Amazon, Walmart, and eBay Product Reviews Are A Scam

Paid and manipulated reviews common on the e-commerce sites

December 5, 2019 - Los Angeles, CA – Consumers relying on Amazon, Walmart, and eBay product reviews would be shocked to learn the review system is awash in fraud, paid endorsements, and manipulation by the e-commerce sites themselves. The reviews are no indication of authenticity or quality -- college students and "click farms" are recruited to leave phony reviews for the essentially worthless garbage products offered, or unrelated to the product listed. These reviewers are incentivized with cash or products to leave four or five-star reviews. Fakespot Inc., which identifies fraudulent reviews, reports that more than one-third of online reviews on Amazon and Walmart are fake.

While the deceptive practices thrive;

• Amazon continues to tell the media and policy-makers that it has "zero tolerance" for fakes, fraud, and bad actors. The statement is patently false. Amazon blocks or removes negative product feedback and consumer warnings about dangerous and potentially deadly items while facilitating counterfeit and fraudulent product sales.
• Walmart claims it expects all reviewers to adhere to its guidelines which prohibit posting false or inaccurate content. One reason Walmart has fake reviews on its website, according to Fakespot, is that it pulls some reviews from other sites. A Walmart spokeswoman said that the website does source a small number of reviews from third parties such as brands and review sites.
• eBay banned The Counterfeit Report, an award-winning consumer advocate and industry watchdog, from making test purchases and leaving product and seller feedback to protect consumers. eBay admitted it removes counterfeit and negative feedback left by buyers (read the Business Insider article), yet commissioned the global law firm giant, O'Melveny and Myers, to threaten; "Any attempt to circumvent that ban may result in eBay taking further steps, including but not limited to legal action." Fighting fraud or lining their pockets?

While it is best to avoid businesses that enable, facilitate, or participate directly as global criminal enterprises, here are some tips;

• Watch out for an overwhelming number of positive ratings. An equal number of five-star and one-star reviews would be more realistic. People who feel strongest about a product, both positively and negatively, tend to review it. Unhappy people leave reviews; happy people move on.
• Look at whether reviews are spaced evenly over time, or clustered around particular days or a product introduction.
• How many reviews are written by verified purchasers -- those identified as having bought the item directly from a legitimate retailer.
• Analyze the language, looking for repetition of themes, broken English "Chinglish" or words that would suggest the posts are written from a script.

E-commerce sites are not better marketplaces that serve consumers. They are no more than arenas of creative destruction, leaving consumers on their own to sort the legitimate, honest sellers from all the bad actors under an umbrella of legal immunity. They are voracious churners of counterfeit, fraudulent items and scams, indifferent to the damage they cause to consumers, legitimate sellers, and manufacturers while fulfilling their desire to be the sole source of items for purchase. There is no incentive to clean up their websites -- they make too much money.

Consumers would be better served to shop at local retailers or online with the major authorized retailers (Kroger, Costco, Home Depot, Target, Lowes, Best Buy, etc.) who offer consumers competitive purchase options for authentic products.