Becoming an educated consumer is becoming harder and harder with the onset of fake reviews everywhere online. Nowhere moreso than Amazon, are these fake revies prevelant.
As the largest online retailer in both the US and UK, Amazon offers nearly everything. Whether you’re shopping for sponges for your kitchen or looking for electronics, user reviews often guide purchasing decisions.
However, the reality is that many of these reviews are fake. How so?
Sellers may pay for glowing feedback or offer incentives like gift cards in exchange for five-star ratings. Or sellers may solicit fake negative reviews on competing products. While it’s tough to completely avoid fake reviews, knowing what to watch out for can reduce the likelihood of being misled. Here are some key tips to help.
Fake Amazon Reviews
Fake reviews are not uncommon on Amazon. According to a UK government report, 11 to 15 percent of consumer electronics reviews on e-commerce platforms are fake. These fraudulent reviews, often overwhelmingly positive, are written to artificially inflate a product’s ranking.
Some paid reviewers are more subtle, providing detailed descriptions, photos, and a balanced score of four out of five stars to make their review seem legitimate. Fake negative reviews, on the other hand, usually come in the form of one-star feedback meant to steer you toward a competing product.
Amazon isn’t the only platform with this issue. Major retailers like Walmart and Target also deal with fake reviews. In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) put over 700 businesses on notice and is considering implementing stricter penalties for violators. The tips below can help you spot fake reviews across various platforms.
How Amazon Sellers Get Fake Reviews
The demand for fake reviews stems from the desire to increase sales. Phony reviews are often driven by an underground market where sellers pay for positive reviews or offer incentives like free products. Some sellers even request that buyers edit or remove negative reviews in exchange for refunds or gifts.
Fake Reviews in Social Media Circles
Social media groups organize teams of reviewers, and certain companies offer bulk packages of reviews to boost product visibility. These tactics help sellers create a falsely positive reputation for their products.
How Sellers Manipulate Amazon Reviews
Some sellers manipulate reviews by abusing Amazon’s variation system, which is intended for different versions of the same product. By adding new items — often entirely different products — as variations, sellers can mislead buyers into thinking all versions have the same glowing reviews.
A seller might add unrelated items with few or negative reviews to a listing that has thousands of positive reviews. To verify, scroll down and select See more reviews and filter by All formats to view reviews for the specific product you’re interested in.
Another common trick is listing products in incorrect categories. By choosing less competitive categories, sellers can earn the coveted Best Seller badge more easily, boosting the product’s visibility and, ultimately, sales.
How to Avoid Fake Reviews
Fake reviews typically target affordable items from lesser-known brands. While it’s difficult to entirely avoid them, you can take some precautions to minimize their impact:
- Check the product reviewed: Multiple products may be listed under one review. Click See more reviews and select the specific product in the All formats drop-down. Switching from Top reviews to Most recent can also provide a clearer picture.
- Watch out for extreme reviews: Many fake reviews are either overly positive (five stars) or overly negative (one star). Genuine reviews often fall somewhere in between.
- Red flags for fake reviews include:
- A high percentage of five-star reviews
- Generic or vague praise like “Nice product”
- Poor grammar and spelling
- Multiple reviews posted on the same day
- Mention of unrelated products in the “Customers also bought” section
Find Reviews of the Product Elsewhere
If available, reputable review websites and YouTube videos can provide a more detailed and reliable perspective on a product, giving you better insights than just a few images.
Look Up the Brand Online
If the company lacks an official website, consider it a potential red flag. Check for the brand’s social media presence and review what they and their followers are posting. You might uncover additional reviews or signs of incentives being offered for positive feedback.
Review the Reviewers Name on their Profile
Check how many reviews the reviewer has written and what other products they’ve purchased. Amazon also displays an Impact score, which reflects how often people have marked their reviews as Helpful.
What Is Amazon Doing?
Amazon claims to be actively battling fake reviews. Sellers who offer incentives for positive reviews or engage in deceptive practices are sometimes banned. Well-known brands like Aukey and RavPower were famously kicked off the platform due to review manipulation.
While Amazon’s Verified Purchase badge is intended to indicate that the reviewer actually bought the product, some sellers refund purchases to enable fake reviewers to get this badge. Additionally, sellers can pay for “Helpful” votes on fake reviews to boost their visibility.
Amazon’s Vine Program
Amazon’s Vine Program invites top reviewers to receive free products in exchange for honest feedback. While Vine reviews are clearly labeled and often more detailed, the program has been criticized because Vine reviewers receive products for free, which could still influence their opinions. Sellers must also pay to enroll their products in the program, adding further incentive for positive feedback.
Artificial Intelligence
Amazon is also using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect fake reviews. By analyzing the reviewer’s history and connections to sellers, AI can flag suspicious behavior. However, AI-generated reviews are also on the rise, as chatbots can create convincing fake feedback.
Tools to Spot Fake Reviews
If you don’t want to investigate every purchase in-depth, tools like Fakespot and The Review Index can help by analyzing reviews for legitimacy and highlighting red flags. While these tools aren’t foolproof, they provide an additional layer of protection for unfamiliar products.
For more guidance on safe shopping, check out our Amazon safety guide. And if you find a product that doesn’t meet your expectations, leaving an honest review can help others avoid the same mistake.
