How to Identify Fake Amazon Reviews

Let me draw an abstract scenario here. You are ready to buy an item from Amazon that you have been eagerly waiting for to put your hands on; you have been saving money for this product for months now, and finally, you have enough money to buy yourself what you been wanting. You go to Amazon, start your research, start reading the reviews on the products and suddenly your eyes get stuck on that golden- over the top-highlighted comment that has everything you ever wanted to see.

You finally buy that product by trusting that highlighted comment and you wait for your products arrival. When you receive your package, you tear it apart, and you see it’s there- It feels right, it looks right, however, there one issue; it is of the WORST quality!! Or maybe it is not the same as the picture you saw on Amazon. So, what about those reviews? I mean you trusted them, right?!

Does it mean those were the fake amazon reviews? It could be. Sometimes the sellers to boost the sales would either buy reviews or provide free products for a genuine review. Fortunately, the company is fighting against the amazon fake reviews problem due to which many consumers reported counterfeit products being delivered.

Until these fake Amazon reviews get sorted, you should know how to handle a fake review on Amazon or at least identify a phony review.

how to tell a fake amazon review

Fake Amazon Reviews Problem

Amazon is facing a lot of backlashes lately; recently it was on the news regarding its Echo gadget where Amazon Echo secretly records a family conversation.

Now, Amazon ombudsman ReveiwMeta proposes that around 9% of the Amazon reviews are false. And the possibilities are they could be written by paid writers who didn’t even purchase the item. Amazon doesn’t deny the amazon fake reviews problem. The Washington Post not long ago found out that that in some categories such as Bluetooth speakers, over half of the customer reviews are fake.

Usually, a false reviewer gets $3-$10 to write a fake review with a 5-star rating on an item- paid by the companies to boost their product’s sale.

Ten ways to find out fake Amazon reviews

  1. Tons of reviews within a small proportion of time

In most cases, it takes time for a product to collect reviews naturally. After all, only a few customers will review the product apparently, which means it takes several months to develop a significant foundation of reviews.

If you see a ton of reviews on a product that is new, it is a sign that these reviews are not genuine. It is one point to identify fake Amazon reviews.

  1. Reviews containing similar images

If most reviews include identical photos of the product, they are false for sure. The company must have asked the reviewers to submit a specific kind of photo that will accentuate the product.

  1. No company website

If you cannot find a genuine company behind a product, there should be a warning bell ringing in your head by now. This might not conclude that it isn’t a legit company; however, you should do your research further. If they do not have a website that would mean they are ONLY selling products on Amazon.

If a product has a real company behind it, you can be sure that you can return the product if they aren’t satisfying to your requirements. You won’t have this surety if they don’t have a website.

  1. Reviews with similar phrases

Small reviews like ‘Great product, Im so happy’ are a good indicator that the company has asked the reviewers to use certain kinds of language. Reviews like this aren’t even satisfactory; you would want a variety of description in the review. It’s is a great trick to find out about the fake amazon reviews and beware.

  1. All reviews contain five stars

If you see almost all reviews are five stars, stop right there! The product may be genuine, and of high quality, however, this could also mean that they are fake. In any item, you’d anticipate seeing combined reviews with high and low quality if you don’t see one this should raise a ray of concern and time for you to ‘skip’ the product.

Ultimately, with any item or good no matter how high quality they are of,  there will always be an issue. Negative reviews should come out at least once somewhere in the reviews.

  1. All reviews are indistinctive

A good amount of reviews contain language that is precise to the product, whether it’s about the durability or the functionality of the item purchased. There should be reviews that are technical, left by the kind of user who loved getting into the detailed description of the product. There should be reviews telling how people are using the products as well.  There are several technology blogs in India that consists with user’s review regarding an item; from there you could get the idea how a genuine review looks like.

If you are going through amazon fake reviews problem, then this is the best way to find out about the fake reviews; if any review holds unclear, vague language, it may be an indicator that these reviews are not authentic.

  1. Reviewer using same reviews language frequently

When you tap on a person’s username on Amazon, you could view all the reviews the reviewer has left. If the reviewer has left a high amount of reviews with the same language, chances are those are fake amazon reviews.

A legitimate reviewer would leave considerate, thorough reviews about the various ways that they are working the product. The person who is putting fake reviews will usually copy and paste their language over several reviews.

  1. Reviews are not Verified purchase

If a consumer has bought a product directly from Amazon, you will see ‘Verified Purchase’ written alongside the name of the user. This means the user has purchased the product from Amazon and not from any store or some other website.

If the reviews aren’t verified, ignore it. You can ne’er know if the person is telling the truth or a lie and you could end up falling into the amazon fake reviews problem like everyone else.

  1. 5 stars but not much detail

If a user has given five stars, however, there are not many details regarding the product, chances are it is one of those fake online reviews. A genuine five stars should hold some description of what makes the product worth five stars. One sentence is not enough to suffice the other peers reading the reviews.

  1. Queer languages used

If a product sold for 20$ and a reviewer uses the term ‘20.00 USD,’ it is a NO GO! A local English speaker would never use such language, and it may denote that the seller is buying reviews to sell his products.

Conclusion

The last thing you want to do is to waste your money on a product that wasn’t up to your satisfaction. However, you can never be able to avoid fake reviews, however if you are careful you can save yourself. Yes it is time consuming, which can be hard if you really want to have that product, nonetheless, it is worth it.

Aly Chiman

Aly Chiman is a Blogger & Reporter at AlyChiTech.com which covers a wide variety of topics from local news from digital world fashion and beauty . AlyChiTech covers the top notch content from the around the world covering a wide variety of topics. Aly is currently studying BS Mass Communication at University.