Because the main on-line retailer within the US and the UK, Amazon sells nearly every thing. (Like the brand says, from A to Z.) Whether or not you’re procuring on-line for a low-cost moveable charger, eco-friendly cleansing provides, or headphones on your youngsters, Amazon is probably going your first cease. And when it’s time to decide on between similar-looking merchandise, most people depend on person opinions.
The difficulty is that many Amazon opinions are faux. Unscrupulous or determined sellers pay for glowing opinions, and a few provide reward playing cards or free merchandise in alternate for five-star scores. Sometimes, sellers will even solicit false detrimental opinions on competing merchandise. It’s powerful to determine with certainty what’s actual, however you’ll be able to scale back the chance of being conned when you realize the warning indicators. We’ve compiled some suggestions that may assist.
Up to date July 2025: We have up to date this text with latest information, together with the UK’s CMA crackdown on faux opinions, the adoption of AI summaries, and Fakespot shutting down.
Faux Amazon Critiques
In case you are procuring on Amazon, there’s a good probability you’ll see some faux opinions. A 2023 UK authorities report prompt that 11 to fifteen p.c of client electronics opinions on ecommerce platforms had been faux. That investigation led to an specific ban on faux opinions within the UK in April 2025, as a part of the Digital Markets, Competitors and Client Act 2024. However faux opinions will not be straightforward to eradicate.
The bulk are constructive, extolling the virtues of a product in suspiciously glowing phrases. Brief five-star opinions are possible meant to sport the system by boosting a product’s rating and visibility. However there are additionally extra delicate makes an attempt to steer you to purchase, the place paid reviewers will go into some element, perhaps share photographs, and even write one thing detrimental alongside many positives. They may rating a product 4 out of 5 stars, for instance, which will be very convincing.
Some sellers interact in paid detrimental opinions designed to criticize competing merchandise. They’re usually one-star opinions that concentrate on cons and can typically point out one other product that compares favorably to attempt to steer you towards it.
Amazon just isn’t the one ecommerce web site with a faux assessment downside. Walmart, Goal, and plenty of others have related points (the Federal Commerce Fee put greater than 700 companies on discover in 2021 and explored a rule that may set off stiff civil penalties for violators). Many of the suggestions we focus on right here will serve you basically, not simply on Amazon.
How Amazon Sellers Get Faux Critiques
Sellers need to improve their gross sales, and opinions can try this. The reviewers need to earn money or free merchandise. That’s why the underground marketplace for faux opinions is flourishing. There are abroad firms promoting blocks of constructive opinions, social media teams that set up groups of reviewers, and firms that supply all types of incentives to steer real patrons to depart a good assessment. Sellers additionally present refunds or different rewards to persuade patrons to take away or edit detrimental opinions. Reply All’s “The Magic Retailer” episode covers some widespread eventualities and is a enjoyable hear on the subject.
How Sellers Manipulate Amazon Critiques
Earlier than we dig into the veracity of particular person Amazon opinions, there are a few dodgy vendor methods to concentrate on. Some sellers abuse the variation system, meant to allow them to promote variations of a product (for instance, totally different colours of the identical machine). Amazon’s variation coverage prohibits sellers from including variations which are “basically totally different” from the unique and that embrace new variations or fashions. However it is rather straightforward to search out examples of sellers doing precisely that.
Let’s say a vendor has an inventory with 4,000 constructive opinions and a median of 4.5 stars. They will add different merchandise with far fewer, principally detrimental, and even no opinions in any respect as variations, and at a look it seems as if they’ve plenty of constructive opinions. Should you discover a itemizing with a number of variations, it’s important to scroll all the way down to click on See extra opinions after which choose the All codecs drop-down to filter the opinions for the particular product you’re looking at.
