Amazon apparently games its affiliated bookseller ratings — this conceals unhappy transactions after refunds have been made

© 2016 Peter Free

30 June 2016

 

Clever entrepreneurial slime?

It has taken me a few months to see this trick at work. Let’s start at the beginning.

I buy a large number of out of print books through (USA) Amazon dot com’s affiliated seller program. Occasionally, one of these proves to be grossly “not as described” or noticeably damaged due to poor packaging.

Examples include a couple of books described as nearly new. These turned out of have brown mold marks. Their musty smell stank up large rooms. Treatments in the oven and with baking soda and sunlight failed to tone down the odor. I had to throw both volumes away.

My subsequent Amazon feedback mildly documented my dissatisfaction with "fair" scores.

Afterward, I noticed that a couple of these neutral ratings prompted immediate (and unrequested) refunds. The two "fair" feedbacks disappeared from Amazon’s website.

 

I surmise that

Some affiliated sellers appear to have figured out that they can refund customers through Amazon and thereby avoid the negative impact of an unfavorable review.

As a result, sellers can implement business models that intentionally screw a percentage of their customers.

Here is how this mild deception works:

 

First, some people do not complain about used books that are not as good as the seller described. Sellers need not worry about them negatively affecting transaction ratings. And some among this group will not even ask for a refund.

Second, for the few customers who do fill out unwelcome feedback, the seller proactively makes a refund through Amazon. Amazon then automatically deletes the unhappy feedback.

It is as if the transaction never occurred. History has been rewritten.

 

This is essentially the same business model that prevails in electronics. Manufacturers implement non-existent quality control and let their customers and unfortunate retailers sort it out.

 

Keep in mind that — Amazon’s rating system is already mathematically dishonest

I wrote about this intentionally sly wrinkle a few months ago, here.

In brief, Amazon’s 5 point rating system sets “I hate it” at 1 on the scale. A zero rating is not allowed.

Consequently, average ratings for any product will be one point higher than they should — 4 stars instead of 3. "I like it" instead of "fair".

In effect, D grades become Cs. Bs become As. And Fs pass.

If you don’t believe me, do the math on some random products at Amazon. Try to find some that have about 20 to 30 percent 1 and 2 star reviews. In other words, pick an item that you would be out of your mind to buy.

This upwardly skewed rating trick probably allows Amazon to sell “crap” that a reputation-protecting seller would not. But, in a nation of consumerists, who is going to call Jeff Bezos and his successors on their disguised duplicities?

Entrepreneurial geniuses that they are.