How to Spot Fake Reviews on Amazon: Tools and Advice Leave a comment
Because the main on-line retailer within the US and the UK, Amazon sells nearly every part. (Like the emblem says, from A to Z.) Whether or not you’re purchasing on-line for an inexpensive moveable charger, eco-friendly cleansing provides, or headphones to 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 consumer opinions.
The difficulty is that many Amazon opinions are faux. Unscrupulous or determined sellers pay for glowing opinions, and a few supply reward playing cards or free merchandise in change for five-star rankings. Sometimes, sellers will even solicit false unfavorable opinions on competing merchandise. It’s robust to establish with certainty what’s actual, however you may cut back the chance of being conned when the warning indicators. We’ve compiled some ideas that may assist.
Up to date July 2025: We have up to date this text with current information, together with the UK’s CMA crackdown on faux opinions, the adoption of AI summaries, and Fakespot shutting down.
Pretend Amazon Critiques
In case you are purchasing on Amazon, there’s a good likelihood you’ll see some faux opinions. A 2023 UK authorities report recommended that 11 to fifteen p.c of shopper electronics opinions on ecommerce platforms have been faux. That investigation led to an express 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 should not simple to eradicate.
The bulk are constructive, extolling the virtues of a product in suspiciously glowing phrases. Brief five-star opinions are doubtless supposed to sport the system by boosting a product’s rating and visibility. However there are additionally extra refined makes an attempt to steer you to purchase, the place paid reviewers will go into some element, possibly share pictures, and even write one thing unfavorable alongside many positives. They may rating a product 4 out of 5 stars, for instance, which could be very convincing.
Some sellers interact in paid unfavorable opinions designed to criticize competing merchandise. They’re sometimes one-star opinions that concentrate on cons and can usually point out one other product that compares favorably to attempt to steer you towards it.
Amazon shouldn’t be the one ecommerce web site with a faux assessment drawback. Walmart, Goal, and lots of others have related points (the Federal Commerce Fee put greater than 700 companies on discover in 2021 and explored a rule that will set off stiff civil penalties for violators). A lot of the ideas we talk about right here will serve you generally, not simply on Amazon.
How Amazon Sellers Get Pretend Critiques
Sellers need to enhance their gross sales, and opinions can do this. The reviewers need to earn money or free merchandise. That’s why the underground marketplace for faux opinions is prospering. There are abroad corporations promoting blocks of constructive opinions, social media teams that manage groups of reviewers, and corporations that supply every kind of incentives to steer real consumers to depart a positive assessment. Sellers additionally present refunds or different rewards to persuade consumers to take away or edit unfavorable opinions. Reply All’s “The Magic Retailer” episode covers some widespread eventualities and is a enjoyable pay attention 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 strategies to pay attention to. Some sellers abuse the variation system, supposed to allow them to promote variations of a product (for instance, completely different colours of the identical machine). Amazon’s variation coverage prohibits sellers from including variations which can be “essentially completely different” from the unique and that embrace new variations or fashions. However it is rather simple to seek out examples of sellers doing precisely that.
Let’s say a vendor has a list with 4,000 constructive opinions and a median of 4.5 stars. They will add different merchandise with far fewer, principally unfavorable, and even no opinions in any respect as variations, and at a look it seems as if they’ve a number of constructive opinions. When you discover a itemizing with a number of variations, you must scroll right 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.
