Correction: I was unaware that the brand FunWares reached out to a member of my team located in the United States. That member asked to have the items sent to me, but since I did not have any direct contact with Funwares, neither myself, the UK team, nor my family knew where these had come from. The brand did not just send it out of nowhere. Further, I am not alleging the brand paid for any fake reviews. The miscommunication prompted the investigation into this topic, but I do not believe that FunWares fakes its user reviews or pays for any user reviews. As stated in the video I enjoyed using the product and make no representations or believe that the company has done anything wrong or misleading - that said, it doesn’t change the fact that these types of scams are very prevalent online!
Well I never read the positive reviews anymore on Amazon. I mostly scan the negatives to see if there's any consistent issues. If they are only "shipping got damaged" or something clearly that the manufacturer warned against and the buyer still bought it..."this was too small or big" kind of thing (measure before you order, people)...I'm good to go. Is it me or does anyone else skip over the positives?
As an AI model, I cannot provide information from personal experience, however, this video is a great review of the "Amazon Review Scandal". It excellently describes the problem and stays entertaining.
The biggest scam is when companies edit their entire product page, where they received amazing reviews for an old product, and replace it with their new products. This makes customers think that the reviews are for the current products but in reality the reviews are many years old and was for the old product. Xiaomi and Samsung are expert in doing this scam.
@@SashazurIt’s not about reading the reviews. The products get higher ranked in amazon listings due to the reviews while the review is not for the said product!
Meanwhile, Amazon randomly banned me from reviewing products. I used to enjoy writing a review of things I bought there and detailing the type of things that I find helpful to know when I'm buying something. The experience of being banned for no reason and having to fight with them to unblock me made me stop doing reviews. Just soured me on it. So they allow a lot of fakes and treat their actual customers like crooks.
I got a lot of email from amazon to write reviews, i dont have time for that, its a waste of my time to write it for them, they got to pay me to do that, my time is not free.
Same thing happened to me. I contacted them several times asking what I did wrong but the only response I ever got was a canned email accusing me of violating review guidelines. I can't think of a single rule that I ever broke, my reviews were always polite and honest and my small handful of negative reviews were always civil. I think amazon's system is very broken cause I still get emails asking me to review my purchases too. Like gee I'd love to but you nippleheads banned me. I shouldn't get so pissed at something this small but I honestly enjoyed writing reviews and helping other people decide if a product is worth their money. It's just asinine that we get censored while millions of obviously fake reviews stay up. And it pisses me off all the more that it's getting harder and harder to find certain products in stores so I can't even completely stop shopping on amazon.
The scam I noticed on Amazon was just how many products were raised in price in the past few weeks and then "put on sale" for Amazon Prime Day. I saw quite a few items that had a nice % off, but when I checked their price histories, it was just the normal price for the products. I thought this was illegal...
That practice has been around forever with not just amazon, its especially common on Black Friday, sellers raise the price months before the date then slash it to the original on the sale day
I once gave a 2 star review on a product on Amazon that I thought deserved the 2 stars and the company emailed me and told me if I took down the bad review and replaced it with a 5 star one they would send me a $50 gift card to Amazon… I was shocked!
I actually did something similar when I was a poor college student haha. It was a bit different though. I got a mail that I'll get a 20$ gift card when I review their product and I did cause I actually liked it. I never leave reviews though even if I always want to, I'm too lazy.
Amazon has a bit of the blame tho. Almost every negative review I have left on any product has been rejected and needed to be rewritten to be "more product related" but as soon as I swapped bad remarks for good, it gets approved with no issues from Amazon, just like any other positive review I have left.
But still amazon is much better than rival ecommerce companies like flipkart, walmart etc I have been conned by Flipkart.. by their fake 'Supercoin' thing. At least amazon does not resort to these things !
The thing with reviews is as a company, you do want people to only sell good products... And in order to do that negative feedback is great! But what you don't want is people just complaining and venting... I write amazon reviews all the time, so much so I've been invited for Vine, and quite of number of them have been negative reviews, below two stars. I've had a number of reviews rejected (and banned from reviewing on the product) but the negative reviews that weren't rejected were all those where I tried to seem level headed, provide both the negatives and positives (if any) and provide any solutions I can think of.
@@pixels_per_inch bro all major ecommerce companies block negative reviews.. as you said it impacts sales But more than that it creates a negative impression (of the vendors and ecommerce platform) which all want to avoid. Btw nowadays as you can buy likes , friends, subscribers on FB and insta so can you buy positive reviews !!
@@juswa639 It's hilarious because if Surfshark can protect your data then why do the sellers have data on his address when it's supposed to be protected?
@@nasukemugiwarasurfshark isn’t incogni. there’s a possibility that before he had surfshark, his info could’ve been sold to data brokers. also, maybe it’s not on all the time. so many factors here bud
@@nasukemugiwara its ironic that he uses this as a sponsor selling point, that it will be a safeguard against data leaks, whilst admitting he has received and thus likely to have been in a data leak himself
A couple years ago I looked at my reviews and there was two fake reviews that had been made for things iv never looked at let alone bought or reviewed. The scarier thing was they were medical items like a home x-ray machine MRI scan or something else medical can't remember exactly what it was but there were two different items and both were medical. All Amazon did was delete the reviews.
This happened to me. Exactly this. The item was a low quality digital TV antenna. I spent weeks on the phone with Amazon trying to get to the bottom of it, and most of the reps I spoke seemed to assume I was the scammer.
Thanks for explaining this. I’m an Amazon seller, honestly doing my business with everything above board. A few weeks ago I had a customer email me that someone sent them my product for free and they didn’t know who. I was perplexed and said it must have been a gift. Other people told me there was a scam involved, I just didn’t understand what it was. Amazon does try hard to mitigate these black hat tactics and genuine sellers like myself are afraid to step any toes outside the lines because we don’t want to risk our accounts. However there are millions of Chinese sellers and others who use all these crazy tactics. It does make it hard to sell against them. Still I would not resort to doing these things. I really hope that Amazon does come up with more ways to fight these issues while not penalising genuine sellers like myself.
Why can’t they have a unique QR code for each package and it only activates when the shipment is delivered. After the customer scans the QR code, they are able to review the product. I feel like this could be a good solution.
@@IlIllIllIIlllIIIIbrotha you posted this exact comment context or not five times on this one video you have one video on your own channel so much for “content” and one subscription you are legit one of the bots Arun was talking about in the video I doubt you watched
This was this very brushing scandal when a few years ago suddenly a lot of people started receiving small satchels of random plant seeds from amazon without ever ordering anything like that. Many feared they were something dangerous - turned out they were ordinary and harmless seeds. The scammers just needed to send something to obtain a tracking number, and this something nooded to be cheap aand insignificanrt, so sending a lot of them to many customers doesn't cost a lot, and the customers who receive it surely won't bother sending it back.
In Germany I've heard about a similar case years ago. Some guy received endless amounts of deliveries he never ordered from Chinese companies because sending stuff they can't sell to random adresses is cheaper than paying Amazon the storage fees or even the disposal.
My wife was impacted by something like this and we got some really odd items from it. Like a multicolored shiny flag and a panda hat. After we confirmed none of our accounts were impacted and nobody sent it to us as a gag gift or something, we looked more into it and found it's a common scam practice.
I find that shopping on Amazon is actually a lot of work because you have to do all this research not only to find a product you want, but to go through the reviews to see if they seem fake. I do this for most items I buy. Some items that are brands or an item I am already familiar with I don't have to do that much effort. Also when I do reviews I try to be detailed so people reading it will realize this is a real review and not a fake one. It is a shame that so many scams are out there. Heck, the internet is basically a scam. The anonymity of online entity's makes it too easy. I don't think this will ever change much. I hope that Amazon and others can help reduce the problem, but I am not holding my breath. It all comes down the old adage "BUYER BEWARE"
Chat gpt says: "Wow, this video really opened my eyes to the extent of fake reviews on Amazon! It's shocking how some companies resort to such deceptive tactics. As a savvy shopper, I'll definitely be more cautious when relying on reviews for my purchases. Kudos to 'Whose the Boss' for shedding light on this issue and helping consumers make more informed decisions. Keep up the great work!"
I completely agree! It's alarming to see how prevalent fake reviews have become on platforms like Amazon. 'Whose the Boss' deserves credit for exposing this issue and raising awareness among consumers. It's crucial to approach online reviews with caution and skepticism. Being a savvy shopper means double-checking and looking for additional sources of information before making purchase decisions. Let's stay informed and support creators like 'Whose the Boss' who strive to empower consumers. Kudos to them for their efforts, and let's hope for more transparency in the online marketplace.
