More goings on at Amazon

annis · Post by **annis** » Mon November 29th, 2010, 8:41 pm

I was wryly amused by a quote from a Harriet review given pride of place on a delighted author's website the other day. Obviously hasn't caught on yet--

parthianbow · Post by **parthianbow** » Mon November 29th, 2010, 9:24 pm

[quote=""boswellbaxter""]I think it should be remembered that authors don't necessarily have a Svengali-like control over their friends and relatives; some people post favorable reviews (or trash unfavorable reviews) in a misguided attempt to "help" an author friend or relative without having been prompted to do so by the author. This hasn't happened to me (as far as I know), but I've seen it happen to a couple of other authors, who have been blamed for Amazon reviews or comments that they didn't instigate or welcome.[/quote]
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt!

Libby · Post by **Libby** » Mon November 29th, 2010, 9:26 pm

[quote=""Misfit""]There's also the other side of the coin as well, i.e. Klausner and her ilk. They look legit at a quick glance but underneath there might be something more there. In the end, it's best to be a wise consumer and think carefully before buying. I was just looking at an Amazon page that had mostly glowing five star reviews (along with two negative ones). Of the five stars reviewers and one of the two star reviewers, none of them had more than 4-5 reviews under their belt. That is what sets alarms going off in my head.[/quote]

Sounds a bit like my page Misfit.

I think that when you're a first time author it's an uphill struggle to get your book noticed and yes, a couple of reviews on my Amazon.uk page are from people I know from an online forum, but have never met. One is a reasonably well known author who appreciates the reviews for her own work and is returning the favour. I didn't ask for any of these reviews. The reviewers heard about the book, bought it and reviewed it - and as far as I know have given an honest opinion. In fact one of the bad reviews is also from someone at the same forum. The rest are from people I don't know.

The two reviews on Amazon.com are from bloggers who have received a copy of the book for review. They both gave it 5 stars and I hope that their reviews are honest as well. But as they both have a large number of reviews to their name perhaps those stars are more believable.

My problem is that if I didn't try to help publicise the book by bringing it to the attention of bloggers and mentioning it on forums I belong to (though that is never the reason for joining a forum) how would anyone hear about it? And should I say to my online friends 'please don't review my book because some people don't believe reviewers who don't have a track record'?

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Mon November 29th, 2010, 10:27 pm

[quote=""Libby""]Sounds a bit like my page Misfit.

I think that when you're a first time author it's an uphill struggle to get your book noticed and yes, a couple of reviews on my Amazon.uk page are from people I know from an online forum, but have never met. One is a reasonably well known author who appreciates the reviews for her own work and is returning the favour. I didn't ask for any of these reviews. The reviewers heard about the book, bought it and reviewed it - and as far as I know have given an honest opinion. In fact one of the bad reviews is also from someone at the same forum. The rest are from people I don't know.

The two reviews on Amazon.com are from bloggers who have received a copy of the book for review. They both gave it 5 stars and I hope that their reviews are honest as well. But as they both have a large number of reviews to their name perhaps those stars are more believable.

My problem is that if I didn't try to help publicise the book by bringing it to the attention of bloggers and mentioning it on forums I belong to (though that is never the reason for joining a forum) how would anyone hear about it? And should I say to my online friends 'please don't review my book because some people don't believe reviewers who don't have a track record'?[/quote]

First off, I apologize if I have spoken out of turn and offended anyone - that was not my intention. All I meant was that consumers should be aware that there is a lot of shenanigans (in many shapes and forms) going on at Amazon (and other sites as well) and take that into consideration and not just when it comes to books. This happens with other products. There was recent discussion over a laundry product(or similar) about suspect reviews. And the same goes for a bunch of critical one star reviews coming out of nowhere - I take those with a grain of salt and consider it might be an attack coming from the competition.

Libby · Post by **Libby** » Mon November 29th, 2010, 11:03 pm

No, please don't apologise Misfit! You haven't offended me (that's what bad Amazon reviews are for

).

