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Most people rely on user reviews to skim through the thousands and thousands of products in Amazon search results. Those reviews play a vital role in purchase decisions, especially when dealing with an unfamiliar seller or unknown product. But what if all those five star reviews aren’t real, or legitimate reviews are being squelched by an unethical competitor?
Amazon kicks yet another budget electronics brand off the store
Choetech is the latest to be pruned, after other tech companies like Aukey and RavPower
Another month, another victim of Amazon's increased scrutiny. Coming on the heels of takedowns for both Aukey and RavPower, search results for Choetech's lineup of chargers, USB-C hubs, and cables have mysteriously gone blank. While we can't say for sure what happened here, it seems like another case of Amazon issuing removals for companies not following the rules.
Amazon delists RavPower, TaoTronics, and Vava as its crackdown on fake reviews continues
All three brands share the same parent company
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Fake reviews are a real problem in online commerce. If you're trying to shop for a new gadget, you're bound to look at customer feedback to see the real pros and cons of real-world owners. A month after cracking down on fake reviews from Aukey, Amazon has returned to continue cleaning out its storefront. This time, RavPower, TaoTronics, and dashcam company Vava have all found themselves in the hot seat, as all three companies have disappeared from the world's largest marketplace.Though Amazon started with RavPower on Wednesday, the delisting expanded to include TaoTronics and Vava on Thursday morning. All three brands share a parent company in Sunvalley, specializing in various consumer electronics like chargers, headphones, USB lights, and more.Just like with Aukey, Mpow, and several other brands before it, these takedowns spawn from promised gift cards in exchange for leaving reviews for products sold on Amazon. After posting, users could contact the provided email address with their order ID and review URL to score some free cash. Amazon's actions come just a few days after Nicole Nguyen of The Wall Street Journal ran a story about RavPower's offer included with her charger.[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/nicnguyen/status/1405202548760334339[/EMBED_TWITTER]While actual buyers do leave these reviews, Amazon doesn't allow incentivization in its store, considering these posts just as "fake" as any other scam. It's a shame to see RavPower delisted for its review strategy since its products are genuinely excellent, especially for the price. I personally own a RavPower charger and power bank, and both have served me well over the years. Unfortunately, this could be it for yet another major seller on Amazon. After all, it's been more than a month since Aukey was banned from the site, and its products have yet to return to its store page.
Aukey products disappearing from Amazon amid fake review allegations
Records of the practice surfaced on a freely accessible server earlier
Aukey is among our favorite brands when it comes to affordable and powerful chargers, but some evidence is mounting that legitimate reviews might not be enough for the company. A 7GB data leak on an unsecured Chinese server (spotted by SafetyDetectives) exposed a number of Amazon sellers offering customers free products in exchange for favorable reviews, and it looks like Aukey is one of the companies caught in the middle of this scheme. Amazon has taken action and removed almost all products sold by the company.Looking at Aukey's Amazon page, you'll quickly notice that almost all products it sells have either disappeared or have a "currently unavailable" tag attached to them. The same is true for search. While a few products still show up, with some even available for purchase, you'll mostly only find offers from the competition.