While feds consider crackdown, Amazon retailer offers gift card for 5-star reviews
HOUSTON - The Federal Trade Commission is still considering a new rule that would prohibit buying and selling fake reviews that could influence how consumers spend their money. Until then, some online retailers appear to be doing 'exactly' that.
The Public Interest Research Group estimates that 90% of consumers rely on reviews to help guide what they buy, because most would want to know is previous customers have had a good or bad experience. You might also want to know if that opinion was bought and paid for.
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Kay Dean runs the online review watchdog site FakeReviewWatch.com. She says an estimated 40% of online reviews are fake, "It's just another way to game the system by, essentially, paying someone to write a glowing review."
A recent shopping experience on Amazon for exercise clothing demonstrated how it might work. The order's arrival was quickly followed by a post card in the mail, offering a $25 Amazon gift card. The cost of redeeming the offer was a "5-star lovely review" and proof of the post sent to the included email address. There was also a warning to not display the card in any of the messages. If it seems a little dishonest, Amazon agrees.
In a statement to FOX 26, the online retailer says it has zero-tolerance for fake reviews, adding, in part, "We have clear policies that prohibit reviews abuse, including offering incentives like gift cards to write positive reviews. We suspend, ban, and take legal action against those who violate these policies and remove inauthentic reviews."
Dean thinks there's a reason some retailers will take the chance to deceive customers.
"Good reviews are a key component to product rankings on Amazon, so sellers have tremendous incentive to get as many positive reviews as possible," she says.
If approved, the FTC rule could fine fake-review violations up to $50,000 per occurrence. For its part, Amazon says it weeded out more than 200 million fake reviews in 2022.
Dean thinks they could do more, believing such big-tech platforms rely too much on federal law that makes online forums not responsible for the content others publish on them.
Until there's resolution, shoppers should take those reviews with a grain of salt.