NetGalley Addicts Support Group discussion
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Submitting a review
I've never heard of that notice coming up for a book. From my observation, Amazon has said in the past there should be no book reviews from those associated with the author, but there certainly are many, many of those and Amazon does nothing about them. It's usually only non-book items that get that notice, since Amazon believes the reviewer is associated with the product's maker or seller, or was given a free or discounted item. Amazon no longer allows reviews for free or discounted items, unless they are ARCs.
Is it possible you are reviewing ARCs, but not stating you got the book for free, as you are suppose to state? Or . . . and sorry to ask this . . . is it possible you have written reviews in the past that you were paid money to write?
Maybe other UK reviewers are getting that notice, too, and it simply has something to do with reviewers outside of the US?
Do you have your Facebook or Twitter account connected to Amazon? If so are you following the author on Facebook or Twitter? If you are, Amazon sees that as you being friends with the author and won't allow you to review their works.
That seems unfair. My guess is most who are following an author on Facebook or Twitter would be fans of the author, not actual friends who personally know the author. I'm sure there are thousands of posted books reviews at Amazon by author fans.
I am connected to a few authors on Facebook but as a fan. I don't actually know or converse with them privately. The authors encourage you to FOLLOW and so do Amazon. Some of the publishers and NetGalley will ask questions and comment on your answers. I have two blogs but they are free just to spread the word to help sell the books for the authors. I'm not good enough a reviewer to be paid for a review - nowhere near. I'm an avid reader with a chatty type of "whet-the-appetite" review. I was hoping someone would tell me it was a temporary glitch! I have been posting reviews on Amazon since 2002. NetGalley advised me not to use the ARC in my review so I just write Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.
Sheila wrote: "I am connected to a few authors on Facebook but as a fan. I don't actually know or converse with them privately. The authors encourage you to FOLLOW and so do Amazon. Some of the publishers and Net..."Sorry, Sheila, I don't have any input on your question, but I was curious why NG would recommend not saying you reviewed an ARC. I also follow quite a few authors on Twitter, but I certainly don't 'know them', I just like the book I read & have posted reviews on Amazon without issue(so far).
I definitely agree it's a dumb rule, but it's one I've heard many complaining about so I thought I'd mention it as the possible culprit. When I originally heard about it, I made sure to revoke the connection to Amazon from Twitter/Facebook and I haven't had the issue come up.
Thank you for that. I do the reviews manually on amazon.co.uk but it doesn't work from the button on NG either. Renee. I seem to have deleted the email from NG about the wording of ARC but they thought it might be the wording.
Shelia, are you saying NetGalley told you not to say you are reviewing an ARC? That may be the problem. Reviews in the US are suppose to clearly state you got the book or any item for free. Seriously, it is some type of government rule. Also, If you don't state you are reviewing an ARC and post a review right when the book is released; or before, since that is allowed for some books at Amazon; you clearly might be suspected of being associated with the author, or a fan who hadn't read the book yet.Yes, stating NetGalley and the publisher should be enough, but Amazon does not always have knowledgeable people checking reviews. It might be that a computer or human checker is only looking for the terms "ARC" or "free". Of course, there are plenty of ARC reviews that were posted that don't have those two terms, but, once again, don't expect Amazon to always handle things in a fair or intelligent manner. It's unfortunately wishful thinking to expect that.
What happens is when I am directed to Amazon via NetGalley to submit a review I click on the 5 stars and the notice pops up before I write anything.
Oh, I don't know anything about going to Amazon via NetGalley. Sorry. I just go directly to Amazon and Goodreads, post my review, and then go back to NetGalley and leave the review links in my feedback.
I do either of those methods but the result is the same. I was hoping it was a glitch as it happened a few weeks ago
SundayAtDusk wrote: "Oh, I don't know anything about going to Amazon via NetGalley. Sorry. I just go directly to Amazon and Goodreads, post my review, and then go back to NetGalley and leave the review links in my feed..."Yep what I always have done, unless I forget to update with the link. When I submit my review I always add "will post to public media upon publication" and even if I forget to link the review it doesn't seem to affect my approvals :)
I review on GoodReads, Facebook, Kobo, friends with Kindles and on my Blogs. That should give the authors a decent coverage.
Dorie, yes, I can't imagine the publishers not seeing the reviews at Amazon and Goodreads without clicking in sent links. But then I tend to review books that don't have tons of reviews; so maybe they do need the NetGalley links to keep straight which reviewers are actually doing their job.
Sheila, go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom.... Use a contact link to contact Amazon, or the community e-mail address, and present your problem to them. It's best to include a specific example giving the book's ASIN. Maybe they can explain why you are being blacklisted, or help you to start posting reviews again. Don't be too hopeful, though. Amazon has obviously greatly reduced the time and manpower it gives to review problems. The last time I e-mailed about a problem, the first two reps did not fully understand the problem; the third one understood it completely, but still did not resolve the issue; and the fourth rep totally did not understand anything. I gave up.
