Amazon Review Policy (as of 3 October 2016): review cannot be required for a free copy

[Krazykiwi]

Eldon wrote: "I'm actually in the habit of making up my own mind before a purchase. What 1 person says about the product matters nothing to me; be it legitimate or otherwise. A single review will always be just ..."

That's lovely and all and I'm sure for a lot of people it's true. Nevertheless I can show you endless amounts of research (including some I wrote myself :) showing that word of mouth recommendations carry a lot of weight with a lot of people.

It's often a very big mistake to project one's own behaviour onto humanity as a whole, or any subset thereof bigger than one.

And in the end, it doesn't matter what you think, or what I think. Usage of the websites is predicated on your acceptance of the Terms of Service, and not disclosing receipt of free books for review breaks those terms.

GR: Commercial reviews are not allowed and will be deleted. If you received a free copy of the book, you are required to disclose that in your review in compliance with federal law.

Amazon: In all cases, the poster must clearly and conspicuously disclose their financial or close personal connection if not obvious from the context.

[Eldon]

Krazykiwi wrote: "Eldon wrote: "I'm actually in the habit of making up my own mind before a purchase. What 1 person says about the product matters nothing to me; be it legitimate or otherwise. A single review will a..."

For sure if you're going to use the websites you have to abide by the terms; no argument here.

I just find it odd that the FTC doesn't have more important matters to attend to than trying to find out if a reviewer is related to a product.

[Quantum]

Krazykiwi wrote: "The requirement to disclose that you got a free copy is an FTC requirement, as well as Amazon and GR's TOS. If you don't disclose and Amazon finds out, they will remove your review (and possibly all your reviews.) Ditto GR.

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/busin...
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/ft...

You must also disclose if you have any other relationship with the author or publisher. If you work for the publisher, disclose it. If you are related to the author, disclose it. Neither of those are allowed on Amazon and will be removed, FYI, but they're ok on GR. Amazon is strict on this, and remove reviews for things such as coming from the same IP address with no disclosure.

ETA; Review swaps are not allowed, here or there. In other words "I'll review your book if you review mine" - this also needs disclosure in places it's allowed, according to the FTC, but it's not allowed on GR or Amazon.

Please don't go around telling your readers to stop disclosing review/ARC copies.

ETA; Review swaps are not allowed, here or there. In other words "I'll review your book if you review mine" - this also needs disclosure in places it's allowed, according to the FTC, but it's not allowed on GR or Amazon.

Please don't go around telling your readers to stop disclosing review/ARC copies. "

Thanks, I stand corrected. I needed that reference to the FTC law.

So, in addition to the aforementioned, you can still give free copies for review but just cannot require or influence a review.

Further on to the statement to use:

NovelBlogLover wrote: " I used to put at the end of my reviews "I received a free copy in exchange for review" I now use "This book was sent to me for review consideration by..." and I haven't had a problem with Amazon and I have been doing this for a few months. "

something like the above statement seems in-line with the FTC law and amazon rules. but what if the author was giving them away for free during a book promo period. maybe you should state that you got it for free during a book promo because in that case, you are much less influenced by the author b/c s/he didn’t give it specifically to you for free.