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Amazon Sues to Block Alleged Fake Reviews

posted by on Friday April 10 2015, @12:07PM   Printer-friendly
from the that's-what-she-said dept.

Hugh Pickens writes:

Reuters reports that in the first ever suit of its kind from Amazon, the online retailer has sued four websites to stop them from selling fake, positive product reviews. The suit accuses Jay Gentile of California and websites that operate as buyamazonreviews.com and buyazonreviews.com, among others, of trademark infringement, false advertising and violations of the Anticyber­squatting Consumer Protection Act and the Washington Consumer Protection Act. Amazon says the defendants are misleading customers, and through their activity generating improper profit for themselves and a "handful" of dishonest sellers and manufacturers. Amazon says the defendants have caused reviews to be posted on its website intermittently, through a "slow drip" designed to evade its detection systems, at a typical cost of $19 to $22 per review. "While small in number, these reviews threaten to undermine the trust that customers, and the vast majority of sellers and manufacturers, place in Amazon, thereby tarnishing Amazon’s brand."

Mark Collins, the owner of buyamazonreviews.com, denies Amazon’s claims and says the site simply offers to help Amazon’s third-party sellers get reviews. Collins defended his business, writing that his website operates as a “middleman,” connecting sellers with buyers willing to write reviews. The sellers provide reviewers with discounted items. But he said there are no restriction on the type of review they can post. “We are not selling fake reviews. however we do provide Unbiased and Honest reviews on all the products,” Collins wrote. “And this is not illegal at all.”

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by TheRaven on Saturday April 11 2015, @09:25AM

    by TheRaven (270) on Saturday April 11 2015, @09:25AM (#168928) Journal
    I tend to do this as well, but it's just as vulnerable to gaming. You could pay people to write reviews in groups: two or three five star with little information content (e.g. 'Does exactly what I wanted, great!') and one one star but complaining about something completely superficial or irrelevant (this product doesn't do something that no one in their right mind would expect it to do and that's the only thing I can complain about). You'd keep the average high, but the one-star reviews would also be perceived as positive.
    --
    sudo mod me up
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Interesting=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   3  

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @06:32PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @06:32PM (#169023)

    That's true, and companies pay people six figure salaries to work out just how to control public perception (a whole lot more of this goes on than people generally realize) of products. If it's a big ticket or important item, you want more than a few Amazon reviews to make or break your purchase decision.