The problem: How do you spot fake reviews onAmazon?
Companies that promote their products with fake reviews have gotten a lot more sophisticated.
Instead, theyre creating private groups on platforms like Facebook to recruit people to buy their products.
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They typically offer a full refund via PayPal in exchange for a five-star review.
Many now require photos or videos, as well.
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Well keep it updated as offers changes or expire.
But these five tactics will help you spot fake Amazon reviews.
you might also cut and paste the URL of a product page in either tool to get an analysis.
Fakespot grades reviews not only on Amazon, but also on eBay, Best Buy, Sephora and Walmart.
It provides a letter grade that rates the quality of the reviews, rather than the product.
So when Fakespot gives an A rating, it isnt saying the product is great.
Its saying the reviews appear to be legitimate.
ReviewMeta works with Amazon only.
It analyzes a product page and filters out the reviews that its algorithm flags as untrustworthy.
It tells you what percentage of reviews it filtered out and gives the item an adjusted rating.
ReviewMeta filtered out 7% of the reviews and adjusted the rating to 4.4 stars.
Look for the moderate reviews with two, three or four stars where the reviewer has left detailed feedback.
Youre more likely to get a realistic sense of the items pros and cons.
Also avoid putting too much weight on the average number of stars.
He returned the vitamin after experiencing side effects.
But upon closer review of the negative reviews, hediscoveredthat others were experiencing the same side effects.
YouTube is a particularly valuable resource for honest product reviews.
But the Q&A section that contains answers to commonly asked customer questions gets a lot more detailed.
Theres no guarantee that someone who works for the company isnt answering some of the questions.
You might also want to compare the date when the item first became available to the review dates.
One Wall Street Journal reporterrecently discovereddozens of glowing reviews for a unit that hadnt even been released yet.
What if You Get Tricked by a Fake Amazon Review?
But what if youve already paid for the product and it wasnt what you expected?
Most products shipped from Amazon.com or Amazon warehouse can be returned within 30 days of receipt.
However, some third-party sellers have their own policies.
Be sure to check on the return policy on the site before you buy from a third party.
Its one thing to waste money on a pair of shoes that didnt live up to the reviews.
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Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
She writes the Dear Penny personal finance advice column.
Send your tricky money questions to[email protected].
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