I'm not defending Etacto employees for what they did, but you can't make the assumption that a good product means that you'll have good sales. Likewise, you can't make the assumption that deceptive marking practices means that the product is poor. Companies like Amazon and Kobo have a dominant position in the market because they had easier access to the market, rather than because of the quality of their product.

Like I said: I'm not defending Etacto for astroturfing and I'm not going to claim that they sell good products (because I've never used them). But there is a certain logic behind what they did, even if it is deceptive. They were simply trying to create some positive buzz in order to sell a product that doesn't have much visibility in the market.

Incidentally, Kobo staff do come to these forums. As far as I know, they're all open about their association with Kobo. Yet they do use this place to announce new products, firmware, etc..