How to Get Your Reviews Banned on Amazon
How I got banned from Amazon Reviews for being too proficient at reviewing stuff
I was in one case amid the superlative 1000 reviewers in Amazon, until Amazon, without warning, deleted all of my 2000 or so reviews going dorsum more than xv years (I've been an Amazon member since 2002). In that location was no warning nor notice.
I exercise recall that in the prior calendar week, I tried to go out reviews on 2 items (out of two dozen items), I had received a warning nearly this item is under some sort of review lockdown due to some sort of suspected review manipulation. I shrugged and went on review something else I had previously ordered.
And then came the ban.
I tried contacting the chat team support, I was assured that someone volition become dorsum to me in 24 hours. I tried again in 12 hours. No one e'er did.
On the third day, I found a unlike e-mail accost and wrote them asking for an explanation. I got a generic response back that my asking was handed to the community squad, and it may accept them several days to become dorsum to me.
Eventually, I got a generic response that defendant me of receiving payment for my reviews, and in that location is NO entreatment.
Hello Kasey Chang,
We adamant that you have violated the Amazon Community Guidelines. As a result, we accept suppressed all of your reviews, and yous will no longer be able to mail reviews on Amazon.com.
Client Reviews are meant to give customers unbiased product feedback from swain shoppers. Because our goal is to provide Customer Reviews that help customers make informed purchase decisions, any reviews that could exist viewed as advertizing, promotional, or biased will not be posted.
Your customs privileges may accept been revoked for one or more of the post-obit reasons:
— Elements of your account point a human relationship to sellers, publishers, or other reviewers of the products you review.
— Your reviews were posted in exchange for bounty, such as gift cards to purchase the product, product refunds, review swaps, or gratis or discounted products.
— Yous requested free or discounted products in exchange for reviews.Larn more about this policy in Seller Primal Help
— Community Guidelines (https://world wide web.amazon.com/review-guidelines)
— Anti-Manipulation Policy for Customer Reviews (https://www.amazon.com/gp/assist/customer/display.html?nodeId=201749630)
— Nigh Promotional Content (https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=202094170)We made this decision after carefully considering your account. This conclusion is final, and your customs privileges will not exist reinstated.
Unfortunately, we cannot provide any further information at this time.
Review Moderator Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com
For the record, I take received Two items gratis for review (one'due south a power bank, the other a clock-radio), but they are from LONG BEFORE Amazon banned "compensated reviews", which was in 2016. I have NOT received any free products for reviews or received any "rebates" since. I do get multiple offers in my email inbox, only I stick them in the spam bin.
I understand perfectly why Amazon would want to stamp out fake reviews. It undermines the trustworthiness of the peer review system, and at that place are spammers in Asia and Eastern Europe who are paid a pittance to churn out fake reviews to help prop up some shaky product in what's equivalent of digital sweat-shops.
But I have posted nigh 2000 reviews before this happened. What would have triggered this sudden ban?
After going over my review activities earlier this ban happened, I can but recall of two reasons:
a) Amazon has resorted to pattern recognition, and I had somehow posted reviews in a way that resembles the posting pattern of a review spammer: I posted as well many reviews also fast.
b) I reviewed a product in a category that attracted review spammers, such every bit Bluetooth headphones.
In the period earlier the ban, I posted about 26 reviews in 48 hours. Out of the 26, 20 were eBook reviews, and 6 were products I really ordered for myself for my piece of work or life.
As I typically read near two-three books a day on my Fire tablet (with help of text-to-oral communication) I easily build up a backlog of reviews I demand to mail. (Check my Goodreads account, Amazon!)
As for physical products, I society stuff in many dissimilar categories.
- I ordered socks, shoe-lace replacements, a cap, and flashlight batteries because I work as a delivery driver and I need stuff that works for me (I have a flashlight the clips to my cap, and I need comfy shoes)
- I ordered telephone holsters and pouches considering I have a phone that is hard to fit (a Samsung Galaxy S6 with a Mophie Juice Pack)
- I ordered three different backpacks in the last 2 months because the season is changing and I am trying to notice ane that fits what I need
- I ordered ability banks, USB cables, and Lightning cables because I always need them around
- I ordered a Bluetooth headset (neckband type) considering the refurb one I bought off Amazon 3 months ago no longer has sound on one side
- I ordered a bug zapper for my kitchen considering I'1000 seeing those little flying gnats and I am Not using bug spray around the kitchen.
- I ordered MOLLE pouches for my bag because I like how they are modular and I can add them to my purse instead of buying a bigger bag.
- And sometimes, I do impulse buys, like a tiny cast-atomic number 26 skillet for frying an egg, and and then on. I do read bargain websites similar TheInventory (formerly Kinja Deals)
I do not know what sort of blueprint triggers an Amazon review ban, but every bit I stated earlier, I doubtable posting 26 reviews in 48 hours would have triggered such. But when I did complete every ane of those ebooks (Hey Amazon! Check my Goodreads record, once more!) and I rarely if ever give products 5 stars. I've been known to give out 1'due south and two's besides.
Amazon, in their try to rid the platform of fake reviews, handled the state of affairs with permanent all-embracing review ban. For a scattering of suspicious (to Amazon) reviews, ALL 2000 (or so) of my reviews became victims of the ban-hammer.
Let's face it... Information technology is Not possible to discover compensated reviews until you take a large sample size and y'all analyze them, compare them with statistical models, and measure deviations thereof. And even so, it's not a clearcut conclusion, merely "loftier probability".
According to Amazon Review-Appeals:
We made this determination after carefully considering your business relationship. This conclusion is final, and your community privileges will not be reinstated. Unfortunately, nosotros cannot provide any further information at this fourth dimension.
How advisedly tin they make up one's mind I've been compensated without consulting my fiscal records? They can't. They simply "suspected". Nonetheless with no farther appeal, it is Incommunicable to prove ane'south innocence. You are pronounced guilty and sentenced, by nebulous evidence y'all don't have or sympathise, and no appeal possible.
I've just read Jackson Cunningham'due south chance well-nigh him having been banned from Airbnb. And it'south quite eerie how the two tales echo each other. We both have given plenty of value to the respective platforms, yet for some undisclosed reason, we've both been banned. Obviously, my review ban is not as serious as Jackson's wholesale ban from Airbnb, but it's scary to recollect how much power these giant companies have over united states.
Mayhap Large Brother is watching over u.s. already.
Source: https://medium.com/@kschang777/how-i-got-banned-from-amazon-reviews-for-being-too-good-at-reviewing-stuff-ede164c142d9