I wasn't being snarky, just trying to add to the discussion about the different perspectives that readers and writers might have of reviews.

I suppose in the end all you can do is read the book and make your own mind up. Sometimes I've read a book that had good reviews and been disappointed, and other times I've taken a chance on a book with some poor reviews and found that I liked it.

The review function at Amazon (and other places) seems such a good idea at face value, but I agree that it is open to vast amounts of corruption and I was just trying to give examples of how difficult it is to tell the genuine from the hype. Though your laundry product example is definitely hype!

I suppose the best way to stop bogus reviews is for Amazon to insist on real names and that name should be the one on the card you use for purchases.

SarahWoodbury · Post by **SarahWoodbury** » Mon November 29th, 2010, 11:13 pm

Wow! I read the article and I'm stunned by the shenanigans! I am clearly far to naive to be involved in this industry

I admit to have been tempted to get somebody I know to put up a review for my book on Amazon, but since I've gotten reviews elsewhere from people who genuinely love it (as opposed to my mother, who doesn't, and thus would have written something insincere), I'm glad I refrained.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Mon November 29th, 2010, 11:18 pm

I suppose the best way to stop bogus reviews is for Amazon to insist on real names and that name should be the one on the card you use for purchases.

No worries. Amazon does get your real name when you sign up for an account (and I assume the same for those who do have those multiple sock accounts), it just doesn't require people to have them on their profile page and I hope it never comes to that. I've seen many a *Real Name* reviewer that could be tied to the publisher/author in some way so that is not guarantee - and we'll not even touch that *real name* Harriet Klausner

Everyone has their own criteria for what they look for in a review and the more knowledge going into it the better for the consumer. Some might only trust a real name reviewer, some only want to read postive reviews. That's what makes the world go 'round - we're not all the same.

Personally I go first to the critical reviews(and not just with book purchases mind you) as I want to see the cons. I know a lot of people adore Pillars but the sex and violence was not for me - if I'd read more carefully instead of just seeing all those five stars I'd have run the other way.

PS, I've taken a few sideswipes for not using my real name on Amazon. I do have an unusual name and since I am a private person I prefer to keep it that way. You wouldn't believe what kind of public information is available online via government websites.

Miss Moppet · Post by **Miss Moppet** » Mon November 29th, 2010, 11:27 pm

[quote=""SarahWoodbury""]Wow! I read the article and I'm stunned by the shenanigans! I am clearly far to naive to be involved in this industry

I admit to have been tempted to get somebody I know to put up a review for my book on Amazon, but since I've gotten reviews elsewhere from people who genuinely love it (as opposed to my mother, who doesn't, and thus would have written something insincere), I'm glad I refrained.[/quote]

My family are no fans of HF so if I do ever try to sell anything on Amazon, and it gets a load of one star reviews, they will most likely be to blame.

Nor do I plan on putting on the old sock and reviewing any of my own work. I wouldn't give anything I've written in the past more than 2 stars, so imagine the fallout if my secret identity were to be discovered. "Even Moppet does not like her own book", etc.

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Mon November 29th, 2010, 11:49 pm

[quote=""Miss Moppet""] "Even Moppet does not like her own book", etc.[/quote]

But then someone can jump in and defend you against yourself. i.e. Moppet is to hard on herself. It's not "put-your-eye-out-with-a-blazing-torch bad."

I wasn't offended either, Misfit. I just wanted to present the case for new reviewers and few-reviewers.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Tue November 30th, 2010, 12:13 am

[quote=""LoveHistory""]But then someone can jump in and defend you against yourself. i.e. Moppet is to hard on herself. It's not "put-your-eye-out-with-a-blazing-torch bad."

I wasn't offended either, Misfit. I just wanted to present the case for new reviewers and few-reviewers.[/quote]

The more we know, hopefully the better decisions we can make prior to purchasing.

Speaking of socks, has everyone heard the old story of the day that Amazon had a bit of a computer glitch and for several hours real names showed up on profiles as well as reviews? It was before my time but I heard there was a lot of egg on some faces. A lot.