FALSE OPINION ON AMAZON: Two companies pursued by platform

The two companies, Appsally and Rebatest, are accused of putting in place elaborate systems of false positive opinions against remuneration.

Le Monde

Amazon complained, Tuesday, February 22 in the United States, against two companies specializing in the publication of product reviews, as the CNBC Relève : Appsally and Rebatest are charged By the online sales giant to connect sellers and Internet users to leave positive advice in exchange for products or gift vouchers.

The complaint details a well-roded and industrial system: resellers Using these false review services expedient empty boxes to complicit clients, to bypass the Amazon checking system that allows you to submit a note if a package has been sent. The reseller also provides digital photos that “customers” publish with their criticism, inevitably positive.

An important part of the complaint is based on the own advertisements of these two companies. AppsCally promises, for rates starting less than 25 euros, to “exceed all your rivals without leaving your room”. Rebatest, which ensures to have 900,000 different users that it can mobilize to leave positive comments on Amazon, eBay or Walmart, is suspected of reimbursing fake customers via PayPal after purchasing a product to note. None of the two companies, solicited by CNBC, did not address.

Endemic problem

In addition to damages, for an unspecified amount, Amazon asks US justice to prohibit these two firms from selling or negotiating the publication of opinion on its platform.

False reviews are an endemic problem of online sales platforms. Amazon algorithms and competitors attach great importance to notes left by Internet users; Well-rated products are highly highlighted, and evaluation changes can be a crucial issue for a reseller. Many shops use more or less legal incentives and techniques to get the maximum positive opinion, with, sometimes, unforeseen consequences.

In 2020, Chinese resellers who ship random seed bags in the United States – an operation to cheat with the Amazon scoring system – thus triggered a panic movement in the United States: many Internet users had worried about receiving these strange parcels, which led to investigations of the health authorities.

/Media reports.