Amazon bans reviews based on free or discounted products

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Definitely a good move. We don't allow reviews in exchange for free books at MR precisely because they'll inevitably be biased (has anyone ever seen a bad "honest review I wrote in exchange for a free book"?).

I think a lot of those can end up biased, but not because they got the book for free. Just an example from me, I've ended up reviewing all three of Jason Werbeloff's new trilogy. And all my reviews are for five stars, but that's because I really, really liked the books.

I started out already liking the author. About two years ago I read a free short story by him. At the end of that was an offer to sign up for his newsletter and get a free copy of one of his novels. I liked the short story so I signed up. Then most of last year he kept releasing new short stories, which were free on Amazon for a few days at launch. That led to me reading more of his stuff and liking it, too.

Back in July, he e-mailed his newsletter readers asking if anyone would like a free copy of his new book in exchange for a review. I was very tempted to do so. The blurb sounded good, but I hadn't made up my mind. Then he sent out an excerpt, which I liked a lot and I decided to do the review. Going in I only knew I'd get the first book for free, but each time I put up my review by the ebook launch date, he offered me the next book free in exchange for a review too. I ended up receiving the whole trilogy for free.

So I was a bit biased, because I already liked the author and was fairly sure I was going to like the book even before I read it. I still would have given it a bad review if I hated it, but there wasn't anything I disliked enough to lower my rating. It had a good story, good character development, good editing, and good pacing. It's just a good book. I've found all three of the trilogy to be that way. I if I hadn't liked the first one, I doubt I'd have read the other two, but my review would not have been for five stars.

Originally Posted by jswinden

Personally, I'm tired of seeing reviews that are so professional looking that they scream "not real" to me. Most reviews by actual buyers are likely to have at least one or more typos, not be well organized, and not really be that useful.

I guess you'd assume all my reviews are "not real." I try to make sure everything I write looks professional, even forum posts. I write a post and then re-read it, looking for errors. I adjust and re-read it again. I do this until I don't see any typos, grammatical errors or flow problems. Sometimes I'll do five to six edit passes before posting.* Obviously the reviews I write (which isn't many) are given just as much attention, if not more. Hell, I had to rewrite the last book review I did twice because it started out sounding more like a blurb for the book than a review, and I wasn't happy with that.

So my reviews should look professional, because I want my writing to look professional. Typos and bad grammar make me look like an idiot, and I'm not one. And frankly, most of the reviews I see on books are that way. Frequent readers tend to have a better grasp of their language and write better, especially if they're writing a book review.

You're basically saying "anyone who takes pride in their writing isn't worth reading" when it comes to reviews. That seems... counterproductive.

* In fact, this post had six edit passes.

[kennyc]

Yep. Like my reviews of "The Best Small Fictions 2015" and 2016. I love flash fiction so did a review of the 2015 release pointed out the stories I loved and posted the review in various place including Amazon where it apparently 'floated to the top.' I got an offer of an ARC copy from the editor wrt the 2016 release which I took and did a review.....didn't like it quite as much as the initial release, but still did a thorough review and pointed out the stories I liked. And so it goes.

[bullet]

So now you will not know someone is reviewing something they received for free or a discounted price b/c they have excluded any mention of it in their review. How is less information better than a full disclosure in this case?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by bullet

So now you will not know someone is reviewing something they received for free or a discounted price b/c they have excluded any mention of it in their review. How is less information better than a full disclosure in this case?

Rather cynical....but probably very true.

[DiapDealer]

The disclosure was never worth the space it took on the screen to begin with. It never protected anyone from bias. It was all about individuals being needlessly frightened that the FTC was going to bust their door down if they didn't include it.

I would rather they lie about it to be honest. Makes for less annoying research. Even biased people (pro) can say things about products that will help me cross them off my list.

[bullet]

Originally Posted by ApK

Rather cynical....but probably very true.

Not meant to be cynical. I have already received an email from a supplier I review gadget accessories for asking that I not mention I received the product in exchange for an unbiased review. I do try to be honest in reviews and will mention things I did and did not like about a product.

OTOH I have gotten after one author of best selling books for reviewing his own work giving it 5 stars. He defended his practice by saying his work is good. I suppose he is correct and biased.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

The disclosure was never worth the space it took on the screen to begin with. It never protected anyone from bias. It was all about individuals being needlessly frightened that the FTC was going to bust their door down if they didn't include it.

If one thinks the reviews are worth anything beyond entertainment value, if one is going to read reviews and use them to inform decisions, then more info is better.

I, for one, respect folks who put that disclaimer, because it meant I could skip past that review without wasting any more thought on it.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by ApK

I, for one, respect folks who put that disclaimer, because it meant I could skip past that review without wasting any more thought on it.

And move right on to the next one who left it out.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

And move right on to the next one who left it out.

Right, then I have to read between the lines, look for the flags, assess it on it's content, THEN finally ignore it....work work work.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

. It was all about individuals being needlessly frightened that the FTC was going to bust their door down if they didn't include it.

FWIW, The FTC has fined both individuals and organizations from not providing the required disclosures. I suspect that the IRS follows up, with appropriate penalties for failure to pay the appropriate tax.

How many people realize that freebies ned to be declared as income, on Form 1044?

Amber

[bullet]

Originally Posted by Fiat_Lux

FWIW, The FTC has fined both individuals and organizations from not providing the required disclosures. I suspect that the IRS follows up, with appropriate penalties for failure to pay the appropriate tax.

How many people realize that freebies ned to be declared as income, on Form 1044?

Amber

I really do not test products in exchange for reviews. I was just kidding the first time. I am against freebies, and I am not paranoid.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Fiat_Lux

How many people realize that freebies ned to be declared as income, on Form 1044?

A non-profit, hobby book-reviewer (no website, no ads) needs to declare a free ARC they recieved from an indie author in exchange for an "honest review" on Amazon/Goodreads as income? I don't believe that for a second. I also don't believe there's an IRS form 1044.

[Ravensknight]

I just checked IRS.gov. Couldn't find a 1044 form for the life of me.

Link please or I'm reporting your posting as total BS and a waste of brain cells...

[Apache]

I could not find 1044 either and have never heard of it.
Apache

[meeera]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Definitely a good move. We don't allow reviews in exchange for free books at MR precisely because they'll inevitably be biased (has anyone ever seen a bad "honest review I wrote in exchange for a free book"?).

I've written solidly negative reviews for ARCs, absolutely. However, reviews for ARCs in systems such as Netgalley are not provided "in exchange for a free book". The eARCs are time-limited and generally expire around the publication date. ARCs are offered to readers in the hope that they might write a review, but readers are not required to review every ARC they receive. I have a middling sort of review ratio and write negative as well as positive reviews, and this doesn't seem to have stopped publishers from offering me ARCs.