Also, in another thread, UK reviewers mentioned they could no longer review at Amazon US because they did not meet the new minimum $50 purchase requirement. (See the guidelines.) Have you? If not, that may be the real reason your reviews aren't posting.
Make sure you include the fact that you read a DRC via Net Galley when you write the review. I was told by an Amazon rep and also a Net Galley troubleshooter that no minimum purchase is required for NG reviewers; they are trying to weed out sock puppet and other fraudulent reviews. A Net Galley reviewer is their favorite kind of reviewer, second only to those that purchase the book from Amazon. The advance reviews that generate a buzz for the publisher, also help Amazon sell books. They aren't trying to stop you; they're trying to stop cheaters.
SundayAtDusk wrote: "Sheila, go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom.... Use a contact link to contact Amazon, or the community e-mail address, and present your problem to them. It's be..."Good to bring up that $50.00 minimum purchase requirement because I never knew that was a requirement. It's not a problem for me because I buy so much from Amazon but I don't think it's fair that you should have to buy something from them to post a review. But it is a private business so I guess they can make their own rules ??
Donna: "I was told by an Amazon rep and also a Net Galley troubleshooter that no minimum purchase is required for NG reviewers; they are trying to weed out sock puppet and other fraudulent reviews."That's good to hear and thanks for posting it. I knew it wasn't a matter of greed, but did not know they made exceptions for NG reviewers.
Dorie, it's probably not a problem with any US NG reviewer, but the UK ones were complaining because they had spent at least that much at AmazonUK, but, of course, had made no purchases at AmazonUS. I just got three Amazon deliveries this weekend. :)
I am still getting that notice on Amazon refusing my review after I put in my stars. I finally found the help email from NG but I am on amazon.co.uk which must make a difference. It only started when we split on NG. Amazon accused me of violating their regulations and seemed to think that I was being paid for reviews. Hi Sheila,
Thanks so much for your patience, and for sharing this with me. With Amazon's recent review guideline updates, I think certain words in a review probably send a flag to Amazon (specifically "in exchange for"). I think you could still mention where/how you received the galley, but just alter the wording a bit so, to Amazon, it doesn't sound like you've been incentivized to leave a review. I hope that helps!
Director, Community Engagement
SundayAtDusk wrote: "Sheila, go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom.... Use a contact link to contact Amazon, or the community e-mail address, and present your problem to them. It's be..."This is the response I got from Amazon
We cannot share any further information, and we may not reply to further emails about this issue.
Very bad. They obviously think you are guilty of fraud.
How do I convince them otherwise?! Why don't they specify so I can defend myself? I don't make money from my reviews as they seem to imply. Have you ever seen the standard required in a review to make money?!!! I'm nowhere near nor would I be interested.
Hang on - could it be because I have blogs. I'm not a professional blogger. I just do it for fun, not gain. It's just to help authors sell their books.
SundayAtDusk wrote: "Donna: "I was told by an Amazon rep and also a Net Galley troubleshooter that no minimum purchase is required for NG reviewers; they are trying to weed out sock puppet and other fraudulent reviews...."Got it!
I would contact Amazon again, Shelia. I'm saying it's very bad, though, because e-mailing Amazon reps is not like having a normal discussion with someone. Many don't understand your complaint at all and some only understand it partially. It use to be if you kept clicking in that your problem was not resolved, your complaint would move up the ladder to someone more capable of understanding. The last time I did that, though, as I stated in a previous post, the fourth rep understood the problem less that the first three reps! In addition, others in past forums have repeatedly said the charges against them were never revealed.Go ahead and try again, though, and keep trying as long as someone still responds. Or you can send your complaints about being falsely accused to Jeff Bezos at jeff@amazon.com
I do wish you luck. You'll need it dealing with Amazon about reviews. (:
Sheila wrote: "SundayAtDusk wrote: "Sheila, go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom.... Use a contact link to contact Amazon, or the community e-mail address, and present your pro..."I'm wondering, are you still able to order products from Amazon, or haven't you tried? Just curious
I have been with Amazon since 2002. I'm a Prime member, buy films, books, download music and buy commodities regularly - like last week for instance. They are making me feel like a criminal. I think I'll contact them on that chat line they have although from experience although helpful they don't always resolve the problem.
Sheila wrote: "I have been with Amazon since 2002. I'm a Prime member, buy films, books, download music and buy commodities regularly - like last week for instance. They are making me feel like a criminal. I thin..."When I have had a couple of problems with Amazon I don't bother with the chat line or e mail. I Googled their customer service number and used that. It took me a while to find it, they like you to use the chat :(
Dorie, so what are phone conversations like with the reps? I've tried chat, and the one thing good about it is you can make certain the rep understands the problem, or at least appears to understand. They then always said they would forward the problem to the right department, which did not necessarily solve the problem.
I've tried CHAT this evening and they referred me to a specialist group who will help me via email 24/48 hours. 05:22 PM BST Sam: Hello Sheila, I am sorry to hear that you are not able to leave a review. Which item are you trying to leave a review for?
