How To Fake A Best Seller

[Vigilante]

This article is getting some play today:

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/National/article1618237.ece

with Amazon announcing they finally are going to make a half assed attempt to filter out fake reviews and go after the systematic/systemic issues :

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ine-help-push-products-best-sellers-list.html

 

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[Austin Barton]

Gosh.. What a good idea.. Just kidding haha. But seriously I see fake reviews all the time amazon has got to get their shit together.

 

[Vigilante]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ls-hired-3-books-bestseller-lists-Amazon.html

 

[Vigilante]

Gosh.. What a good idea.. Just kidding haha. But seriously I see fake reviews all the time amazon has got to get their shit together.

Many of my competitors are likely shitting their pants, as several have used fake reviews. Amazon should purge not only the scam reviews, but any companies that Amazon discovers through the litigation discovery have used the fraudulent review services.

 

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[Vigilante]

If Amazon wanted to be intellectually honest, it would also eliminate the Amazon-sponsored Vine Review program, delete all reviews that have been posted by this sham service, and no longer endorse non-consumer product reviews.

I have one competitor with an item with 53 reviews. 3 negative reviews (from real consumers) and 50 paid positive reviews from Amazon Vine. I brought this to Amazon's attention, but because the Vine program is owned and promoted by Amazon, they do nothing about it.

 

[funkj25]

If Amazon wanted to be intellectually honest, it would also eliminate the Amazon-sponsored Vine Review program, delete all reviews that have been posted by this sham service, and no longer endorse non-consumer product reviews.

I have one competitor with an item with 53 reviews. 3 negative reviews (from real consumers) and 50 paid positive reviews from Amazon Vine. I brought this to Amazon's attention, but because the Vine program is owned and promoted by Amazon, they do nothing about it.

So you mean I actually need to make good products consumers like and get legitimate good reviews from them by building a list and offering it to them or random real buyers instead of gaming the system to make some quick cash?

Psh. Like I care about customers I just want to stack that money. [\sarcasm]

 

[DrkSide]

I have one competitor with an item with 53 reviews. 3 negative reviews (from real consumers) and 50 paid positive reviews from Amazon Vine. I brought this to Amazon's attention, but because the Vine program is owned and promoted by Amazon, they do nothing about it.

I have a competitor that not only does the fake reviews but when they get too many negative (real customer) reviews they just shut down the product page, create a new one, and buy all new reviews. I have seen them do this at least twice.

 

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[Vigilante]

I have a competitor that not only does the fake reviews but when they get too many negative (real customer) reviews they just shut down the product page, create a new one, and buy all new reviews. I have seen them do this at least twice.

I have one that every time they get a negative review, like CLOCKWORK within 24 hours, 2 5***** reviews are posted.

They can go a week with zero reviews, but every single time a negative review gets posted, it is immediately followed by two 5***** positives.

Amazing coincidence. Been happening for years. And they still can't get the item above 3.7*

 

[Remnant]

I know of specific crap product on Amazon (supplements), and I know about the owner of the business that creates 'fake' reviews to try convince potential buyers that the product 'goes above and beyond' of his expectations. PS. He knows they don't work.

I seriously want to throw up in my mouth knowing what he is doing and how potential customers are being deceived. It's seriously PATHETIC ! Maybe I'm weird, but I think if this is what you stoop to, to make sales -- you don't deserve to be in business :x

 

[Mineralogic]

I know of specific crap product on Amazon (supplements), and I know about the owner of the business that creates 'fake' reviews to try convince potential buyers that the product 'goes above and beyond' of his expectations. PS. He knows they don't work.

I seriously want to throw up in my mouth knowing what he is doing and how potential customers are being deceived. It's seriously PATHETIC ! Maybe I'm weird, but I think if this is what you stoop to, to make sales -- you don't deserve to be in business :x

There are tons doing this right now on amazon in all product sectors including books....seriously more pathethic than I think most know here. If you buy on amazon often its pretty easy to see these tools but amazon doesnt do anything

Talk about c- control

 

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[7.62x51]

it's not just amazon, seems to be happening every where

personally, I don't give as much weight to reviews as I used to

 

[Mattie]

I have one that every time they get a negative review, like CLOCKWORK within 24 hours, 2 5***** reviews are posted.

