How Amazon's New Review Policy Affects Us All

[J C]

I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here (no rotten veggie throwing, please) ... if someone sends me a copy of their book (let's for a moment ignore the eBook / hardcopy divide), and I read it, and I decide to honk about it on Amazon, GR, wherever ... can I not legitimately say I now 'own' a copy of the book?

Yes, I may have been given it by the author. I may have been given it by my auntie Dawn for Christmas. However, I didn't pay for the book, but I have read it, and I have reviewed it.

Where do we all fall on that point?

[Tara Woods Turner]

J.C. wrote: "I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here (no rotten veggie throwing, please) ... if someone sends me a copy of their book (let's for a moment ignore the eBook / hardcopy divide), and I read it, and ..."

Why do you have to say anything at all? Why can't you just review it?

[Owen]

Tim wrote: "Okay, so this is an interesting thread and I think we need to start asking ourselves how we would tackle review abuse were we on the Amazon committee that decided policy?"

Good question. Personally, I'd simply eliminate all reviews of fiction books. That would stop any abuse of the review process, get rid of a major distraction for authors, and book sales would likely go up as a result. Everybody wins.

[Jane]

I emailed Amazon for clarification on their review policy because I like to have a paper trail in case I ever need one, their response was you cannot send a free copy of your book to someone in exchange for an honest review, but you can send a free copy of your book to someone with no obligation for a review. So you can send a gift of your book to bloggers/reviewers and make it clear they are under no obligation to review.

I have forwarded amazon's email to a few people, if anyone else wants a copy just PM me with your email address and I'll send it to you.

[Christina]

Guys, keep in mind that the FTC guidelines are for anyone who is endorsing a product. These guidelines are for bloggers, professional review sites, and anyone who is in a position to influence the public in regards to a product. What this means is when your favorite food blogger insists her lasagne recipe will only work with Brand X tomato sauce, she must disclose that she is being paid (whether in cash or free product) to say this.

Likewise, when Amazon allowed this type of review, the disclaimer was needed. However, by clamping down on their own policy,this is in no way a violation of the FTC's rules. Amazon is not stating 'You can't disclose that you received a free copy in exchange for review.' Amazon is is stating that you cannot OFFER a free book in exchange for a review. In other words, if they suspect that a review, regardless whether a disclaimer was added it not, was not genuine, for whatever reason, it is well within their right to take it down.

This has nothing to do with verified purchases. Many people have pointed out that KU will not be verified, yet readers who use KU have written plenty of reviews. Also, you'll notice that gifted items are considered verified, but gifting an item in exchange for a review has always been against the rules unless the item was a prize due to a whole different set of laws regarding double dipping (getting a rank boost and a review that is not via organic sales).

There is some good information here, such as Jane's response from Amazon, but there is also a lot of rumor, speculation, and untruths that have been circulating for years. We just ask that you keep the speculation to a minimum.

[[deleted user]]

Jane wrote: "I emailed Amazon for clarification on their review policy because I like to have a paper trail in case I ever need one, their response was you cannot send a free copy of your book to someone in exc..."

That would be nice, Jane. I'd love to get a copy of that email.

I will PM you.

Rowena/Roxana

[David]

Thank you Marie. I am so confused about Amazon's policies. My book has been out since July. I've sold or given away almost 100 books. Even though I've had excellent feedback, no one has been able to get a review on Amazon. I have told people to write a review on Goodreads but so far, the only reviews on either site is my own. I've no idea how to get more reviews.

[Marie Silk]

Christina wrote: "Amazon is is stating that you cannot OFFER a free book in exchange for a review.."

I agree that this is how the new community guidelines read, and if that was the only new thing Amazon ever posted, it would not be an issue that needed clarification so much.

However in the update following the guidelines, it sounds like no change has been made at all to the “age-old” method of getting book reviews:

Amazon says: Our community guidelines have always prohibited compensation for reviews, with an exception – reviewers could post a review in exchange for a free or discounted product as long as they disclosed that fact. These so-called ‘incentivized reviews’ make up only a tiny fraction of the tens of millions of reviews on Amazon, and when done carefully, they can be helpful to customers by providing a foundation of reviews for new or less well-known products.

Today, we updated the community guidelines to prohibit incentivized reviews unless they are facilitated through the Amazon Vine program ...

...The above changes will apply to product categories other than books. We will continue to allow the age-old practice of providing advance review copies of books.

This sounds like incentivized reviews are still allowed as long as it is through Amazon Vine program or for books. I don't see how this section could be read any other way.

It leads me to believe that there was a miscommunication within Amazon. The new guideline page is from the “Community Team”, a separate department from the “Customer Experience VP”. I can speak to customer service on the telephone but I cannot speak to the community team at all. So far every email they send me is pasting the guidelines with a link without addressing any of my questions :(, and with no reference whatsoever to Vine or the update. I honestly can't tell if my emails are being read.

IMO, they need to make their rules clear and compatible one way or the other.

https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/abpt...

[Marie Silk]

David wrote: "Thank you Marie. I am so confused about Amazon's policies. My book has been out since July. I've sold or given away almost 100 books. Even though I've had excellent feedback, no one has been able t..."

I'm kind of in review limbo while I am getting clarification on this policy, however I can tell you that Amazon does not allow you, or your close friends and family, to review your books on Amazon.

Unfortunately there is a lot of literature out there for indies encouraging them to get reviews from friends and family. Reviews suspected of being from friends and family are deleted by Amazon.

[Tara Woods Turner]

Marie wrote: "David wrote: "Thank you Marie. I am so confused about Amazon's policies. My book has been out since July. I've sold or given away almost 100 books. Even though I've had excellent feedback, no one h..."

The exception to the friends and family rule is the editoria; review is in editorial reviews where they are allowed. For the life of me I don't know why anyone would want to use that space for that, unless your mom is J.K. Rowling.

[Owen]

David wrote: "Thank you Marie. I am so confused about Amazon's policies. My book has been out since July. I've sold or given away almost 100 books. Even though I've had excellent feedback, no one has been able t..."

The issue of getting reviews is separate from Amazon's policies regarding reviews. Generally speaking, fewer than one person in 100 who buys or downloads a book leaves a review on Amazon. In some cases I've seen, the number is 1 in 1000 or maybe even 1 in 1500. That has always been the case, and that is the nature of on-line reviews, not Amazon (or Goodreads).

[C.L.]

I mean it looks to me that what Amazon is trying to do is funnel all "free for review" through their vine program. Now if only they made Vine actually accessible to the likes of us...