Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Amazon Bans Free Products For Reviews

Amazon.com, in a move that will please buyers on the site, has banned giving away products to people who post reviews on those same products on the site. Amazon--which looks to be cracking down on rampant gaming of reviews on the site--also said it is suspending, banning or suing thousands of individuals for attempting to manipulate reviews. Amazon had previously allowed for "incentivized reviews", where users could review products, after receiving them for free or at a discount, if they disclosed that fact in reviews. However, that had been abused widely on Amazon, where almost every single "incentived review" was highly positive. Amazon said it will continue to allow for incentivized reviews only through its Amazon Vine program, which is run by Amazon and not by providers of products, and also for books.