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Amazon

Amazon takes a stand against paid review sites which ‘undermine’ its system

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By Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor

April 11, 2015 | 2 min read

Amazon has launched legal proceedings against four websites which pay people to write reviews of products.

Amazon claims the sites – buyazonreviews.com, buyamazonreviews.com, bayreviews.net and buyreviewsnow.com – “undermine” its system, saying customers believe reviews to come from unbiased sources.

Papers filed in Washington stated: “While small in number, these reviews threaten to undermine the trust that customers, and the vast majority of sellers and manufacturers, place in Amazon, thereby tarnishing Amazon's brand.”

The sites pay $19-$22 (£13-£15) per review and will typically achieve a four or five star rating. In its legal papers, Amazon it secretly paid one of the services to write reports about products which inevitably were given "glowing" reviews.

The retailer is seeking damages and has called for the sites to cease producing reviews.

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