@@globalist1990 Usually when they're sponsored they leave a link with a bunch marketing in the description, along with a nice discount code surprisingly named after them, or if the product was sent to them for free, or if they literally announce the sponsor
Fake reviews like this is the reason i only look at the bad reviews for any product, if the problems people have are trivial or a non issue to me it's much more likely to be a good product
The timing of this is crazy. I just recently purchased a small telescope off Amazon and when it arrived the box had a little note inside that said something along the lines of "review the product for 5 stars for a chance of 25$ (or 25% off, i don't remember)". I genuinely remember thinking how suspicious that was, even though the product arrived and it seems to work, I can't help but feel suspicious of it.
I worked as a graphic designer and copyrighter for an Amazon seller in my young and hungry years. Sooo many scummy tactics, the dude was also probably the worst person out of all my clients troughout the years. Don't worry, not doing that crap anymore, earned enough money and got enough experience to get the job I always wanted to get :)
I think it's great that Arun and other big tech reviewers are out here teaching people about the dangerous and sleazy things going on in these online marketplaces. It's really important things for consumers to know, and many less tech savvy people don't think about things like this. So Arun, thank you for watching out for us!
@@LandofNagas @assassin8636 no i swear bro like actually like it was coz i had bought like 4 of the same product so i was like a "special customer" ig and i spammed this everywhere coz i want likes
I once sat down and wrote like 5-10 genuine reviews for Amazon products that I purchased and liked. They all got flagged and rejected by Amazon because my behavior was bot-like I guess? When I followed up with customer service to try to get my reviews published, it didn't go anywhere. So in trying to weed out bad reviews, Amazon also prevented real reviews from being published and basically discouraged me from ever reviewing anything ever again.
this hits home for me. I've been an Amazon Prime member since 2014 and I have 100s of reviews of products, good reviews and bad reviews. One day out of the blue Amazon decided they didn't want me reviewing purchased products anymore and they banned me from reviewing products, saying it appears that I was compensated for a review, which is not allowed on Amazon (this just happened to happen after I left a 1-star review of a product). I contacted Amazon customer service and they were absolutely no help, they wouldn't even tell me what review i had supposedly been compensated for. I must have chatted with 5 or 6 different Amazon reps and all of them refused to give me any information and told me they would not restore my ability to review products. To this day I still can't review anything, and even worse I'm not even allowed to ask a question about a product. Not being able to review a product, especially if it sucks or is defective is frustrating, but not being able to ask a question about the product in downright infuriating. Because of Amazon's asinine mistake and policy, I now end up returning about half of my purchases because of not being able to ask about details or features of the items.
This is also an issue that definitely needs addressing. I'm surprised Arun didn't talk about it in this video. This for sure isn't the first I'm hearing about this.
@@larsl7483 I can't because if I use the same shipping address or payment method as my current account then I think my new account would also be flagged. But I'll give it a try and see what happens, I do have another email address I could use.
I was browsing for a wireless mic and found one with over 3,000 reviews. A browse through them showed that the seller was just switching out products and stacking new reviews on top of previous items sold.
@@HydratedBeans The problem is that there are plenty of legitimate reasons to edit a listing. The price changed, fixing a typo, one color is no longer available, etc. A human can easily tell when it's an entirely different product, but it's surprisingly hard for a machine
@@Pwnation98 there are ways to detect substantial changes though. Especially with language models. We can detect algorithmically when the meaning of something changes.
Aside from the negative reviews, I don't give much credence to the positive reviews especially when they're aren't very many negative reviews on that product. On the Louis Rossman YT channel, he even said that his negative review never made it to the product reviews. So much cheap crap on Amazon now.
I deleted my account as they charged me for prime (that I had canceled 10 seconds after the sucker button MOVED under my mouse. I could not cancel as it was ALREADY CANCELED. immediately after deletion they emailed me that they refunded because I did not use it. I now save money just buying of the products home webpage. did you know it is huge saving not buying of these sites like Amazon or Ebay.
@@anitapw9257 true but I feel like it’s stealing when the reviews are fake and you think you’re getting something real but it’s not. I spent like 35 bucks on sheets that ripped after one wash. I can’t afford to risk that. I have to go to the store and touch it to make sure it won’t break because my money doesn’t go far.
I've always known there were many fake reviews on Amazon bit never realised how easy it was. Its now down to gut feeling and comparing the product features against others and then checking some positive, negative and middling reviews. It's a lot of effort but it's the only way to have some comfort that you aren't just wasting your money
Arun's so good at this 🤣. The way he spills the truth about the scandals and lies by the companies! just inspires other creators to step out and do the same. Soon, the tech community will become independent from the influence of such companies on their content.
I love how Mrwhosetheboss goes in-depth on the latest tech products. He doesn't just do a superficial review; he really takes the time to understand how the products work and what they're capable of. This makes his videos really informative and helpful.
Thanks for the update brother, I see the fake reviews and leave things I want on hold and see more upcoming reviews and see if close friends and family have the product for me to test out and go from there. I have had companies message me and ask me to change my review for gift cards or another product. Gotta be careful everyone! I love the idea of item purchase date and price on the review!!!
Best way I found to “verify” reviews is not to read the amazon reviews but to look up the item I’m interested in on UA-cam, find a review with a reviewer that specifically shows they have said product in their possession and pay attention to the product release date and when the products actually shipped.
Informative! A prime (pun intended) example of a quality video! I've know most of the points raised here but learned that the seller can edit listings to add 'variations', and that ability explains why some product listings are so varied in their options lol
Absolutely crazy! I had my doubts already about fake reviews but after watching I'm scared to buy anything off Amazon ever again as I have always checked the reviews before purchasing. Thank you for this.
I actually used to be part of a facebook group that gave the merch away for free for positive reviews. I collected the data and contacted Amazon. They hung up on me and didnt care.
The listing change thing makes so much sense I was in the market for a battery pack for my phone back when i played a lot of Pokémon GO and found one that had really great reviews. When i read the reviews they were for everything from t-shirts to power tools and was thinking the site was broken. I reported it multiple times as confusing and amazon never did anything about it even when i checked a year later lol
@@andizahra3066No he was reading the item reviews. I have experienced it myself on a few items, they simply change the product that the listing is for. I believe it works out cheaper for the seller to do this than create a new listing.
@@andizahra3066 No he wasn't. You easily just change the name and image of a product and keep the same link and current reviews. It's a tactic lots of product sellers use.
I can only imagine the amount of hard work and time that goes into the making of such videos. Your recent videos spreading awareness have been really good and informative. You're doing a really fantastic job, buddy. Thanks a lot!
I have been an Amazon Vine Voice for the past year. Amazon actively encourages leaving accurate reviews that express your real opinion. They frequently punish people who are overly positive on all their reviews. Also, Amazon provides a very large list of products that you can select from, but from that list we can pick and choose. Most products are from unheard of brands, but I have found numerous good quality products on there. It is a very good program and I believe it does help to weed out the scams and terrible products.
The fact that Amazon punishes overly positive reviews, doesn't that mean it is controlling your feedback? At the end it should be want that customer thinks. Postive or negatjve
When I say they punish people who are overly positive on their reviews, I don't mean individual reviews. I mean people who only leave 5 star reviews and don't spend time actual trying the products and reviewing them. There are clear indications in the program of who is putting in work and providing good feedback. The real reason behind this isn't exactly to keep leeches off the platform (that's a bit more of a biproduct), but instead to prevent seller manipulation (buying people's reviews). As someone in the program, I can tell you that some manufacturers try and include extra 'gifts' and 'personalized messages' with their products to encourage viners to leave positive reviews. This is thankfully caught pretty easily, and there is a strong baseline understanding in the community that if you do this, you will be caught.
That's why sellers sometimes receive Vine reviews with made up "problems", just so that it won't look perfect. Not much better than having a fake review.
I have just become a vine voice and the first 3 items I ordered 1 was complete junk and of very poor quality and my review reflected that however I saw many 5 star vine reviews for the bad item, one review even said they purchased the item even though there is a tag that says it was a free item ! ?? Or am I just seeing that tag ? I am an honest person and I was really shocked, I guess these people are either dishonest or just fearful of writing bad reviews or using AI ect, I will never do that, I just hope that my honesty will not effect my aim to get to gold tier, with higher valued items, but free stuff is free stuff, and so far even with it being mostly tat available I'm happy with what I'm getting so far.
