On the Amazon marketplace, as on all marketplaces (Cdiscount, Rakuten, La Redoute, etc.), customer reviews play a decisive role in product ranking and directly influence purchasing decisions. However, a new trend is causing concern: the giveaway system, where products are offered or refunded by merchants themselves, or through intermediaries specializing in this field, in exchange for positive ratings.
These practices, orchestrated via private Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp groups, are on the rise, undermining the authenticity of online reviews and circumventing Amazon’s algorithm. Find out how these fake review networks work and how they impact consumers.
The “giveaway”: a free (or rather refunded) product in exchange for a fake positive review from a real Amazon customer
The giveaway system has become an increasingly popular strategy for obtaining positive reviews on Amazon. In this method, sellers encourage users to buy products and write reviews, but the problem lies in the transparency and honesty of the reviews… since the majority of merchants want a 5-star review. In return, buyers are often reimbursed after purchase, with their money passing through payment services such as PayPal. This reimbursement allows sellers to guarantee the transaction, while ensuring they get a glowing review to improve their product’s ranking on Amazon.
The problem arises when these reviews give a false impression of the product’s quality, influencing the purchasing decisions of other customers who rely on ratings to choose an item. In effect, each positive review distorts the perception of the true value of the products available on Amazon.
Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp groups: the key to orchestrating fake reviews
On social media, particularly in Facebook groups and WhatsApp, thousands of users are drawn to cashback offers. These groups, which are often closed and discreet, offer daily giveaway “opportunities” where members can purchase a product, leave a positive review, and receive a refund a few days later. Sellers or their intermediaries operate under pseudonyms and use fake accounts to coordinate transactions.
The strategy is simple: attract consumers with the promise of a free product and a small compensation in exchange for a favorable review. While this method is appealing to participants, it fuels a market of fake reviews, misleading honest buyers who rely on reviews to evaluate products.
How is the Amazon algorithm manipulated?
It is important to note that Amazon ranks its products based on several factors, including the number and quality of customer reviews. The Amazon algorithm takes into account the frequency of five-star ratings to determine a product’s position in search results. Thus, each fake review artificially improves the product’s ranking, increasing its visibility and popularity.
Sellers seek to circumvent this algorithm by generating a high volume of positive ratings, making their products more visible than others with authentic reviews. By manipulating the ranking in this way, consumers are exposed to items that are often of inferior quality, creating a cycle of disappointment and mistrust of the ratings displayed on Amazon.
Refund practices via PayPal
The method of refund via PayPal has become the preferred solution for transactions between sellers and buyers participating in giveaways. PayPal allows for discreet and secure transfers without disclosing the personal banking information of either party, thus offering relative confidentiality.
The consumer purchases the item on Amazon, posts a five-star review, and sends a screenshot to the seller via Facebook, Telegram, or WhatsApp groups. Once the screenshot has been validated, the refund is made via PayPal. However, although tempting, this technique distorts the reliability of reviews and exposes consumers to potential penalties, as it is considered a deceptive practice under the law.
Why do merchants use the giveaway technique instead of relying on real reviews?
Beyond wanting to artificially inflate their product ratings and speed up the sometimes lengthy process of launching a product on a marketplace, there is a fundamental problem on Amazon, as on many other e-commerce platforms: the difficulty of collecting product reviews. We were able to access the accounts of companies that sell on Amazon’s marketplace, and even though the products generate significant sales volumes, the percentage of buyers who spontaneously write a product review is very low.
Amazon’s Seller Central is a platform dedicated to merchants, allowing them to manage their sales on a daily basis: track their inventory, monitor sales and refund requests, manage disputes, and respond to reviews. There is no feature that allows merchants to ask consumers to leave a review. And, of course, Amazon does not provide any personal data about its buyers to enable sellers to communicate with their customers, except via the platform.
It must be said that Amazon does not have a very “aggressive” strategy on this subject: even though the company sometimes sends emails asking its buyers for reviews, Amazon’s policy is not to over-solicit its buyers by email or notification, focusing instead on providing an overall positive experience and building customer loyalty through fast delivery and high-quality customer service.
The Vine Club: the paid solution for brands to obtain reviews via Amazon
Faced with this real need to collect product reviews, Amazon has implemented a solution to combat fake reviews with its Club Vine program, designed to provide brands with authentic and constructive feedback. In this program, Amazon invites customers identified for the quality and relevance of their reviews to test products for free in exchange for honest and detailed feedback. Unlike illegal giveaways, which violate Amazon’s rules, Club Vine operates transparently: participants receive products with no obligation to give a specific rating, and their reviews are marked as coming from the Vine program.
But this service comes at a cost for brands, which must pay Amazon a fee to access Club Vine’s reviewer database. New companies launching on Amazon may not have the necessary budgets and prefer to reimburse buyers directly for the products sold. Furthermore, on the buyer side, not all Amazon customers are eligible to participate in this system; only the best buyers, selected according to various criteria, can join Club Vine. Most importantly, reviews collected through Club Vine are clearly marked on the product page, which can give consumers the impression that they are less transparent than reviews from real buyers, as customers receive the product for free and may be more inclined to “sugarcoat” their reviews since they did not pay for the product. At least, that is the thought that crosses the minds of many consumers… and which motivates merchants to favor giveaways.
The consequences for buyers and Amazon
Fake reviews are a problem not only for buyers but also for Amazon, which is trying to maintain the transparency of its marketplace. Recently, the company even joined a coalition to combat fake reviews. Although millions of fake reviews are blocked each year, the sophistication of these giveaway networks makes them difficult to detect. Furthermore, penalties for sellers do not always deter these practices, as the potential benefits in terms of visibility remain high.
For consumers, this manipulation of the review system creates a biased shopping experience. Items may appear to be highly rated without offering the expected quality guarantees, leading customers to disappointment and even mistrust of Amazon’s ratings.
Ultimately, remaining vigilant about online reviews and using verification platforms can help consumers protect themselves against these fake review practices and make choices based on authentic and reliable reviews. This forces buyers to analyze and read reviews in detail to detect those with a genuine intention to inform buyers, so they can rely on them. This is a difficult battle to fight in the age of artificial intelligence and AI-generated writing, which makes it even harder to discern the true from the false.