Are Amazon Reviews to be Trusted?

by 19 replies
22
I enjoy writing. I also like to read quality books. So, I heard about a Warrior that was tearing it up on the Kindle scene. He sells .99 fiction books. I saw the numbers and was shocked:

170 5 stars reviewed

133 1 stars reviewed

One reviewer wrote, "I was tempted to buy this based on the high rating. I figured 99 cents! How can I go wrong? How wrong I was! This is one of the worst things I have ever read and I feel I have wasted, not only 99 cents, but a couple of hours I'll never get back. What were the readers thinking? This "book", and I use the term loosely, was poorly written with an absolutely unbelievable and juvenile plot. You have made me wary of believing reader reviews ever again. "

It made me wonder. Are a lot of Kindle authors using bogus "reviews" to jack up sales and get the masses stirred up? Those review numbers just don't seem right. Curious what you think?
#main internet marketing discussion forum #amazon #reviews #trusted
  • Are WSO reviews to be trusted? /wink
    • [2] replies
    • I guess it just depends on who is selling the WSO.
    • Banned
      Nice !!! its the same thing
  • Tough call.

    Personally, I try to infer how good the book is by looking at the table of contents, finding out about the author's expertise, and reading the book synopsis.

    Hope that helps.
  • Yes, Amazon Reviews to be Trusted.
    • [1] reply
    • The review in Amazon will tell you if it is from a person who has bought the product.

      You could game this slightly by buying the item using different Amazon accounts. The problem is that the person would soon run out of unique credit cards and it becomes expensive.

      If there are only a few reviews then this can be gamed. When the number of reviews increases then this is not feasible.

      The 5 star Amazon reviews are usually from people who view the world through rose colored glasses and the 1 star reviews from people who see no good in the world.

      The 2, 3 and 4 star reviews are the ones I find most useful. They give you an analysis of the pros and cons of the product.
      • [2] replies
  • I sell amazon reviews by the truck loads. I wouldn't trust many of them. Just like in real life, do you trust everyone's opinion?
    • [1] reply
  • some are giving reviews for money
  • Banned
    The reviews are written only for the purpose of unique content to get the visitors from the search engine, visitors should also read the original Amazon review, when they click on the link then they would find all the details about the product including reviews, prices, images on Amazon site.
  • Its difficult to tell because you can never tell where the reviews come from...unless of course you work for amazon.
    Like anything, people can make programs to leave reviews automatically, and if they have some previous fans or members they can get them to leave reviews automatically.
    Like everything, its a hit or miss.
    • [1] reply
    • I've just never seen so many 5 stars followed by so many 1 stars ... doesn't make sense.
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Amazon has been subject to these "gamed" reviews for a long time, thanks to their ranking system. Amazon does give you enough tools to help tell if the author is worth reading, though. If there are typos in the preview, the product description, etc, then it's probably not worth your money.
  • There is no 100% genuine in this world. There are some fake reviews but in most cases, Amazon reviews can be trusted especially if the review is coming from a trusted reviewer.
  • Ahhh the corruption runs far and deep ... I usually don't suffer from naivete but lesson learned.
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
Join the discussion

Next Topics on Trending Feed