@@CrunchyF123 Honest review is always good. Unfortunately there are many low quality products with thousands of 5* reviews, don't know how they get them. Then when you want to launch a quality product, you struggle to get a few good reviews because 99% customers can't be bothered to leave a review.
About a month or two ago i bought some dirt cheap ear-pods through Amazon. Even for the price they were terrible, so i wrote an Amazon review saying so. I also commented that it was odd that all of the other reviews read exactly like marketing talk, with bullet points nailed one after the other. A lot of people seemed to take the time to write (often at great length) exactly everything that you would want the perfect ear-pods to be. And you know the saying, if something sounds to good to be true, it usually is. And you can't really expect £17 ear-pods to be THAT good, can you? Amazon refused to post my original review because, apparently, you are not allowed to comment on other reviews in yours. But within a week i received a postcard from the company selling the ear-pods saying that if i changed my review to a five star one, and e-mailed them a link to prove it, then they would give me a £20 Amazon voucher (which is £3 more than the ear-pods cost!) This postcard was also very clear about NOT mentioning this arrangement (obvs), or including a photo of the postcard with all of this on. So me being me, i instantly wrote another review mentioning all of this, and included photos of all of this scheming bribery with the important lines even highlighted in pen. I value my self respect more than twenty damn quid thanks! Anyway, i don't think TrustPilot can be counted on much either. I left dozens of genuine reviews on there (a roughly 50/50 mix of good and bad), and about three quarters were flagged as fake and taken down. I got the impression (though i have no evidence to back this up) that the biggest companies have a say in how many bad reviews get taken seriously, and positive reviews for smaller (rival) firms get dismissed as fake.
@@nywaterny data leaking is a serious issue, especially when it comes to something like Amazon where your banking information and your literal address is stored. but if you don’t feel the sponsor suits you then just take the video as entertainment and move on. personally I find NO sponsor is worth anything for me, even more so when they’re USA only- or only work outside of USA with a much higher price tag. OR if they’re subscription based which ALL sponsors are these days. 🙄
Amazon does not remove the review just like that. If the review has to get removed, it is mandatory that it does not follow Amazon reviews community guidelines. And also, if a buyer leaves a feedback in place of a review, the review gets removed as feedback is given to the seller, not the product, which in this case, "I doesn't work" is an review and cannot be removed. That being said, the person claiming to remove the review, later saying they can try is an obvious scam, unless they are the buyer who internally left a negative review on the product. Cause buyers can remove their own review.
This is called a "Brushing Scam." People use your account information and address to promote their product. This is happening on several platforms, not just Amazon.
I love the part of the video where Surfshark helps with Arun's safety, not letting his address known to any seller to send any toys that he might be too interested in, giving us this amazing masterpiece ♥️
@@___yesBut then what good is it? There's so much of our past data that has already been compromised that a tool that only helps you with your data moving forward, but can't help with past data compromised, is essentially worthless.
There are actually full Facebook Groups for this. It's insane. People ask you to buy the product, then after you leave a review, they PayPal you back the $. Its insane.
@@el6700You have to be careful about it. If you leave lots of reviews for a single company, Amazon gets suspicious and will flag your account and prevent you from leaving reviews for a temporary time or even permanently. I got an email from a headphones company on Amazon asking if they could send me free products in exchange for 5 star reviews and after like 7 or 8 of them Amazon started restricting my ability to post reviews. Thankfully after a month or so they lifted the ban. But yeah, the company stopped sending me stuff after that So try to review every product you buy and make sure it’s a variety of stuff I guess
Great video, Arun! I really appreciate you covering this important topic. It's so frustrating to see how easy it is for sellers to game the system and manipulate product rankings with fake reviews. I hope that your video will help to raise awareness of this issue and encourage Amazon to take stronger action to crack down on fake reviews. I also like how you went into detail about the different ways that sellers can game the system, and how to spot fake reviews. This was really informative, and it will help me to be a more informed shopper. Thanks again for a great video! Here are some other things you could mention in your comment: - How the Amazon review scandal has affected your trust in online reviews. - What you think Amazon should do to address the problem of fake reviews. - Any other thoughts or questions you have about the Amazon review scandal. I hope this helps!
I've recently been down a rabbit-hole looking at various electrical items on Amazon and noticed that almost every item has a 1-star review saying that it's dangerous and set on fire / melted. I think there might be a small industry of people who deliberately destroy your competitors products and leave bad reviews for them. I've seen it for power strips, usb chargers, hair dryers etc. Either that or these products aren't as safe as we think they are...
14:50 bro just proved the whole video that his security doesn't work and proceeds to namedrop the security service at the end 💀 That's not a promotion Arun , that is a clear sign that they sell your data
This has happened to my family a few years ago. They were some weird body products. We had no idea what happened but now I can tell them what I just found out. Thanks
No matter what topic it is, Arun always makes it entertaining and informative, making the viewing experience just so nice. Keep up the good work and I hope you pass apple in the next couple of months!
It's really great you're making video on this! Nowadays, companies not only pay for good reviews on their products, but also for bad reviews on the products of their competitors (I know this from my work as an E-commerce consultant) so whether positive or negative, be SUPER sceptical of any review you see on any platform. Video reviews are also easy to fake, but are hard to do at massive scale so those are a little more trustworthy (only a little).
I had this happen for almost 2 years, at least four packages a week. The variety was insane, from charger cables to water filter cartridges to wigs and seggs toys.
I was buying pet clippers and noticed that reviews are for a much reliable brand, but the picture and description on the listing is about completely other brand. So i got a hint, but you did this so in depth, as always, I'm impressed once again 😊 Great work! Not that you need me to tell you 😁
It's disheartening to see the prevalence of scams in the tech world. As enthusiasts and consumers, we should be able to explore and enjoy advancements without the constant worry of falling into a trap. It's high time for a more stringent crackdown on these fraudulent practices. Let's continue to spread awareness and demand accountability. Keep up the great work in shedding light on these issues!
Thought this was happening to me when i suddenly started getting smart vacuums i didn't order. After some digging it turned out not to be the case and instead was a seller getting rid of old stock. It was more costly to have amazon process it and ship it back then it was to just send them to people who bought from them before.
There is not only currently fake reviews but also a lot of counterfeit products, that's horrible considering Amazon was known for providing only authentic products.
I was part os a brushing scam lol I got cheap products shipped to me for a few months randomly. Each item was under 50 dollars. The review is more valuable than the product to them I guess lol. Sad that it stopped cause some of the stuff was useful lol
I am periodically asked to review my Amazon purchases. However, I have noticed that anytime I give a less then positive review, it is rejected for 'Violating community guidelines' This tells me that Amazon is stacking the deck in regards to reviews. Don't trust their reviews.
Me too. I still buy everything I possibly can in stores, but it's getting harder and harder as stores continually narrow their product selections. You could buy pretty much anything you could think of at Walmart or Target just 10 years ago, now if you need anything beyond basic items from the store's own brand line you have to order it online. Sucks :(
I am receiving few notifications on my Amazon Alexa, to rate the products I have brought last month. If I check my account purchases, I don't see any products mentioned by it
Another scam I really hate from Amazon is that they jack up all the item prices during a sale strike through it and make it seem like they have a huge discount on the products.
Luis Rossmann recently talked a bit more about this issue.. Quality manufacturers are almost gone from amazon, because they can no longer compete with the fake reviews and pricing..
"Wow, your tech reviews and tutorials are always top-notch! I can't tell you how much I've learned and benefited from your channel. Your passion for technology really shines through in every video, and your clear explanations make even the most complex topics easy to understand. Keep up the fantastic work, and thank you for being my go-to source for all things tech-related! You've definitely earned a loyal subscriber here!"
I am an Amazon Influencer, so a lot of companies send me products to do videos on, but those were always ones I had spoke with and had terms. Every once in a while I get a random package that ask me to leave a 5 star review or return the item...WTH, I never even ask for the item. There are also sites that are for Influencers that have you buy the product, make a video for the company and then they refund your purchase and pay you. To me this just inflates their "purchased" numbers and I think it is against Amazon TOS, so I steer clear of those sites. Of course there are also the products that have a note in them saying if you leave a 5 star review, they will refund you. A lot of the Shoppable videos on Amazon say "Customer Review" when in fact they are Influencers who make commission from you watching their video and purchasing. So much dishonesty, it makes buying a quality product hard.
