Amazon: Counterfeits, Review Banning, and Bribery

thatwritergal
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Posts: 36

Amazon: Counterfeits, Review Banning, and Bribery Oct 29, 2018 23:25:18 GMT

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Post by thatwritergal on Oct 29, 2018 23:25:18 GMT

I found this article in my google news feed. Though it's about other goods on Amazon, I think this definitely ties into the whole review debacle on the book end of things as well. The employee bribing would definitely explain a lot especially as it ties to the book scammers.

I Called Out a Counterfeit Item on Amazon. Then They Banned Me.
www.howtogeek.com/392608/i-called-out-a-counterfeit-item-on-amazon.-then-they-banned-me./

A snippet from the article

Some Amazon Employees Are Accepting Bribes to Delete Negative Reviews

A report from the Wall Street Journal recently found that some of Amazon’s employees have been caught deleting negative reviews in return for bribes. The problem is rampant in China, where MarsKing is located.

Now, I really can’t prove MarsKing bribed an Amazon employee to ban me. Perhaps MarsKing just put together a sob story about how I was lying and tricked a low-level Amazon employee into banning me without looking too closely.

But, either way, that’s pretty bad.

The WSJ article is behind a paywall, but here is another report on it: abc13.com/business/amazon-workers-may-have-taken-cash-to-kill-bad-reviews/4278768/

prolificwriter
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Posts: 252

Amazon: Counterfeits, Review Banning, and Bribery Oct 30, 2018 0:39:32 GMT thatwritergal likes this

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Post by prolificwriter on Oct 30, 2018 0:39:32 GMT

Interesting. It reminds of an experience I had with a third party seller on Amazon. I ordered a food item and they sent me one with an expired date. I got a refund from Amazon but when I wrote a negative review mentioning what happened, they deleted it. I couldn’t even leave negative feedback on the seller’s page.

K'Sennia Visitor
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Amazon: Counterfeits, Review Banning, and Bribery Oct 30, 2018 1:48:42 GMT

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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Oct 30, 2018 1:48:42 GMT

There was a thread on here a couple months ago about the amazon employees being bribed. I think in that case it was happening in China? My comment then was that's what you get when you treat your employees like shit, overwork, and don't pay them enough. But I hadn't heard it from the customer side before. I had a negative review rejected once, but as far as I know I wasn't banned from reviewing. I quit leaving reviews shortly after I started publishing. Amazon is going to run everyone off if they keep going down this road.

One more reason why all authors should seriously consider going wide!

While Faith Manages I'll be in the car.

thatwritergal
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Posts: 36

Amazon: Counterfeits, Review Banning, and Bribery Oct 30, 2018 22:57:00 GMT K'Sennia Visitor likes this

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Post by thatwritergal on Oct 30, 2018 22:57:00 GMT

Oops, I didn't realize there was a thread. I'll have to hunt that one down to see the chat in it. But I totally agree. Amazon makes buying from them so convenient but between this debacle and how they treat authors, I want to wean myself away from relying on them for stuff. I really wish another place rose in its stead with good shipping options. I also stopped leaving reviews and I used to leave a ton for indie books I read and wanted to help share with other readers but after this, I haven't left a review in ages and don't plan on changing that anytime soon. Too many scammy things going on over there.

writeway Senior Member Posts: 485	Amazon: Counterfeits, Review Banning, and Bribery Oct 31, 2018 0:14:03 GMT K'Sennia Visitor and thatwritergal like this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by writeway on Oct 31, 2018 0:14:03 GMT I read it before and wasn't surprised then and not surprised now. Not surprised by anything and I mean ANYTHING Amazon does.

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