They can go a week with zero reviews, but every single time a negative review gets posted, it is immediately followed by two 5***** positives.

Amazing coincidence. Been happening for years. And they still can't get the item above 3.7*

I would love it if they cleaned up reviews. I was looking for a mic from Amazon and I'm like most of these are fake reviews. To buy anything anymore, I look at the reviews and know they're paid.

 

[hestati]

@Vigilante and everyone else

What do you guys consider fake reviews? Review that is verified but says "got item for a discount" is fake?

I'm asking because one of my competitors has 337 reviews and 330 say "got item for a discount". I find it's excessive in a niche where even national brand has less than 50 reviews. Any way to bring it AMZ attention?

 

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[Mattie]

I'm asking because one of my competitors has 337 reviews and 330 say "got item for a discount". I find it's excessive in a niche where even national brand has less than 50 reviews. Any way to bring it AMZ attention?

Fake reviews are usually easy to spot.
Copy writing: Sounds to good to be true and like they're talking you into buying the product. How wonderful the product is.
Perfection: The review is written perfectly, with no grammar errors, and like they're your best friend and usually a long paragraph or go on an on about the product.
Usually real reviews people don't pay attention to grammar, spelling, and don't try to sell you the product. It's doesn't sound like it's rehearsed. Like they put a lot of deep thought into what they were saying, and how they're saying it.

Real reviews will say what they like, but also what they didn't like about the product. What they loved about it, but there was that one thing that disappointed them. Most likely half of their reviews are fake. Amazon is aware of the problem. So, you really don't have to say anything. Some accounts get suspended and banned. Reviews are sometimes taken off products when one of them goes down. I've lost reviews this way, not knowing they were virtual assistance and have one bugging me all the time to do reviews, and I just ignore him. lol Finding good reviews that are authentic is tricky.

 

[Mineralogic]

Fake reviews are usually easy to spot.
Copy writing: Sounds to good to be true and like they're talking you into buying the product. How wonderful the product is.
Perfection: The review is written perfectly, with no grammar errors, and like they're your best friend and usually a long paragraph or go on an on about the product.
Usually real reviews people don't pay attention to grammar, spelling, and don't try to sell you the product. It's doesn't sound like it's rehearsed. Like they put a lot of deep thought into what they were saying, and how they're saying it.

Real reviews will say what they like, but also what they didn't like about the product. What they loved about it, but there was that one thing that disappointed them. Most likely half of their reviews are fake. Amazon is aware of the problem. So, you really don't have to say anything. Some accounts get suspended and banned. Reviews are sometimes taken off products when one of them goes down. I've lost reviews this way, not knowing they were virtual assistance and have one bugging me all the time to do reviews, and I just ignore him. lol Finding good reviews that are authentic is tricky.

I'd love to see if any of you pro's can figure out how amazon can allow such blatant pumping on this book here who was briefly a best seller and used social media to fool people into buying what is juvenile content. 90% or more look like fake customer reviews with "amazon customer" as the name even up to today. You click and they only reviewed this book nothing else.

http://www.amazon.com/Illuminatiam-...tBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R17RIX0H4K6FE6

 

[mws87]

Fake reviews are usually easy to spot.
Copy writing: Sounds to good to be true and like they're talking you into buying the product. How wonderful the product is.
Perfection: The review is written perfectly, with no grammar errors, and like they're your best friend and usually a long paragraph or go on an on about the product.
Usually real reviews people don't pay attention to grammar, spelling, and don't try to sell you the product. It's doesn't sound like it's rehearsed. Like they put a lot of deep thought into what they were saying, and how they're saying it.