@@headerahelix dw, like I said it’s not perfect, but I’m not naive either…the more you read through threads on Reddit (even if it’s not for product reviews), the easier it is to spot bots and randoms who get paid to say certain stuff versus genuine reviews… it still isn’t foolproof though but like I said, it’s the best system I’ve got so far and so far it’s always worked for me…
@@imrnp this too, bec even if a creator keeps praising the product, you see comments who disagree or genuinely agree. I sometimes do this just to back up what I’ve read on Reddit and vv.
How do you keep knocking these videos outta the park?! Been watching you for goodness knows how long. Heck, I even got the Nothing Phone (2) after seeing it get your seal of approval! On the back of getting the Realms X2 Pro 3 years ago after watching your review. You'd think I should know what to expect but you always figure out how to bring the novelty in your storytelling. Sending some Orson Welles claps your way! 👏
What an amazing, consistent, quality video producer you're Arun. Your research and delivery skills just kept getting better and better over the years. Thanks for this video. I never knew webpages like reviewmeta existed. 💯👍🏽
Really, it's not that different than any other advertising campaign that supposedly uses buyer reviews. Most modern advertising is about convincing you that whatever junk they are selling is better than the junk their competitors are selling.
My husband gets mad at me because I spend hours going through reviews before finding the right item from the right seller. 😂 He usually reads the first 3 and buys, then I tell him the thousands of reviews were for other items 😂
My husband gets mad at me because I spend hours going through reviews before finding the right item from the right seller. 😂 He usually reads the first 3 and buys, then I tell him the thousands of reviews were for other items😂
I’m actually thinking about ending my Amazon prime membership after having it for a few years. The hassle of trying to figure out if a product is actually good before buying it has deterred me from using the site now. Might as well stick to shopping directly on company sites nowadays as looking at reviews doesn’t really help me anymore.
This is an awesome video! You got super investigative. Also, I can’t lie the best part of this video is your “prime-mate” joke. I actually laughed aloud.
Probably one of the most interesting reviews you made. I was thinking of publishing a book on Amazon and you outlined Amazon functionality by showing how as a user we get scammed
This happened with me when I ordered fireboltt ring 3. It had around 4.5 stars and When I ordered it and opened the box, there were 3 vouchers in their like even a free movie ticket which you could redeem by putting a good review about the watch. BTW it stopped working after 2 months and it costed me a lot at that time, now it is very cheap
@@DominicWatch it's not. It's like asking to ban every cheater from a videogame, you just can't. You can try to reduce them (which is something they are doing), but you just can't ban all of them. The way this comment is formatted make it seem like Amazon did something bad on purpose. Most problably this person didn't even watch the video, he did just read "amazon scandal" and was like "yeah they are rich so they are evil so yeah they definitely got into a scandal"
Correction: I was unaware that the brand FunWares reached out to a member of my team located in the United States. That member asked to have the items sent to me, but since I did not have any direct contact with Funwares, neither myself, the UK team, nor my family knew where these had come from. The brand did not just send it out of nowhere. Further, I am not alleging the brand paid for any fake reviews. The miscommunication prompted the investigation into this topic, but I do not believe that FunWares fakes its user reviews or pays for any user reviews. As stated in the video I enjoyed using the product and make no representations or believe that the company has done anything wrong or misleading - that said, it doesn’t change the fact that these types of scams are very prevalent online!
hello there
Yoooo hi dude
Ok
@@E..-_NOOOO
@@E..-_beat me to it-
Well I never read the positive reviews anymore on Amazon.
I mostly scan the negatives to see if there's any consistent issues. If they are only "shipping got damaged" or something clearly that the manufacturer warned against and the buyer still bought it..."this was too small or big" kind of thing (measure before you order, people)...I'm good to go.
Is it me or does anyone else skip over the positives?
yes good strategy
its a great strategy for suspicious listings.
Same, I also skim over the questions section above the reviews for the same thing, seems like you honestly can't trust reviews on any site now!
Yeah. I go over the low and negative ratings, see pictures and go over the Q&A before buying. I rarely go over the positive reviews.
he mentioned in the video fake negative reviews can be bought
I’ve been delivering for Amazon for 3 years and the amount of people telling me they haven’t ordered the parcel is insane, glad you made this video
I know Arun's address
@@JustYoAverageGuy769 What is it?
@@matiaspalttoquite easy to deduce if you wanted to, but it is DOXXing, which is illegal and falls under the Computer Misuse Act.
I one bought some binicolours and in the producr it said 5 star reviews gives you a free prodouct
@@JustYoAverageGuy769 what
As an AI model, I cannot provide information from personal experience, however, this video is a great review of the "Amazon Review Scandal". It excellently describes the problem and stays entertaining.
😂😂😂
@@Samuel-cm5nv As an AI model, I agree with your use of emoji.
@@privacyvalued4134As an AI language model, I must agree with your auto-generated statement.
npc energy
My chat gpt when I try to make friends with it 😂
The biggest scam is when companies edit their entire product page, where they received amazing reviews for an old product, and replace it with their new products. This makes customers think that the reviews are for the current products but in reality the reviews are many years old and was for the old product. Xiaomi and Samsung are expert in doing this scam.
He mentioned this in the video
If you spend a minute reading reviews it’s easy to detect this.
@@SashazurIt’s not about reading the reviews. The products get higher ranked in amazon listings due to the reviews while the review is not for the said product!
That’s what brought me to this video. I’m sick of it
Amazon is not blind to the amount of dishonest cheating done mainly by Chinese stores. As a matter of fact they probably encourage it.
Meanwhile, Amazon randomly banned me from reviewing products. I used to enjoy writing a review of things I bought there and detailing the type of things that I find helpful to know when I'm buying something. The experience of being banned for no reason and having to fight with them to unblock me made me stop doing reviews. Just soured me on it. So they allow a lot of fakes and treat their actual customers like crooks.
I got a lot of email from amazon to write reviews, i dont have time for that, its a waste of my time to write it for them, they got to pay me to do that, my time is not free.
Same. They removed a review and banned me for “reviewing the shipping experience” even though I’ve never mentioned shipping in any review before.
same
Same thing happened to me. I contacted them several times asking what I did wrong but the only response I ever got was a canned email accusing me of violating review guidelines. I can't think of a single rule that I ever broke, my reviews were always polite and honest and my small handful of negative reviews were always civil. I think amazon's system is very broken cause I still get emails asking me to review my purchases too. Like gee I'd love to but you nippleheads banned me. I shouldn't get so pissed at something this small but I honestly enjoyed writing reviews and helping other people decide if a product is worth their money. It's just asinine that we get censored while millions of obviously fake reviews stay up. And it pisses me off all the more that it's getting harder and harder to find certain products in stores so I can't even completely stop shopping on amazon.
Yes they rejected a review I wrote for a totally great product! I don't waste my time anymore
The scam I noticed on Amazon was just how many products were raised in price in the past few weeks and then "put on sale" for Amazon Prime Day. I saw quite a few items that had a nice % off, but when I checked their price histories, it was just the normal price for the products. I thought this was illegal...
That practice has been around forever with not just amazon, its especially common on Black Friday, sellers raise the price months before the date then slash it to the original on the sale day
@komaboi19 supermarkets do this all the time,it is illegal but good luck in proving it.
How did you check the price history?
@@dsmyify There are browser extensions that provide a price history. Like for instance keepa.
It has made illegal in my country fairly recently, but i dont know about USA
I once gave a 2 star review on a product on Amazon that I thought deserved the 2 stars and the company emailed me and told me if I took down the bad review and replaced it with a 5 star one they would send me a $50 gift card to Amazon… I was shocked!
THAT IS SUS
I hope you denied the offer
I actually did something similar when I was a poor college student haha. It was a bit different though. I got a mail that I'll get a 20$ gift card when I review their product and I did cause I actually liked it. I never leave reviews though even if I always want to, I'm too lazy.
I'd take it but make the positive review really incoherent
The only correct thing to do in that case is write a 5 star review then take the gift card and then change it back to a 2 star or whatever
Amazon has a bit of the blame tho. Almost every negative review I have left on any product has been rejected and needed to be rewritten to be "more product related" but as soon as I swapped bad remarks for good, it gets approved with no issues from Amazon, just like any other positive review I have left.
But still amazon is much better than rival ecommerce companies like flipkart, walmart etc
I have been conned by Flipkart.. by their fake 'Supercoin' thing.
