After a blistering study showed how third-party sellers could be gaming Amazon’s review system, the e-tailer announced that the only incentivized reviews now permitted would be those facilitated through its Vine program. Under Vine, Amazon selects the reviewer, not the manufacturer.
“Amazon is making a significant change to its Community Guidelines, announced today, which will eliminate any incentivized reviews, except for those that emerge from within its own Amazon Vine program. This program allows Amazon – not the seller or vendor – to identify trusted reviewers, and has a number of controls in place in order to keep bias out of the review process.”
