Non-Verified Customer Reviews on Amazon Limited to 5 Per Week
As the internal crackdown on fake seller and customer reviews on Amazon continues, the retailer behemoth recently announced a new strategy that affects non-verified customer reviews (a.k.a. reviews on products not purchased on Amazon).
As of this week, Amazon has limited the number of non-verified customer reviews to 5 per week, per user.
This comes on the heels of the incentivized review ban, but that’s far from the only step Amazon has taken in the past year:
2016 Changes
- Amazon begins to sue sellers over fake reviews.
- “Incentivized reviews” take a hit and sellers are no longer allowed to offer free products in exchange for customer ratings, even if they disclose the free or discounted product in their review.
- Now – reviews of products purchased on platforms other than Amazon will only appear on Vine (Amazon’s proprietary program) and there is a limit of five per week per reviewer (not product).
What does the limit mean?
Amazon will be keeping an even closer eye on all purchase reviews to make sure they’re legitimate and unbiased. Starting every Sunday, users can add up to five non-verified customer reviews on Amazon. (Books, Music, and Movies are excepted categories).
This cap on unverified purchase reviews does not apply to items that are purchased on Amazon. Users can still submit an unlimited amount of reviews on products they bought on Amazon that fall within the previously established review guidelines.
It also means that Amazon may question any product listings that receive an “unusually high” number of reviews in a short span of time. They don’t specify how many customer reviews on Amazon that “unusually high” number would be, but sellers are advised to continue monitoring their accounts to watch for any spike in potentially fraudulent reviews.
Some pros of this change are that it will cut down on fake feedback, which in turn should improve buyer trust. It will also hopefully lead to fewer buyer complaints due to unfulfilled expectations from inflated reviews.
However, anyone who has made money on fake reviews will no longer have an opportunity to do so without risking (a very likely) Amazon suspension.
Why is it important?
“Customer Reviews” is one of the most used filters that Amazon customers use to find relevant products while shopping. The higher the number of stars, the more likely they are to buy it. Fake reviews dilute customer trust in Amazon and sets sellers who participate in false reviews up for suspension.
It also means that sellers who have tried to sabotage competitors’ products with fake reviews will find that tactic much harder to pull off, and with a 5 per week limit, far fewer opportunities to do so. For reputable sellers who have found themselves unjustly under attack from other sellers, this is good news.
Keep up-to-date with all of Amazon’s changes by familiarizing yourself with current Amazon regulations, or give us a call at 1-877-9-SELLER to speak with an Amazon legal expert today.
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