At least amazon does not resort to these things !
Hi
Amazon doesn't like bad reviews because it means less sales and therefore less profits
The thing with reviews is as a company, you do want people to only sell good products... And in order to do that negative feedback is great! But what you don't want is people just complaining and venting...
I write amazon reviews all the time, so much so I've been invited for Vine, and quite of number of them have been negative reviews, below two stars. I've had a number of reviews rejected (and banned from reviewing on the product) but the negative reviews that weren't rejected were all those where I tried to seem level headed, provide both the negatives and positives (if any) and provide any solutions I can think of.
@@pixels_per_inch bro all major ecommerce companies block negative reviews.. as you said it impacts sales
But more than that it creates a negative impression (of the vendors and ecommerce platform) which all want to avoid.
Btw nowadays as you can buy likes , friends, subscribers on FB and insta so can you buy positive reviews !!
The way Arun tells us "This could be a sign of data leak" and procedes to let us know about surfshark that he uses for years now is hillarious
looking for this comment lol
May I know why it's hilarious? I'm genuinely curious. Is SurfShark involved in some sort of data leak before?
@@juswa639 It's hilarious because if Surfshark can protect your data then why do the sellers have data on his address when it's supposed to be protected?
@@nasukemugiwarasurfshark isn’t incogni. there’s a possibility that before he had surfshark, his info could’ve been sold to data brokers. also, maybe it’s not on all the time. so many factors here bud
@@nasukemugiwara its ironic that he uses this as a sponsor selling point, that it will be a safeguard against data leaks, whilst admitting he has received and thus likely to have been in a data leak himself
I love how he took so much time off the actual topic of the video just to explain to us about fake reviews and haters, this man is the best for real
A couple years ago I looked at my reviews and there was two fake reviews that had been made for things iv never looked at let alone bought or reviewed.
The scarier thing was they were medical items like a home x-ray machine MRI scan or something else medical can't remember exactly what it was but there were two different items and both were medical.
All Amazon did was delete the reviews.
This happened to me. Exactly this. The item was a low quality digital TV antenna. I spent weeks on the phone with Amazon trying to get to the bottom of it, and most of the reps I spoke seemed to assume I was the scammer.
i ORDERED AN EARTH GROUND ROD AND RECEIVED 12KG OF VEGAN DOG FOOD( i WAS TOLD TO DONATE IT ) gawd know what happened there
@@lipsee100 wtf is vegan dog food xD
I got a 200 dollar drone
@@FahadFSA something you shouldn’t feed your dog.
@@FahadFSA the stuff the poor vegan teacher's dog eats 💀
Thanks for explaining this. I’m an Amazon seller, honestly doing my business with everything above board. A few weeks ago I had a customer email me that someone sent them my product for free and they didn’t know who. I was perplexed and said it must have been a gift. Other people told me there was a scam involved, I just didn’t understand what it was.
Amazon does try hard to mitigate these black hat tactics and genuine sellers like myself are afraid to step any toes outside the lines because we don’t want to risk our accounts. However there are millions of Chinese sellers and others who use all these crazy tactics. It does make it hard to sell against them. Still I would not resort to doing these things. I really hope that Amazon does come up with more ways to fight these issues while not penalising genuine sellers like myself.
Why can’t they have a unique QR code for each package and it only activates when the shipment is delivered. After the customer scans the QR code, they are able to review the product. I feel like this could be a good solution.
Hi
@@maxpro751shit bro that's a sick idea
Arun’s uploading schedules is on point. And each video is a goddamn masterpiece.
You never watched the whole ting
@@IlIllIllIIlllIIIIbrotha you posted this exact comment context or not five times on this one video you have one video on your own channel so much for “content” and one subscription you are legit one of the bots Arun was talking about in the video I doubt you watched
Bot
i got £10 amazon gift card for leaving 5 star review, i mean can you blame me lol?
Is this paid comment??
This was this very brushing scandal when a few years ago suddenly a lot of people started receiving small satchels of random plant seeds from amazon without ever ordering anything like that. Many feared they were something dangerous - turned out they were ordinary and harmless seeds. The scammers just needed to send something to obtain a tracking number, and this something nooded to be cheap aand insignificanrt, so sending a lot of them to many customers doesn't cost a lot, and the customers who receive it surely won't bother sending it back.
In Germany I've heard about a similar case years ago. Some guy received endless amounts of deliveries he never ordered from Chinese companies because sending stuff they can't sell to random adresses is cheaper than paying Amazon the storage fees or even the disposal.
lmao 🤣
big gay
I will gladly volunteer my address to receive free stuff
@@MrE_ and hope you don't get someone's kidney 😅
this happened to my family we kept getting free cake products
My wife was impacted by something like this and we got some really odd items from it. Like a multicolored shiny flag and a panda hat. After we confirmed none of our accounts were impacted and nobody sent it to us as a gag gift or something, we looked more into it and found it's a common scam practice.
I find that shopping on Amazon is actually a lot of work because you have to do all this research not only to find a product you want, but to go through the reviews to see if they seem fake. I do this for most items I buy. Some items that are brands or an item I am already familiar with I don't have to do that much effort. Also when I do reviews I try to be detailed so people reading it will realize this is a real review and not a fake one. It is a shame that so many scams are out there. Heck, the internet is basically a scam. The anonymity of online entity's makes it too easy. I don't think this will ever change much. I hope that Amazon and others can help reduce the problem, but I am not holding my breath. It all comes down the old adage "BUYER BEWARE"
I didn't face this problem too much, probably just look at the price to see if it is decent for the product and see 'Amazon's choice' options.
@@niranjanpandit6497 Amazon's choice is considered *crap* by some percentage of the pc builders and gamers.
@@sujeewarathnaweeraOr locks. Lockpickinglawyer shows how terrible the choices are.
You don't have to do any of this if you stick to the main brands
I just started using AliExpress because everything on Amazon is just drop shipped from there anyway
Another problem is people who give fake negative reviews and complain to amazon to get refund and keep the item for themselves
Same people probable send back a rock in the return package to scam the seller out of even more money.
This is about scamming sellers not scamming buyers to which there is plenty of articles on the subject. Say ramz you happen to be Chinese?
Another problem is people who give fake negative reviews and complain to amazon to get refund and keep the item for themselves
My generation has never been intitled enough to expect a refund for 1 star. It sounds like you had experiences with children.
We NEED more of this from you. You are big enough to make people aware of these scams. Keep up the good work!
Chat gpt says: "Wow, this video really opened my eyes to the extent of fake reviews on Amazon! It's shocking how some companies resort to such deceptive tactics. As a savvy shopper, I'll definitely be more cautious when relying on reviews for my purchases. Kudos to 'Whose the Boss' for shedding light on this issue and helping consumers make more informed decisions. Keep up the great work!"
I completely agree! It's alarming to see how prevalent fake reviews have become on platforms like Amazon. 'Whose the Boss' deserves credit for exposing this issue and raising awareness among consumers. It's crucial to approach online reviews with caution and skepticism. Being a savvy shopper means double-checking and looking for additional sources of information before making purchase decisions. Let's stay informed and support creators like 'Whose the Boss' who strive to empower consumers. Kudos to them for their efforts, and let's hope for more transparency in the online marketplace.
Both these replies haven't fully gotten to human natural yet ig
@@jessy1982lmao they were designed to be VERY specific
@ai-loudward Now this feels like an official company response lol.
This is why I almost always watch reviews on UA-cam, while making sure they aren't sponsored.
Just how do you make sure? 😅
@@globalist1990 Usually when they're sponsored they leave a link with a bunch marketing in the description, along with a nice discount code surprisingly named after them, or if the product was sent to them for free, or if they literally announce the sponsor
@@globalist1990Legally you have to disclose clearly if you are sponsored
Dudes how innocent are you? Are you 9yo?
@@RobCXS tons of people don’t, but I get what you’re saying.
Fake reviews like this is the reason i only look at the bad reviews for any product, if the problems people have are trivial or a non issue to me it's much more likely to be a good product
The timing of this is crazy. I just recently purchased a small telescope off Amazon and when it arrived the box had a little note inside that said something along the lines of "review the product for 5 stars for a chance of 25$ (or 25% off, i don't remember)". I genuinely remember thinking how suspicious that was, even though the product arrived and it seems to work, I can't help but feel suspicious of it.
Something similar Happened to me, the seller offered me £30 to remove a bad review. I did just to see if I could get £30... I didn't get it.
