# Does Amazon.com erase bad reviews? Would doing so be illegal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 24, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-amazon-com-erase-bad-reviews-would-doing-so-be-illegal/358072 "2006-05-24T20:00:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-amazon-com-erase-bad-reviews-would-doing-so-be-illegal/358072/21 "2006-05-26T03:39:16Z")
From a fair number of reviews I’ve seen on that site, I don’t really see it as one of their practices. There are plenty of reviews that are put up there–good and bad reviews, both–that have exactly zero to do with the product supposedly being reviewd, but rather are posted based on the reviewer’s agenda. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-amazon-com-erase-bad-reviews-would-doing-so-be-illegal/358072/22 "2006-05-26T03:49:34Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Because they are, at the very least, misrepresenting products to their customers. It’s the equivalent of “grand opening/closing” sales when nothing is actually on sale, and the store isn’t closing. Or making up movie reviews. I think this is petty fraud. How are they misrepresenting their products? They post their products for sale, and then someone posts a favorable review. How can it be fraud when (a) the product is actually for sale, (b) the positive reviews are actually posted by someone who feels that the product deserves a positive review, and (c) the company is not making up the review? ---
**Author:** ![Taran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Taran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taran)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-amazon-com-erase-bad-reviews-would-doing-so-be-illegal/358072/23 "2006-05-26T04:38:15Z")
Because although each interview is an interview, the set of interviews does not represent the people who have chosen to write reviews, but those who’ve chosen to write good reviews. Thus, it isn’t a collection of user reviews, as they claim, but something rather narrower. If they’re deleting a significant percentage of non-trolling negative reviews, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Taran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Taran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taran)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-amazon-com-erase-bad-reviews-would-doing-so-be-illegal/358072/24 "2006-05-26T04:39:45Z")
“interview”? God damn it. I even previewed. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-amazon-com-erase-bad-reviews-would-doing-so-be-illegal/358072/25 "2006-05-26T12:41:22Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > What makes you think that? I wouldn’t suppose you have a cite for that? 🆒 > > Maybe _you_ assume that, but I certainly don’t. I absolutely consider the reviews if I’m thinking about purchasing a book, though more important than whether they give high or low ratings is _why_ they rated them that way, because it gives me insight into whether _I_ may like it or not. But you’re already considering the book when you read the review, so the number of people reading them are inclined to buy. Also, for every book you didn’t buy because of the reviews, there are readers who bought them because of or despite the reviews, so any influence is a wash. I’m actually quoting from Jim Macdonald. Major publishers don’t care a bit about what the reviews are at Amazon; a good or a bad one does not affect their sales in the slightest. ---
**Author:** ![Stereo\_Isomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Stereo\_Isomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stereo_Isomer)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-amazon-com-erase-bad-reviews-would-doing-so-be-illegal/358072/26 "2006-05-26T13:38:12Z")
Do they erase them, or do they not post them to begin with? I seem to recall that when you submit a review, they have to approve it before it actually appears. I recally this because they negative reviews I have submitted never appeared in the first place, despite the fact that they were reasoned and did give explanations. ---
**Author:** ![\_len](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/c0e974/32.png) [@\_len](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_len)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-amazon-com-erase-bad-reviews-would-doing-so-be-illegal/358072/27 "2006-05-27T00:59:07Z")
I’ve asked (and Amazon has) removed obviously incorrect reviews from a book I co-author. The person posting the review had posted dozens of almost identical reviews the same morning on items ranging from cookbooks to Pink Floyd CDs, I suppose in an attempt to boost their reviewer status. The reviews were gone within the day. Does Amazon remove bad reviews from its books (or its better-selling books)? They haven’t deleted the handful we have on ours, so I doubt it. Len [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-amazon-com-erase-bad-reviews-would-doing-so-be-illegal/358072.md?page=1)