secondary
suppliers. Can also note that Best Buy will match Amazon prices but
only if the item comes directly from Amazon.

On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 03:42:17 -0800 (PST), wrote
in

snip..


Also: Beware of products with "halo" review ratings. This
is where there are a lot of 5 & 4 star ratings, few 2 & 3
star - but almost as many 1-star ratings as 4 or 5:


5 - ========
4 - ====
3 - ==
2 -
1 - ======= (!)

I don't recall ever seeing anything like that. It does seem odd. One
metric I do use is the sum of 1&2 stars. If that is more than 15% I
take a much closer look into the ratings.
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 08:13:44 -0500, Frank "frank wrote in


snip..


I wrote one on a wifi printer giving it good marks for ease of set-up.
Then a couple of months later, had some troubles with it but could not
go back and change my review.

That's odd. Where you logged in when you look at your review? When I
return to one of my reviews to revise it, there is an "Edit" and
"Delete" button at the bottom right of the review.

--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On 12/3/2015 8:43 AM, CRNG wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 08:13:44 -0500, Frank "frank wrote in


snip..


I wrote one on a wifi printer giving it good marks for ease of set-up.
Then a couple of months later, had some troubles with it but could not
go back and change my review.

That's odd. Where you logged in when you look at your review? When I
return to one of my reviews to revise it, there is an "Edit" and
"Delete" button at the bottom right of the review.


I will have to look into that. In this specific case there might have
been a thousand reviews so my edited comments would not make much
difference.

CRNG wrote: "I don't recall ever seeing anything like that. It does seem odd. One
metric I do use is the sum of 1&2 stars. "

Oh believe me, it's out there. Depends on what you're
shopping for. I've seen this halo pattern on some
headphones, for example. The large kind you usually
use at home, not the buds!

On 12/02/2015 11:15 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
There are plenty of Amazon groupies
"monitoring" the reviews.

My reviews are generally positive but I have noticed if I call a piece
of crap a piece of crap, the comments start to fly.

On 12/03/2015 04:20 AM, CRNG wrote:
I've never read the guidelines, but have posted about 300 reviews.
This was my first rejected review and it has caused me become a bit
skeptical of items have a low ( 100??) number of reviews. In the
future, when considering purchasing a item that has a low number of
reviews, I'm going to take a much harder look at those reviews.

I buy a lot of Kindle books, often from first time authors. For three or
four bucks I'm not really concerned if they turn out to be losers but
some of them have reviews that appear to have been written by family
members, including the dog. That doesn't necessarily mean they're bad
though.

I pay more attention when buying higher priced items. I answer more
questions than I ask but I do like the way you can ask actual users if
the FramishCo SuperWidget will fit your 1909 Hupmobile.

On 12/03/2015 06:23 AM, CRNG wrote:
I don't recall ever seeing anything like that. It does seem odd. One
metric I do use is the sum of 1&2 stars. If that is more than 15% I
take a much closer look into the ratings.

I've seen some split ratings. I like the Photon MicroLights and bought
several. One of the third party suppliers was ringing in Chinese ripoffs
so the people who got those and didn't realize it were giving bad reviews.

I'd ordered three and got two genuine and one that was obviously a
knockoff. I emailed Amazon, told them the knockoff worked okay but
obviously wasn't the real deal. It wasn't a big enough deal to send it
back for an exchange but Amazon credited me for it anyway. That
particular third party supplier was dropped. That has to be a headache
for Amazon. They can't warehouse everything in the world but vetting the
suppliers for some of the small items must be a pain.

On 12/03/2015 06:13 AM, Frank wrote:
Would like to add that Amazon will often request a review before you
have opened the package or just opened it.

The packaging review requests are a little annoying. Yes, it came in a
box, no, I didn't have to get out the chainsaw to open it. Yes, it was
what it was supposed to be. I plugged the usb cable in and it worked. I
don't have enough words in my review?

rbowman wrote:
On 12/03/2015 06:23 AM, CRNG wrote:
I don't recall ever seeing anything like that. It does seem odd. One
metric I do use is the sum of 1&2 stars. If that is more than 15% I
take a much closer look into the ratings.

I've seen some split ratings. I like the Photon MicroLights and bought
several. One of the third party suppliers was ringing in Chinese ripoffs
so the people who got those and didn't realize it were giving bad reviews.

I'd ordered three and got two genuine and one that was obviously a
knockoff. I emailed Amazon, told them the knockoff worked okay but
obviously wasn't the real deal. It wasn't a big enough deal to send it
back for an exchange but Amazon credited me for it anyway. That
particular third party supplier was dropped. That has to be a headache
for Amazon. They can't warehouse everything in the world but vetting the
suppliers for some of the small items must be a pain.



Ever heard vine reviewers? There are pro reviewers paid for their job.

On Thu, 03 Dec 2015 08:24:54 -0700, rbowman
wrote:

On 12/03/2015 06:23 AM, CRNG wrote:
I don't recall ever seeing anything like that. It does seem odd. One
metric I do use is the sum of 1&2 stars. If that is more than 15% I
take a much closer look into the ratings.

I've seen some split ratings. I like the Photon MicroLights and bought
several. One of the third party suppliers was ringing in Chinese ripoffs
so the people who got those and didn't realize it were giving bad reviews.

I'd ordered three and got two genuine and one that was obviously a
knockoff. I emailed Amazon, told them the knockoff worked okay but
obviously wasn't the real deal. It wasn't a big enough deal to send it
back for an exchange but Amazon credited me for it anyway. That
particular third party supplier was dropped. That has to be a headache
for Amazon. They can't warehouse everything in the world but vetting the
suppliers for some of the small items must be a pain.


Amazon also has no price control over vendor-sold products. I've
written 5-star reviews which I titled "Rip Off" and "Sucker Play"
because by the time I wrote the review the price had been outrageously
jacked up. Those reviews were "liked" by 4 or 5 people last time I
looked.

Moe DeLoughan posted for all of us...


Just about everyone I've bought from on Amazon ends up requesting me
to write a review of the product I purchased. I have neither the time
nor the inclination to do so, and I suspect most buyers feel the same
way. Instead, I selectively review.


I never fill out reviews for anything. New cars, repairs, customer
satisfaction, etc. They just start bugging you for more and more of your
time and phone number. Sometimes they send a dollar to make one feel
obligated. Hah, they have to pay me more to open the envelope.

--
Tekkie