That happens all the time to me. They’re cheap Chinese made junk products there manipulating the algorithm. Amazon has to stop this crap immediately.
I worked as a graphic designer and copyrighter for an Amazon seller in my young and hungry years. Sooo many scummy tactics, the dude was also probably the worst person out of all my clients troughout the years. Don't worry, not doing that crap anymore, earned enough money and got enough experience to get the job I always wanted to get :)
Same thing happened to me as well
I get those all the time.
I think it's great that Arun and other big tech reviewers are out here teaching people about the dangerous and sleazy things going on in these online marketplaces. It's really important things for consumers to know, and many less tech savvy people don't think about things like this. So Arun, thank you for watching out for us!
What are the odds those toy weapons were actually paid reviews.......
Hi
No matter the topic, Arun always entertains us in a next level way, keep going Arun!
i got £10 amazon gift card for leaving 5 star review, i mean can you blame me lol?
Is this paid comment?
@@Epicgamer-tn1mt where do I sign up?
@@Epicgamer-tn1mt Yes, I can.
@@LandofNagas @assassin8636 no i swear bro like actually like it was coz i had bought like 4 of the same product so i was like a "special customer" ig and i spammed this everywhere coz i want likes
I once sat down and wrote like 5-10 genuine reviews for Amazon products that I purchased and liked. They all got flagged and rejected by Amazon because my behavior was bot-like I guess? When I followed up with customer service to try to get my reviews published, it didn't go anywhere. So in trying to weed out bad reviews, Amazon also prevented real reviews from being published and basically discouraged me from ever reviewing anything ever again.
this hits home for me. I've been an Amazon Prime member since 2014 and I have 100s of reviews of products, good reviews and bad reviews. One day out of the blue Amazon decided they didn't want me reviewing purchased products anymore and they banned me from reviewing products, saying it appears that I was compensated for a review, which is not allowed on Amazon (this just happened to happen after I left a 1-star review of a product). I contacted Amazon customer service and they were absolutely no help, they wouldn't even tell me what review i had supposedly been compensated for. I must have chatted with 5 or 6 different Amazon reps and all of them refused to give me any information and told me they would not restore my ability to review products. To this day I still can't review anything, and even worse I'm not even allowed to ask a question about a product. Not being able to review a product, especially if it sucks or is defective is frustrating, but not being able to ask a question about the product in downright infuriating. Because of Amazon's asinine mistake and policy, I now end up returning about half of my purchases because of not being able to ask about details or features of the items.
This is also an issue that definitely needs addressing. I'm surprised Arun didn't talk about it in this video. This for sure isn't the first I'm hearing about this.
Just open a new account mate.
@@larsl7483principle though tbh
@@larsl7483 I can't because if I use the same shipping address or payment method as my current account then I think my new account would also be flagged. But I'll give it a try and see what happens, I do have another email address I could use.
@@NonLegitNation2 you would need to change the name and credit card number too
I find it quite funny Arun tells about how surfshark will protect us from data breaches, while his own adress got breached 🤭😂
Your address may be in many, many places on the internet. A hack on just one can put your address out all over the place.
Exactly my thoughts 😂
Shill maybe?
It might be the sole reason he even took the sponsorship in the first place.
Well maybe he only started using this feature because of this lol😂
I was browsing for a wireless mic and found one with over 3,000 reviews. A browse through them showed that the seller was just switching out products and stacking new reviews on top of previous items sold.
I don’t understand why Amazon allows listings to be edited.
@@HydratedBeans The problem is that there are plenty of legitimate reasons to edit a listing. The price changed, fixing a typo, one color is no longer available, etc. A human can easily tell when it's an entirely different product, but it's surprisingly hard for a machine
@@Pwnation98 there are ways to detect substantial changes though. Especially with language models. We can detect algorithmically when the meaning of something changes.
@@HydratedBeansBut it's not really necessary, since a quick look at the reviews will tell you that the listing originally showed a different product.
Aside from the negative reviews, I don't give much credence to the positive reviews especially when they're aren't very many negative reviews on that product. On the Louis Rossman YT channel, he even said that his negative review never made it to the product reviews. So much cheap crap on Amazon now.
I refuse to buy anything on Amazon again. They aren’t stealing my money anymore.
I deleted my account as they charged me for prime (that I had canceled 10 seconds after the sucker button MOVED under my mouse. I could not cancel as it was ALREADY CANCELED. immediately after deletion they emailed me that they refunded because I did not use it. I now save money just buying of the products home webpage. did you know it is huge saving not buying of these sites like Amazon or Ebay.
They don't steal money they make stuff expensive
@@anitapw9257 true but I feel like it’s stealing when the reviews are fake and you think you’re getting something real but it’s not. I spent like 35 bucks on sheets that ripped after one wash. I can’t afford to risk that. I have to go to the store and touch it to make sure it won’t break because my money doesn’t go far.
I've always known there were many fake reviews on Amazon bit never realised how easy it was. Its now down to gut feeling and comparing the product features against others and then checking some positive, negative and middling reviews. It's a lot of effort but it's the only way to have some comfort that you aren't just wasting your money
Yeah.
Arun's so good at this 🤣. The way he spills the truth about the scandals and lies by the companies! just inspires other creators to step out and do the same. Soon, the tech community will become independent from the influence of such companies on their content.
Fake, video in 5 minutes,....
I strongly agree
Ameen to that brother
Yes
i got £10 amazon gift card for leaving 5 star review, i mean can you blame me lol?
I love how Mrwhosetheboss goes in-depth on the latest tech products. He doesn't just do a superficial review; he really takes the time to understand how the products work and what they're capable of. This makes his videos really informative and helpful.
Thanks for the update brother, I see the fake reviews and leave things I want on hold and see more upcoming reviews and see if close friends and family have the product for me to test out and go from there. I have had companies message me and ask me to change my review for gift cards or another product. Gotta be careful everyone! I love the idea of item purchase date and price on the review!!!
Best way I found to “verify” reviews is not to read the amazon reviews but to look up the item I’m interested in on UA-cam, find a review with a reviewer that specifically shows they have said product in their possession and pay attention to the product release date and when the products actually shipped.
Informative! A prime (pun intended) example of a quality video!
I've know most of the points raised here but learned that the seller can edit listings to add 'variations', and that ability explains why some product listings are so varied in their options lol
Absolutely crazy! I had my doubts already about fake reviews but after watching I'm scared to buy anything off Amazon ever again as I have always checked the reviews before purchasing. Thank you for this.
Man! You do a lot of research. Thank you. It's a crazy world out there and it's only going to get more crazy. Thanx for the work you do.
I actually used to be part of a facebook group that gave the merch away for free for positive reviews. I collected the data and contacted Amazon. They hung up on me and didnt care.
The listing change thing makes so much sense I was in the market for a battery pack for my phone back when i played a lot of Pokémon GO and found one that had really great reviews. When i read the reviews they were for everything from t-shirts to power tools and was thinking the site was broken. I reported it multiple times as confusing and amazon never did anything about it even when i checked a year later lol
Lol that simply mean you were reading seller reviews. A seller can sell multiple things snd reviews can be about any of those.
@@andizahra3066 think what you want
@@andizahra3066No he was reading the item reviews. I have experienced it myself on a few items, they simply change the product that the listing is for. I believe it works out cheaper for the seller to do this than create a new listing.
@@andizahra3066 No he wasn't. You easily just change the name and image of a product and keep the same link and current reviews. It's a tactic lots of product sellers use.
I have recently encountered this! I am like well now I can’t trust any
I can only imagine the amount of hard work and time that goes into the making of such videos. Your recent videos spreading awareness have been really good and informative. You're doing a really fantastic job, buddy. Thanks a lot!
I have been an Amazon Vine Voice for the past year. Amazon actively encourages leaving accurate reviews that express your real opinion. They frequently punish people who are overly positive on all their reviews. Also, Amazon provides a very large list of products that you can select from, but from that list we can pick and choose. Most products are from unheard of brands, but I have found numerous good quality products on there. It is a very good program and I believe it does help to weed out the scams and terrible products.
