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Established writer found posting fake reviews on Amazon.com

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
Wow. I'd think that the backlash against this guy is going to be harsh.

Just wow.

I think that's probably right. Posting your own positive reviews is a bit slimy in and of itself, and will put people off. But taking the next step and going on to slam competitive authors in fake reviews of their work really pushed things beyond the pale, and I think that will anger people the most.

The next question is whether the authors he panned on Amazon will sue him :)
 
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BWFoster78

Myth Weaver
I keep hearing that the number one thing that you can do to promote your book is to get reviews, both on Amazon and on blogs.

I get how the blogs help. It increases your exposure. All the people that read that blog now know about your book.

I'm not quite as clear on how increased Amazon reviews help. Does having more reviews make your book more visible somehow?
 
I keep hearing that the number one thing that you can do to promote your book is to get reviews, both on Amazon and on blogs.

I get how the blogs help. It increases your exposure. All the people that read that blog now know about your book.

I'm not quite as clear on how increased Amazon reviews help. Does having more reviews make your book more visible somehow?

I think the way it helps is that when people land on the product page, they can have one of these experiences:

- The book has 2 reviews. They subconsciously think, "Meh, nobody's really read this, I'm not going to bother either."

- The book has 50 reviews. They subconsciously think, "This is a book that a lot of people have read. Therefore it might have some quality."

Along those lines, if you've read my book, please go post a review on Amazon ;-)
 

Chime85

Sage
Surely there is some law against this? I know that legitimate reviews can be good and bad depending on the work and the person reviewing it. That said, to purposely make false and nagative reviews on another persons work with the sole intent to boulster your own credibility (pffft!), is beyond the pale.

It's akin to the ceo of asdas running into a tecos store and shouting "the food in here is c**p! Don't buy it!". If that happened, nobody would stand for it. Why do people like this guy feel they can get away with, let's face it, dishonest, devious and immoral acts?

ps: For those not in the know, asdas and tescos are rival supermarket chains :) (not sure how far either of them stretch across the globe)

x
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
I don't know if there is a written law, per se (as in a statute), but I could think of some Tort causes of action against the guy, so I think a civil suit is a possibility.
 

Butterfly

Auror
He's established, must have got a following and reputation so I really don't see the point as to why he went out to do this in the first place or why he attempted to put down other authors. It's wasted time he could have spent better writing his next book.
 

boboratory

Minstrel
So, I have heard that Amazon treats books differently when they reach a certain number of reviews. I don't know how, and I've never followed up with any research, but I have heard this from more than one person... I assume this is some "Urban Literary Legend"?

I think six is the most any of the books I have published has received so far, so I would imagine that we are nowhere near any threshold.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
I'm not quite as clear on how increased Amazon reviews help. Does having more reviews make your book more visible somehow?

My understanding is that a certain number of positive reviews (a trend) does make your book more visible by placing the work on lists that a potential reader can view.

I understand that Amazon has developed some system to discover fake reviewers and remove the false praise or derision.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
So, I have heard that Amazon treats books differently when they reach a certain number of reviews. I don't know how, and I've never followed up with any research, but I have heard this from more than one person... I assume this is some "Urban Literary Legend"?

I think six is the most any of the books I have published has received so far, so I would imagine that we are nowhere near any threshold.

It's the top 100 list that most of the fuss is about but that has to be based more on sales than reviews. Currently #100 is a cookbook with zero reviews, #99 is fiction (looks YA) with 8 reviews, #97 is historical non-fiction with 55 reviews averaging 4 stars.

Doesn't seem like much continuity on the review side, which is why the top 100 must be attributed to sales alone.

There's an overall Top 100 list & a Top 100 list for each genre. The idea behind the fake reviews is, like Ben said, an attempt to increase sales enough to establish a purchasing trend and land on your genre specific Top 100. Doing so would ultimately lead to more & more sales with the goal being to stay on the list for a number of weeks, rising in the rankings.

Amazon is cracking down on the practice as it has generated a lot of negative publicity lately.
 
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While it's certainly unethical, I doubt there's anything illegal about reviewing your own book on Amazon. He may have violated their rules by doing it, so the punishment (if any) is up to Amazon.

According to someone who posted on the Kindle forum on Amazon (the closest thing I could find to site help), the Communications Decency Act protects a site owner from anything posted by a third party.

What it comes down to is the perceived right of Amazon to make money by any means possible versus your perceived right to make money by letting Amazon publish your work. Guess who wins that argument.
 
Really it depends on what the reviews are.

If I read a review and gives me a general idea on what the book is about, I'll take that into consideration. if I read a review that says the book is full of typos, I'll take that into consideration as well. But mostly I treat the reviews like any review of any other thing being sold on Amazon. It's extra information that I won't necessarily use as a guide, but it's nice to see it there.

I suspect most people treat Amazon reviews the same way.
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
I think that's probably right. Posting your own positive reviews is a bit slimy in and of itself, and will put people off. But taking the next step and going on to slam competitive authors in fake reviews of their work really pushed things beyond the pale, and I think that will anger people the most.

Yeah, this is how I feel. I mean if you pump your own tires, pathetic but understandable to a certain point. You only hurt yourself. But to take shots at others like that, unforgivably douchey.

Just a thought, but if he posted good reviews of his competitors books and said something to the effect "If you like this book, check this other one out. You'll like it too," then mentioned his own book, it might have worked better. But I digress.... what a douche.
 
It could conceivably qualify as fraud or false advertising. I don't know of any cases where astroturfing (or similar actions) have actually been prosecuted, though.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I think fraud could stick in some circumstances, especially if you have to take a bunch of steps to break Amazon policies. For the most part, though, I believe you are allowed to use a pseudonym for a lot of things under the law.
 

boboratory

Minstrel
"remove the false praise or derision." heh, my friend self published his book, then went and gave himself a scalding review. When asked he said "controversy gets readers". It reminded me of that moment in the Avengers:

Thor: Have a care how you speak! Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard and he is my brother!
Natasha Romanoff: He killed eighty people in two days.
Thor: He's adopted.
 
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