Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews
I purchased the same webcam for my high school sophomore in September 2020, as school restarted (all online for him). The box contained a $20 &quot;gift card&quot; if I emailed proof of my 5-star review. It looks identical to the one I received (including the email address). Only the reward is different.<p>I didn&#x27;t try to write a review, I notified customer service in an attempt to report the seller.<p>I documented everything including photos, my exchange with Amazon customer service, and the confirmation from the seller that they would pay me $20 for a 5-star review. I did not take the money offered ... I was appalled at the situation and more than a little angry that I had been tricked by bogus reviews.<p>Here&#x27;s what happened when I reported the seller:<p><i>Me: Hi. The box for this product contained a card that says “Amazon $20 gift card” and looks like a gift card, but the back says I have to give a 5 star review and send my order information to an outlook email address. Is this legitimate? Is it really a $20 Amazon gift card?<p>Amazon: Thank you so much for your information on this, I will certainly pass it along here so that we can check this promotion or offer directly with the seller. Because I am not seeing that advertised on the item at all And would not be capable of confirming if that is a legit Amazon gift card because, I do not see that offer on the item<p>Me: So what should I do?<p>Amazon: My best suggestion would be to contact the seller directly for this through this link [redacted] So that you can confirm directly with them if this is legit or not Certainly giving away gift cards for good reviews is not professional And I have to report the seller for that<p>Me: I thought this type of offer was forbidden by Amazon’s own policies for sellers. But I will contact them using the link you sent to ask them if that’s what you recommend.</i><p>Even though the CSR reported the seller, and I confirmed with the seller through Amazon&#x27;s own communication system that they were paying $20 per 5 star review, nothing happened to the seller. The item (a webcam) is still for sale on Amazon, with thousands of additional 5-star reviews - more than 12,000 now, compared to 3,266 when I let Amazon know how they were gaming the reviews in September.<p>Once again, the good guys (in the case, customers and honest sellers) lose out while the bad guys win, with no repercussions.