The fact that Amazon punishes overly positive reviews, doesn't that mean it is controlling your feedback? At the end it should be want that customer thinks. Postive or negatjve
When I say they punish people who are overly positive on their reviews, I don't mean individual reviews. I mean people who only leave 5 star reviews and don't spend time actual trying the products and reviewing them. There are clear indications in the program of who is putting in work and providing good feedback. The real reason behind this isn't exactly to keep leeches off the platform (that's a bit more of a biproduct), but instead to prevent seller manipulation (buying people's reviews). As someone in the program, I can tell you that some manufacturers try and include extra 'gifts' and 'personalized messages' with their products to encourage viners to leave positive reviews. This is thankfully caught pretty easily, and there is a strong baseline understanding in the community that if you do this, you will be caught.
That's why sellers sometimes receive Vine reviews with made up "problems", just so that it won't look perfect. Not much better than having a fake review.
I have just become a vine voice and the first 3 items I ordered 1 was complete junk and of very poor quality and my review reflected that however I saw many 5 star vine reviews for the bad item, one review even said they purchased the item even though there is a tag that says it was a free item ! ?? Or am I just seeing that tag ?
I am an honest person and I was really shocked, I guess these people are either dishonest or just fearful of writing bad reviews or using AI ect, I will never do that, I just hope that my honesty will not effect my aim to get to gold tier, with higher valued items, but free stuff is free stuff, and so far even with it being mostly tat available I'm happy with what I'm getting so far.
@@CrunchyF123 Honest review is always good. Unfortunately there are many low quality products with thousands of 5* reviews, don't know how they get them. Then when you want to launch a quality product, you struggle to get a few good reviews because 99% customers can't be bothered to leave a review.
4:35 The moment Arun realises he just spoke with his 4th cousin who never made it to the UK.
LMAO 🤣🤣🤣
Noo...😭😭
About a month or two ago i bought some dirt cheap ear-pods through Amazon. Even for the price they were terrible, so i wrote an Amazon review saying so. I also commented that it was odd that all of the other reviews read exactly like marketing talk, with bullet points nailed one after the other. A lot of people seemed to take the time to write (often at great length) exactly everything that you would want the perfect ear-pods to be. And you know the saying, if something sounds to good to be true, it usually is. And you can't really expect £17 ear-pods to be THAT good, can you? Amazon refused to post my original review because, apparently, you are not allowed to comment on other reviews in yours. But within a week i received a postcard from the company selling the ear-pods saying that if i changed my review to a five star one, and e-mailed them a link to prove it, then they would give me a £20 Amazon voucher (which is £3 more than the ear-pods cost!) This postcard was also very clear about NOT mentioning this arrangement (obvs), or including a photo of the postcard with all of this on. So me being me, i instantly wrote another review mentioning all of this, and included photos of all of this scheming bribery with the important lines even highlighted in pen. I value my self respect more than twenty damn quid thanks! Anyway, i don't think TrustPilot can be counted on much either. I left dozens of genuine reviews on there (a roughly 50/50 mix of good and bad), and about three quarters were flagged as fake and taken down. I got the impression (though i have no evidence to back this up) that the biggest companies have a say in how many bad reviews get taken seriously, and positive reviews for smaller (rival) firms get dismissed as fake.
Bro really threw away 20 for no reason, just leave the 5 star review they want and then edit it
we didn’t ask you for your lifestory tho
@@vleps181wite you hate people? Let everyone say what they want. You are not the one who decides it
@@vleps181 literally no one asked for your input though, see how this works?
The fact that they sent you a postcard and told you to not say anything about it is messed up 💀
The scariest part is, there's not much they can do about a lot of these as technology advances and more scamming options because available.
It’s up to the people who are buying stuff to be on the lookout
Amazon has all the data to link every purchase with item, buyer and shipping label, they just don't want to use it.
technology advances for everyone bruh😭 use ur brain for 2 seconds
there is NOTHING scary about this. Other than how Arun has made an entire video to promote surf shark!
@@nywaterny data leaking is a serious issue, especially when it comes to something like Amazon where your banking information and your literal address is stored. but if you don’t feel the sponsor suits you then just take the video as entertainment and move on. personally I find NO sponsor is worth anything for me, even more so when they’re USA only- or only work outside of USA with a much higher price tag. OR if they’re subscription based which ALL sponsors are these days. 🙄
Amazon does not remove the review just like that. If the review has to get removed, it is mandatory that it does not follow Amazon reviews community guidelines.
And also, if a buyer leaves a feedback in place of a review, the review gets removed as feedback is given to the seller, not the product, which in this case, "I doesn't work" is an review and cannot be removed.
That being said, the person claiming to remove the review, later saying they can try is an obvious scam, unless they are the buyer who internally left a negative review on the product. Cause buyers can remove their own review.
Right as Arun snapped at 9:58 i got an ad. Talk about perfect timing.
He added it, u can time the ads
@@ParsaIsFlyingI didn't get any tho
@@flameking3544 maybe u skipped accidentally? idk
I got an add aswell😂
just use some adblocker duh
7:22 ".. a prime-ate" 💀😂
I wish I got random fun packages at my house. Instead I get people trying to steal my packages.📦
This is called a "Brushing Scam."
People use your account information and address to promote their product.
This is happening on several platforms, not just Amazon.
I love the part of the video where Surfshark helps with Arun's safety, not letting his address known to any seller to send any toys that he might be too interested in, giving us this amazing masterpiece ♥️
He’s not been using surf shark his entire life and his account has been stolen before his address was probably just cataloged from years ago
@@___yesBut then what good is it? There's so much of our past data that has already been compromised that a tool that only helps you with your data moving forward, but can't help with past data compromised, is essentially worthless.
@@thoryan3057 Consider this:
It's not like ALL your data has been leaked, it'll just help you be more proactive about keeping your data secure.
There are actually full Facebook Groups for this. It's insane. People ask you to buy the product, then after you leave a review, they PayPal you back the $. Its insane.
smart job, defo gonna see if this makes money
@@el6700You have to be careful about it. If you leave lots of reviews for a single company, Amazon gets suspicious and will flag your account and prevent you from leaving reviews for a temporary time or even permanently. I got an email from a headphones company on Amazon asking if they could send me free products in exchange for 5 star reviews and after like 7 or 8 of them Amazon started restricting my ability to post reviews. Thankfully after a month or so they lifted the ban. But yeah, the company stopped sending me stuff after that
So try to review every product you buy and make sure it’s a variety of stuff I guess
Great video, Arun! I really appreciate you covering this important topic. It's so frustrating to see how easy it is for sellers to game the system and manipulate product rankings with fake reviews. I hope that your video will help to raise awareness of this issue and encourage Amazon to take stronger action to crack down on fake reviews.
I also like how you went into detail about the different ways that sellers can game the system, and how to spot fake reviews. This was really informative, and it will help me to be a more informed shopper.
Thanks again for a great video!
Here are some other things you could mention in your comment:
- How the Amazon review scandal has affected your trust in online reviews.
- What you think Amazon should do to address the problem of fake reviews.
- Any other thoughts or questions you have about the Amazon review scandal.
I hope this helps!
I've recently been down a rabbit-hole looking at various electrical items on Amazon and noticed that almost every item has a 1-star review saying that it's dangerous and set on fire / melted. I think there might be a small industry of people who deliberately destroy your competitors products and leave bad reviews for them. I've seen it for power strips, usb chargers, hair dryers etc. Either that or these products aren't as safe as we think they are...
14:50 bro just proved the whole video that his security doesn't work and proceeds to namedrop the security service at the end 💀
That's not a promotion Arun , that is a clear sign that they sell your data
Yeah, how did they get his address?
I was just about to point that out as well
Maybe it did alert him, he just didn’t make the connection, also he shares his account
Bro it cannot prevent if Data got breached from. Company's end 😂😂
4:16
That guy is a Bengali guy ... I can bet about that
Its bengali assent
100% because the way he said 30 Days LoL
This has happened to my family a few years ago. They were some weird body products. We had no idea what happened but now I can tell them what I just found out. Thanks
I once had a random delivery of a tiny little key carabiner. Never ordered it, and then I figured out it was part of an Amazon review scam. Its crazy
No matter what topic it is, Arun always makes it entertaining and informative, making the viewing experience just so nice. Keep up the good work and I hope you pass apple in the next couple of months!
Bro u watched 1 minute of it
@@fireblade425 lolll
@@fireblade425really man 😂😂
They be leaving fake comments on yt
@@fireblade425Every video of his is great, 1 minute is enough to gauge the course of the rest of the video
@@himanshushekhar1564I'm so fake bro😂
When the lace on your hoodie got stuck in your hood it annoyed me sm😂 13:48
It's really great you're making video on this! Nowadays, companies not only pay for good reviews on their products, but also for bad reviews on the products of their competitors (I know this from my work as an E-commerce consultant) so whether positive or negative, be SUPER sceptical of any review you see on any platform.