Real reviews will say what they like, but also what they didn't like about the product. What they loved about it, but there was that one thing that disappointed them. Most likely half of their reviews are fake. Amazon is aware of the problem. So, you really don't have to say anything. Some accounts get suspended and banned. Reviews are sometimes taken off products when one of them goes down. I've lost reviews this way, not knowing they were virtual assistance and have one bugging me all the time to do reviews, and I just ignore him. lol Finding good reviews that are authentic is tricky.

another good way to figure it out is to click on the reviewers name and seeing what else they've reviewed. If the people reviewing have an extensive history of 5 stars it's likely bogus. Also, if the reviewer has reviewed several other titles of different "authors" that all have the same cover style it can lead you to discover all of their pen names.

One person I was researching (who is dominating a specific genre) had some down voted negative reviews which said their work was republished from another author. After doing research on the reviewers, I was able to find out the publisher had at least 4 different pen names in the same genre, all of which were selling pretty well.

It made me think "man, this guy is probably making some good money" which also brought another thought: amazon is making money from these titles too, hence the outcry of fake reviews being overlooked. I'm sure they'll get around to it some day though.

 

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[Mattie]

I'd love to see if any of you pro's can figure out how amazon can allow such blatant pumping on this book here who was briefly a best seller and used social media to fool people into buying what is juvenile content. 90% or more look like fake customer reviews with "amazon customer" as the name even up to today. You click and they only reviewed this book nothing else.

Why it became popular was the title Illumanti. That stuff is eaten up whether it's truth or fiction by a lot of unaware people. The conspiracy theories, and mystery etc. Illumanti is trigger word to follow the heard and find out the secrets of the twilight zone.

The other is if Amazon took down all the fake reviews on Amazon, no one would probably have any. I think they know this. And of course every person on Amazon would have a problem. In the business perspective I see the problem with enforcing rules, but at the same time, it benefits them. If they take all the reviews down, well, that would mean less money for them.

 

[JAJT]

I'd say the issue is largely not from the "pay for review" folks.

The issue as I see it is largely a result of the giveaway/discount distribution services out there that easily let a seller give away any number of units for free or at a discount in exchange for an "honest" review. This was even allowed within Amazon's own guidelines (albeit not within the spirit of what they meant with that clause anyway).

This is why you see so many "I received this product at a discount in exchange for my honest review" or whatever - that clause was a requirement to do what people were doing. So all the services made that a requirement for their reviewers and the reviews kept flowing.

The idea of these services were great - new sellers could get reviews without violating any rules. The problem is that despite all the talk of "honesty" with the reviewers the unspoken rule with these services was "post positive reviews or get out". Some even went so far as to say "post your honest opinion, but if that opinion isn't positive we highly encourage you to contact the seller to resolve the issue before posting to see if it can be resolved". Other services simply let you see the average star rating of the reviewers you chose to give products away to - allowing you to weed out negative reviewers and ask for 'honest' reviews from only those with a track record of 4 and 5 star reviews.

Amazon recently updated their terms to say that rank manipulation through reviews and giveaways and discounts will no longer be tolerated. I'm interested to see what that will mean to those sellers who are used to going from 0 to 1000+ review in a weekend.

If Amazon was dead serious about renovating their site for legitimacy you would see them do a wide-sweeping, unapologetic removal of all reviews that ever used a discount code prior to purchase. In addition they would kill all non-verified reviews. I highly doubt we'll ever see that but it would be a damn interesting move if they did.

 

[mws87]

Why it became popular was the title Illumanti. That stuff is eaten up whether it's truth or fiction by a lot of unaware people. The conspiracy theories, and mystery etc. Illumanti is trigger word to follow the heard and find out the secrets of the twilight zone.

Yup, "alternate realities" -- people love them, it's why reality shows, celebrity gossip magazines and the ridiculous shows of grown men running through the forest, hunting a mythical creature are so big. I've noticed a lot of people hold some strange fascination with hopes of discovering some hidden world or having their delusional paranoia confirmed. That-shit-sells.

Sort of reminds me of the HP Lovecraft Necronomicon & Cthulu mythos--obviously works of fiction, yet, there are huge amounts of people who swear they are works of non-fiction and Lovecraft was simply a proxy, writing the works for "the old ones".

