The other day while viewing Amazon for a scam product I noticed I couldn't see any of the 1 star reviews.

[me_valentijn@m.ai6yr.org]

@xssfox
Here, just read this AI summary of reviews which slightly rephrases the seller's product description 🤪

[azurekingfisher@mastodon.art]

@xssfox I had to login to see any negative reviews.

[digitaltaoist@ieji.de]

@xssfox
Misrepresentation by omission?

[canleaf@mastodon.social]

@xssfox do not shop with Amazon

[me_valentijn@m.ai6yr.org]

@xssfox @uep
Lolz, it even shows two different versions of the same AI generated pages in one image. Looks like there's a whole heap of "100,000 Whys" slop on Amazon with various fake authors. One of the authors -might- be real?

[funkdoctor@mastodon.social]

@beeeff @xssfox check out bookshop.org

[beeeff@mastodon.social]

@funkdoctor @xssfox America U.K. & Ireland only Im afraid.
best practices and prices hands down, though.

[jdebp@mastodonapp.uk]

@scottcain

When @cstross and @lcamtuf first mentioned that, I went and looked at that and several others.

The listing for the one found by @draNgNon was (and still is for me, as I checked it again just now) exactly as @xssfox described. Only a few reviews that clue people in that this is money for old rope, and a hyperlink to beg permission to see anything more than a handful of reviews out of a couple of hundred.

https://mastodonapp.uk/@JdeBP/116788436560592117

There have been reports for years of the #Amazon reviews system being gamed, with things like tricks to get things listed as verified purchases.

#astronomy

[randomhost@tech.lgbt]

@xssfox Amazon is a dropshipping marketplace and scammer paradise, not a reputable company.

The sooner everybody understands that, the earlier we can boycott that awful anti-human company out of existence.

I wish I hadn't bought - woops I mean "licensed" - a whole bunch of movies from their platform.

My media library being held hostage by them is probably the only thing keeping me tethered to this awful corporation.

[corb_the_lesser@mastodon.social]

@xssfox

1. Best to ignore reviews on retail sites. They're there to sell, not inform.

2. I quit Amazon after the local distribution center's gig-work Amazon Logistics drivers began deliberately failing to deliver about 25% of my orders. They'd drop several packages at one doorway, then send the same "verification" photo to every one of those several customers. Amazon customer service eventually refused my calls claiming I'd asked for too many refunds. I'd actually never asked for any.

[wooshell@chaosfurs.social]

@xssfox if I look for that ASIN on German Amazon, I can buy the book, but it shows Zero reviews, and the usual link to "reviews in other languages" seems missing.. as if nobody had ever bought that book.

[wooshell@chaosfurs.social]

@Corb_The_Lesser @xssfox Amzn delivery quality is abysmal. My drop-off instructions state "parcel box at front entrance" (which is set back about 10 meters from the street), and the lazy fucks repeatedly drop the parcels just over the garden fence, where they're exposed to the elements and widely visible for theft.

[humanadverb@dice.camp]

@xssfox I'm able to click through and see the one-start review. Which I think means they're hiding it from you specifically for some reason.

You might be pulling a thread at something even more interesting than Amazon helping scammers.

[funkdoctor@mastodon.social]

@beeeff @xssfox awww, that sucks. I wish you luck on your search. Happy to buy them and ship to you as a last resort if you need.

[beeeff@mastodon.social]

@funkdoctor @xssfox you're very sweet thank you.
the offer braught be a smile.