Video reviews are also easy to fake, but are hard to do at massive scale so those are a little more trustworthy (only a little).
I had this happen for almost 2 years, at least four packages a week. The variety was insane, from charger cables to water filter cartridges to wigs and seggs toys.
I was buying pet clippers and noticed that reviews are for a much reliable brand, but the picture and description on the listing is about completely other brand. So i got a hint, but you did this so in depth, as always, I'm impressed once again 😊
Great work! Not that you need me to tell you 😁
It's disheartening to see the prevalence of scams in the tech world. As enthusiasts and consumers, we should be able to explore and enjoy advancements without the constant worry of falling into a trap. It's high time for a more stringent crackdown on these fraudulent practices. Let's continue to spread awareness and demand accountability. Keep up the great work in shedding light on these issues!
14:45 Dude your address just got leaked to that seller lol.. Surf wasn't able to save you...
Still Lots of Love
Turns out he is also a fake reviewer 😂😂
Thought this was happening to me when i suddenly started getting smart vacuums i didn't order. After some digging it turned out not to be the case and instead was a seller getting rid of old stock. It was more costly to have amazon process it and ship it back then it was to just send them to people who bought from them before.
There is not only currently fake reviews but also a lot of counterfeit products, that's horrible considering Amazon was known for providing only authentic products.
I was part os a brushing scam lol I got cheap products shipped to me for a few months randomly. Each item was under 50 dollars.
The review is more valuable than the product to them I guess lol. Sad that it stopped cause some of the stuff was useful lol
bro legit said " *I* don't work " on that gaming console review 💀💀
I am periodically asked to review my Amazon purchases. However, I have noticed that anytime I give a less then positive review, it is rejected for 'Violating community guidelines' This tells me that Amazon is stacking the deck in regards to reviews. Don't trust their reviews.
I miss being able to look at a product in a store and judging how good a product is by feeling it.
right
Me too. I still buy everything I possibly can in stores, but it's getting harder and harder as stores continually narrow their product selections. You could buy pretty much anything you could think of at Walmart or Target just 10 years ago, now if you need anything beyond basic items from the store's own brand line you have to order it online. Sucks :(
I've always been weary of trusting Amazon reviews. This video is spot on.
3:22 i dont work 😂
Same
The reviewers brain doesn’t 😂
I am receiving few notifications on my Amazon Alexa, to rate the products I have brought last month. If I check my account purchases, I don't see any products mentioned by it
get rid of Alexa it spies on you and has no real use
Another scam I really hate from Amazon is that they jack up all the item prices during a sale strike through it and make it seem like they have a huge discount on the products.
What's wrong with that
@@assassin8636it is dishonest since it makes you think you are getting a better discount than you actually are.
Heyyy that's JoJo ringtone....i got the same ringtone on my phonee 😂 ( 3:44 )
same 😂
Same 🤣
Heyyy that's JoJo ringtone….i got the same ringtone on my phone 😂 ( 3:44 )
This dude exposes everyone and I love it
Luis Rossmann recently talked a bit more about this issue.. Quality manufacturers are almost gone from amazon, because they can no longer compete with the fake reviews and pricing..
"Wow, your tech reviews and tutorials are always top-notch! I can't tell you how much I've learned and benefited from your channel. Your passion for technology really shines through in every video, and your clear explanations make even the most complex topics easy to understand. Keep up the fantastic work, and thank you for being my go-to source for all things tech-related! You've definitely earned a loyal subscriber here!"
Was this written by an AI? lol
@@Nicole__Natalia Yes... 😅
7:04 THE FACT THAT THEY DIDNT EVEN READ
Can we appreciate how straight to the point Arun is and how he is able to convert any topic interesting.
No we can't, go learn English and be original instead of being a "can we just..." airhead
i got £10 amazon gift card for leaving 5 star review, i mean can you blame me lol?
@@Epicgamer-tn1mtyeah, get a job
@@laser_uhhhh GOTTA RESPECT THE HUSTLE
I am an Amazon Influencer, so a lot of companies send me products to do videos on, but those were always ones I had spoke with and had terms. Every once in a while I get a random package that ask me to leave a 5 star review or return the item...WTH, I never even ask for the item.
There are also sites that are for Influencers that have you buy the product, make a video for the company and then they refund your purchase and pay you.
To me this just inflates their "purchased" numbers and I think it is against Amazon TOS, so I steer clear of those sites.
Of course there are also the products that have a note in them saying if you leave a 5 star review, they will refund you.
A lot of the Shoppable videos on Amazon say "Customer Review" when in fact they are Influencers who make commission from you watching their video and purchasing.
So much dishonesty, it makes buying a quality product hard.
This is why I always check Reddit before purchasing anything online. It’s not perfect but so far it’s the most “honest” thing out there
Hate to break it to you but reddit has people who market products there as well.
was just gonna comment this. i also will check youtube if its a more expensive product
@@headerahelix dw, like I said it’s not perfect, but I’m not naive either…the more you read through threads on Reddit (even if it’s not for product reviews), the easier it is to spot bots and randoms who get paid to say certain stuff versus genuine reviews… it still isn’t foolproof though but like I said, it’s the best system I’ve got so far and so far it’s always worked for me…
@@imrnp this too, bec even if a creator keeps praising the product, you see comments who disagree or genuinely agree. I sometimes do this just to back up what I’ve read on Reddit and vv.
How do you keep knocking these videos outta the park?! Been watching you for goodness knows how long. Heck, I even got the Nothing Phone (2) after seeing it get your seal of approval! On the back of getting the Realms X2 Pro 3 years ago after watching your review. You'd think I should know what to expect but you always figure out how to bring the novelty in your storytelling. Sending some Orson Welles claps your way! 👏
What an amazing, consistent, quality video producer you're Arun. Your research and delivery skills just kept getting better and better over the years. Thanks for this video. I never knew webpages like reviewmeta existed. 💯👍🏽
Really, it's not that different than any other advertising campaign that supposedly uses buyer reviews. Most modern advertising is about convincing you that whatever junk they are selling is better than the junk their competitors are selling.
the sheer amount of effort and content in your videos amazes me good job man.
j
Ayo wadzee!
its crazy
Arun’s content always makes me entertained, and this video was great to learn about review sellers. Keep up the good work, Arun.
My husband gets mad at me because I spend hours going through reviews before finding the right item from the right seller. 😂 He usually reads the first 3 and buys, then I tell him the thousands of reviews were for other items 😂
My husband gets mad at me because I spend hours going through reviews before finding the right item from the right seller. 😂 He usually reads the first 3 and buys, then I tell him the thousands of reviews were for other items😂
I’m actually thinking about ending my Amazon prime membership after having it for a few years. The hassle of trying to figure out if a product is actually good before buying it has deterred me from using the site now. Might as well stick to shopping directly on company sites nowadays as looking at reviews doesn’t really help me anymore.
This is an awesome video! You got super investigative. Also, I can’t lie the best part of this video is your “prime-mate” joke. I actually laughed aloud.
Well done raising awareness to this. Amazon wont be happy but they need to fix this.
If you have Surfshark VPN for past 2 years. Why weren’t you protected 🤔🤔🤔 15:22
He shared his account with family members
Probably one of the most interesting reviews you made. I was thinking of publishing a book on Amazon and you outlined Amazon functionality by showing how as a user we get scammed
This happened with me when I ordered fireboltt ring 3. It had around 4.5 stars and When I ordered it and opened the box, there were 3 vouchers in their like even a free movie ticket which you could redeem by putting a good review about the watch. BTW it stopped working after 2 months and it costed me a lot at that time, now it is very cheap
Yikes who would've thought a billionaire company would be hiding such secrets
ikr
Lol
Why are you saying this like if it's amazon's fault?
@@Vexy93because it is.
@@DominicWatch it's not. It's like asking to ban every cheater from a videogame, you just can't. You can try to reduce them (which is something they are doing), but you just can't ban all of them. The way this comment is formatted make it seem like Amazon did something bad on purpose.
Most problably this person didn't even watch the video, he did just read "amazon scandal" and was like "yeah they are rich so they are evil so yeah they definitely got into a scandal"
3:53 : Bengali !
Lol true
Gar mereche
Yeah, the accent
Yes😃
I've reported this type of stuff to Amazon on several occasions about many different products