Quote:
Originally Posted by rcentros
I assume Amazon controls the store front and seller profile ratings. If not (if the seller is allowed to revise their own ratings), then the seller profile ratings really are absolutely useless.
|
Of course Amazon
controls it. But I'd be extremely surprised if Amazon made such changes without the seller's request to do so (through complaint/dispute or the request for specific listing deletions). And I already assume that all online consignment-seller profile ratings are absolutely worthless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rcentros
In this case over 25% of the comments (the negative ones) disappeared over night. I don't see how that could happen without Amazon's intervention.
|
It probably couldn't. But I'm also not going to assume that the system in place can't be gamed by sellers in some ways (see DuckyTigger's mention of listing deletion/replacement above). In fact, I'd be pretty surprised if it couldn't. So again: how is the seller completely exonerated of any shenanigans, here?
Quote:
Originally Posted by rcentros
And it's definitely in Amazon's interest to clean up a seller's profile.
|
Sure. If they were doing it with lots and lots of sellers (though I still don't believe they're randomly improving sellers' ratings without some request from said sellers to kick the process off; or that sellers aren't able to directly manipulate their own ratings though technical loopholes), then they're (Amazon) going to nickel and dime their way to profits. But I think it's pretty hard to deny that the biggest and most immediate beneficiary of such a "whitewashing" would be the seller themselves, no?
Don't get me wrong; I think the whole third-party seller (where Amazon doesn't control the warehousing and shipping of the product) is a shady, scary, and easily gamed system that I want no part of. But I'm going to throw the blame for that where it belongs:
everywhere. Sleazy sellers for doing the gaming, and Amazon for turning a blind eye while they do. *shrug*