# Amazon Fake Reviews Verified Purchase? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635 "2013-05-17T23:30:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pauly1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a8b319/32.png) [@pauly1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pauly1)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/1 "2013-05-17T23:30:05Z")
I know there are lot of reviews from people on amazon who post fake reviews. However, what if they have the amazon verified purchase under their name. Does that mean its 100 percent legit? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/2 "2013-05-18T00:55:34Z")
The folks who post the reviews HAVE purchased the product. It doesn’t mean that the reviewer isn’t employed by the manufacturer of the product. It also doesn’t mean that the reviewer is a friend, cousin, neighbor, etc of the manufacturer. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/3 "2013-05-18T02:40:10Z")
It’s been my experience that Amazon fake reviews (and fake online reviews in general) are always pretty easy to spot. They’re decidedly unrealistic sounding. Instead of reading like a real person describing their experience with a product, they sound like ad copy. Often somewhat amateurish ad copy, which just adds even more to their ‘fakeness’. They’re usually full of awkward, gushing superlatives that normal people would never write in a review. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/4 "2013-05-18T02:48:23Z")
> [@Mr.Slant](#): > > The folks who post the reviews HAVE purchased the product. > It doesn’t mean that the reviewer isn’t employed by the manufacturer of the product. > It also doesn’t mean that the reviewer is a friend, cousin, neighbor, etc of the manufacturer. Yeah. Amazon can verify that a customer purchased the product they’re reviewing. But there’s no way, and could be no way, of verifying in all cases that what was posted is the reviewer’s honest opinion or that the reviewer has no connection whatsoever to the manufacturer/author/artist. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/5 "2013-05-18T04:50:49Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > It’s been my experience that Amazon fake reviews (and fake online reviews in general) are always pretty easy to spot. They’re decidedly unrealistic sounding. Instead of reading like a real person describing their experience with a product, they sound like ad copy. Often somewhat amateurish ad copy, which just adds even more to their ‘fakeness’. They’re usually full of awkward, gushing superlatives that normal people would never write in a review. How do you know there aren’t other fake ones that aren’t so obvious? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/6 "2013-05-19T01:07:47Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > How do you know there aren’t other fake ones that aren’t so obvious? I don’t. But, and this is just an educated guess on my part, I wouldn’t be surprised that when companies \*\*\*do \*\*\*use phoney online reviews as a form of advertising they would do it in a decidedly unsubtle, unsophisticated way (lots of ALL CAPS and exclamation marks!!!). Sort of how infomercials are, being that the target demographic for these types of ‘ads’ are people who, ahem, lack subtlety & sophistication. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Cat\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Little\_Cat\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Cat_Z)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/7 "2013-05-19T03:50:33Z")
Not all products deserve real reviews. Like [this one](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046XYVMA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0046XYVMA&linkCode=as2&tag=natdee-20). If it wasn’t for fake reviews, it wouldn’t have no reviews at all.\* \*I know this is not grammatical. I am trying to sound bluesy. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/8 "2013-05-19T17:10:26Z")
Is this something like the Three Moon Wolf Shirt, or Home Circumcision Practice Kit? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/9 "2013-05-19T18:28:18Z")
I recently discovered that they are fine with me posting a “Verified Purchase” review for an item I returned. So one could buy, fake review and return items for little or no money. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/10 "2013-05-19T18:29:30Z")
I think all it’s good for is discouraging casual trolls from being taken seriously if they decide to spam a ton of screwball reviews. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-fake-reviews-verified-purchase/658635/11 "2013-05-20T02:37:57Z")
I’ve bought a lot of stuff online over the past ten years or more, and phoney reviews are like the Supreme Court & obscenity: I can’t specifically define it, but I absolutely know it when I see it… 😃