It's like MJ says in the book, regarding application of value: "Enhance their dreams". In this case, the reader's dream being that of a grim reality.

 

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[Mattie]

It's like MJ says in the book, regarding application of value: "Enhance their dreams". In this case, the reader's dream being that of a grim reality.

Yes, this is very true. Many snake oil salesmen sell you the placebo effect to just about everything. Believe!

discovering some hidden world or having their delusional paranoia confirmed. That-shit-sells.

The hidden world is being lost in the illusion and imagination of you're own mind. The imagination can create any green eyed monster out of plain old fear and what people tell you to believe. Superstitions for example or rituals of some kind. If I don't put the frog in front of the door I won't make any money. lol I think we better go by a million frogs so we make a million dollars.

 

[Mineralogic]

Why it became popular was the title Illumanti. That stuff is eaten up whether it's truth or fiction by a lot of unaware people. The conspiracy theories, and mystery etc. Illumanti is trigger word to follow the heard and find out the secrets of the twilight zone.

The other is if Amazon took down all the fake reviews on Amazon, no one would probably have any. I think they know this. And of course every person on Amazon would have a problem. In the business perspective I see the problem with enforcing rules, but at the same time, it benefits them. If they take all the reviews down, well, that would mean less money for them.

tons of the reviews on this name are "amazon customer" as a profile name I mean come on

 

[Mineralogic]

Yup, "alternate realities" -- people love them, it's why reality shows, celebrity gossip magazines and the ridiculous shows of grown men running through the forest, hunting a mythical creature are so big. I've noticed a lot of people hold some strange fascination with hopes of discovering some hidden world or having their delusional paranoia confirmed. That-shit-sells.

Sort of reminds me of the HP Lovecraft Necronomicon & Cthulu mythos--obviously works of fiction, yet, there are huge amounts of people who swear they are works of non-fiction and Lovecraft was simply a proxy, writing the works for "the old ones".

It's like MJ says in the book, regarding application of value: "Enhance their dreams". In this case, the reader's dream being that of a grim reality.

no need to even go into the occult etc..just look at the sheer amount of gamers escaping reality with video games, online gaming, xbox, let alone tv

its crazy our whole society is build up with creating layer after layer of artificiality and fictions

 

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[Mattie]

tons of the reviews on this name are "amazon customer" as a profile name I mean come on

I noticed my personal reviews were coming up amazon customer lately. I fixed it, but that tells me that really isn't enough to go by. Like they stated above, profiles do tell you whether they're authentic or not. Virtual assistance I notice do all have five star ratings and never negative reviews. And because I'm in Facebook I can tell who they are and trace it to other books.
Many of them don't read the books and just write whatever. For other products I noticed lately when I was looking for a mic for pod casting the only thing I find is fake reviews for the most part. Even on you tube, I think they do get free products and of course they'll give you a great review.
Even on websites they're fake reviews and copy writing. It's very simple to do. Those that sell reviews tend to give fake reviews. The last I looked Amazon was already battling that in court. I don't think it's solely an Amazon problem. It's everywhere.

 

[hestati]

Yes, Amazon has updated their TOS to prohibit excessive ranking manipulation. Now, no one has idea what it means and being in a FBA sellers group with thousands of members, I never heard anyone getting banned for it (yet, most people there give away 100-200 units).

I think Amazon has a stupid policy regarding reviews. You're allowed to give your product away for free to people who chase freebies and have no idea how to even use your product. You're not allowed to give a discount in exchange for a review for someone who buys your product, has a need for it, will use it and actually knows how to use it...

 

[Vigilante]

@Vigilante and everyone else

What do you guys consider fake reviews? Review that is verified but says "got item for a discount" is fake?

I'm asking because one of my competitors has 337 reviews and 330 say "got item for a discount". I find it's excessive in a niche where even national brand has less than 50 reviews. Any way to bring it AMZ attention?