05:23 PM BST S Easson: Mainly books but I was trying to review goods I bought last week and the same notice comes up.
05:25 PM BST Sam: Okay, as it has come up with the same error message for each review, we do have a specialist team who will be able to help you with this. I will forward on this information to them and they will respond to you through email
Nothing yet. I think I may get the push from reviews but they will take my money on goods
Sheila wrote: "Hi. Sheila from the UK. I just joined the group and have been with NetGalley for several years and since 2002 with Amazon. I wrote a review on NetGalley for the novel "The Ex-Wife" by Jess Ryder bu..."Hi Sheila, may be a totally different issue but this may help. When I click on the Amazon link in NetGalley it takes me to the Amazon US site rather than the UK site. Since about two months ago Amazon has imposed a $50 per annum spending minimum on the site (presumably to stop autobots) and therefore as a UK-based reviewer I can no longer post reviews to the US site. I didn't get the same message as you, just a constant error message whenever I tried to post a review, although I can happily post the same review to the UK site.
No, I always use the UK site. I know what you mean though because NG.com still send emails that fool me and make me go onto the USA site and a polite message reminds me. Three days and they said 24/48 hours to get back to me.
Sheila, did Amazon ever respond to your last e-mail?
Hi!! I live in KL, never bought anything via amazon :/ so.. it says my account does not qualify for submitting reviews. any idea what I should do???
SundayAtDusk wrote: "Sheila, did Amazon ever respond to your last e-mail?"No, they didn't respond. I went on Chat a week later (10 days ago)to ask for further advice which was promised and ignored. No PR
Tale of a Bookworm wrote: "Hi!! I live in KL, never bought anything via amazon :/ so.. it says my account does not qualify for submitting reviews. any idea what I should do???"Check out your Profile to ensure the box marked REVIEWS is checked.
Sheila wrote: "SundayAtDusk wrote: "Sheila, did Amazon ever respond to your last e-mail?"No, they didn't respond. I went on Chat a week later (10 days ago)to ask for further advice which was promised and ignore..."
How weird is this? I just went on amazon.co.uk and it accepted my review after weeks of refusing them.
Was it because I changed my password???
Okay, who were you dealing with--AmazonUS or AmazonUK?No, I don't think a password change would have anything to do with the situation . . . as far as I know.
SundayAtDusk wrote: "Okay, who were you dealing with--AmazonUS or AmazonUK?No, I don't think a password change would have anything to do with the situation . . . as far as I know."
Ditto. Sounds like a coincidence to me too.
I had this exact problem a few weeks ago - Amazon refusing to accept my reviews because they “may be biased”, and all my old ones disappeared. I was very annoyed. My reviews are certainly not biased! Tried to contact them by email a few times and had absolutely no response. I was even more annoyed by then. I’ve spent a fortune there over the years, have Prime, and have worked hard on writing many carefully thought out book reviews. Posted on Twitter about how annoyed I was, how I was a longstanding customer etc and felt very let down by their poor service. Amazon replied and lo and behold, a day later all my reviews magically reappeared and I’ve had no problem since.Edited to add that I have stopped putting any reference to NetGalley in my reviews since I’m sure misunderstanding about that was where the problem arose.
Okay, was it Amazon in the UK or the US that caused you problems?
This happened to me too on Amazon UK. I started the thread. My reviews are now back in place and all well but I wasnever given an explanation.
Hi Sheila, no I never got an explanation either. I can only assume my connection with NetGalley was misinterpreted as some form of evil corruption!
It may have been a glitch as they wiped out my LISTS too but they sorted that out on CHAT quickly. As suggested by many it could be cos of the ARC NetGalley although I heard on the grapevine that they may take over NG and GR???!!! I think it was over a month before my reviews were reinstalled. I also had a high-handed email back in April/May that I had violated their rules and not to email them again after I asked how & why. I've been with them since 2002. Would you believe the next thing Amazon Publishing on NG put me on auto- approve?!!!
I always put Net Galley in my Amazon reviews. Amazon has been feverishly attempting to stop fake reviews from posting, and so anyone that reviews on their site but didn't get the book from them gets a hard look, especially if the review goes up on or soon after the publication date. Seeing that it came to us via NG actually provides more credibility. Awhile back, Amazon erected a prominent message saying they were no longer accepting book reviews from unverifiable sources, and I flipped out a bit and wrote to NG's help page. I received an email from NG saying that Amazon had been contacted, and that Amazon actually was fine with NG reviews, because that is a verifiable source. And sure enough, my posts always go up--though they don't let me include the link to my blog, and if I used any blue language, including inside a quote, they won't post it until I take it out.
I am not sure what if any distinction is made for UK reviewers. I am in Seattle, and so have never encountered the problems you have mentioned.
Sorry, we are unable to accept your review of this product.
Your previous review of this product did not comply with our Customer Reviews Guidelines. Amazon does not permit reviews from customers whose relationship to the product or seller may be perceived as biased.
This notice keeps happening and hardly seems fair to authors if I'm unable to spread the word about their books. Anyone explain why this keeps happening?