Amazon doesn't consider it against the rules as long as the disclosure is there. I think it's a TOTAL scam, but Amazon doesn't. I have actually written the president of Amazon personally about it. They don't give a shit.

 

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[hestati]

Amazon doesn't consider it against the rules as long as the disclosure is there. I think it's a TOTAL scam, but Amazon doesn't. I have actually written the president of Amazon personally about it. They don't give a shit.

Yes I know. I think it's total scam as well. But what pisses me off even more is what they did to someone I know.

He had a product and was selling about 3-4 a day from the start with no reviews, just PPC. When someone would receive the product, 7 days later he would send a message saying something like: "hey, you use the product, you know how it works, do you like it? Please leave an honest review and I will refund you 50% of the purchase". Think about it, win-win for everyone. Seller gets a review, legitimate buyer gets a discount, Amazon gets a real, honest review (he even said it in the email that discount doesnt depend on stars).

Long story short, Amazon deleted all these reviews. So he went to a review group and bunch of soccer moms left him a review with pics and video where most of them don't even hold the item properly. Guess what? Amazon kept all these reviews....

 

[mws87]

@Vigilante and everyone else

What do you guys consider fake reviews? Review that is verified but says "got item for a discount" is fake?

Nah, more so--in publishing at least--the reviews of high-acclaim for something that is clearly poorly written and void of anything beneficial to the reader/consumer, validated through Amazon's "look inside" function and the several bad [verified] reviews that get buried beneath the sea of BS reviews. What's even funnier is when you see reviews riddled with the very same KEYWORDS found within the book description, title and, sadly, the "publisher" information as well as everywhere else on the page. There's a few people now straight up drowning their pages in keywords, like, it just looks tacky, horrid and amateur.

Can't tell you how many times I've found "mystery thriller" books that were "a compelling mystery thriller book published by mystery thriller book publishing house" with rave reviews like: "such a great mystery thriller book. this mystery thriller book is sure to please every mystery thriller book fan. blah blah BLAH BLAH"... ugh, sorry; the more I think about this, the more it irks me. I feel like Amazon publishing is turning into the Angelfire/Maxpages (old school reference) or everyone and their mom's wordpress equivalent of writing.

It sucks for the good content producers. However, I'm confident quality will eventually outshine quantity as it seems portions of buyers are beginning to catch on, hopefully weeding out the lazy money-chasers. The gold rush is over; some will take off to exploit the next thing and some will actually stick around and build something awesome.

 

[CPisHere]

I ONLY read 1 and 2 star reviews now due to the number of useless 5 star reviews. I've found it incredibly helpful to weeding out what would be a poor purchase - ESPECIALLY for business books, which always have lots of glowing 5 star reviews, even when the content is boring and not helpful (like most of them).

 

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[hestati]

I ONLY read 1 and 2 star reviews now due to the number of useless 5 star reviews. I've found it incredibly helpful to weeding out what would be a poor purchase - ESPECIALLY for business books, which always have lots of glowing 5 star reviews, even when the content is boring and not helpful (like most of them).

Yes, but the problem is, 1-2 stars reviews are often fake too

 

[mws87]

Yes, but the problem is, 1-2 stars reviews are often fake too

Good point; there is a flip side. I usually take 1 stars with a grain of salt just as I do with 5 stars. The higher up you rank in sales, the more likely a competitor is to have your product flooded with 1 stars. Not only that, but with you being heavily exposed to traffic and sales (if you're ranking really, really high) you will get that person here and there who hates everything (usually the 1 star reviewers). Take a look on Yelp, check out their 1 star reviews. A LOT of people on there only leave 1 stars, and they usually aren't even valid reviews. Reminds me of a place I worked at a while back, people left us 1 star reviews for the most ridiculous things like parking was full, 1 star. One person even said they DROVE BY the place and didn't like the way it looked--1 star. And, of course, Yelp leaves em up, just as Amazon does.

Anyway, back on track here--good point @hestati , that's why I usually check out 2 star and 3 star. 1 stars can be useful (if the product has an overwhelming amount of 1 stars), but among the masses, they're usually not very helpful.