Can You Really Get Paid to do Amazon Reviews?

Have you seen the ads on Facebook telling you that you can get free items for reviewing products? It thought it was time to look into this and see if it's legitimate or not.

[chocolatewhale]

I find that wholesome. He buys more of the lights because he actually liked them.

[thebasketballhistorian]

Conclusion:
Not a scam for reviewers.

Just a scam on the Amazon ranking and review system.

[djh]

"This is super sketchy. But I got the product.. But I broke the law reviewing it highly.. So I gave a disclaimer that it was a sponsored review.. But the free lights were great so I bought a set." Wild ride.

[matthewfarrell]

This was interesting. Mainly because I ignore 4 and 5 star reviews and head straight for the 1 to 2 star reviews. They tell a lot more about the seller and product. A lot of times its people who don't understand modern products and that some can be DOA but other times its a great way to narrow down a product.

[ThatOnionispog]

I like the lights. They are lighting up your whole office.

[Claudia-M]

This is exactly why I’m highly suspicious every time I see a whole bunch of 5 star reviews in a row.

[BeverlyHighland]

I once left a bad review on a product I bought and then got an email from the seller telling me that if I deleted my review I would be paid $10 more than what I paid for the item, but in Amazon credit. I told them sure, but if I didn’t get the compensation I would leave another review and mention their proposal. And they actually paid me. The only reason I agreed is because they didn’t ask me to leave a 5 star review instead, just to take down my bad review. I also made them promise to improve the product so others don’t waste their money, and they agreed. I don’t know if they actually did that though. I also got to keep my product.

[roguestowl]

That’s astounding! I thought there was no way they would pay you. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with paying for reviews, but it ought to be disclosed that there was compensation. So, I think you did the right thing here.

[thebasketballhistorian]

Seller: Link is not secure.

Seller then clicks on his IP address extracting link, lol.

[dservicesllc]

As an amazon seller myself, I once gave a free product to the first person that gave me a good review. I didnt ask him to give the review and he fully expected to pay full price. It was a Thank You for a product that I invented myself and manufactured and brought to market. It was my very first review and I got 5 stars. It made me proud of the work I did. So thank you. Reviews are everything and bad reviews will sink the ship. I can understand why it would seem worth it to for a company to pay for good reviews if they cant get them legitimately. You were very likely dealing with a legit import company with some shady ethics but in their defense, Its a dog eat dog world and sometimes you gotta show your teeth. Also fyi, If you clicked the link he sent you it wouldnt be considered a verified purchase and therefore the review wouldn't be accepted. You could have written anything about anything and amazon would approve it as long as its a verified purchase. AND--- I also have those same lights. 5 stars. AND.. love your channel, Keep up the good work.

[JoeBob]

The most dodgy thing to watch out for on amazon reviews is when people take an old product listing with a bunch of 5 star reviews, and then edit the listing and sell a different product on the back of the 5 star listings.
A good way to spot this is to look at old reviews and see if they match with the type of product. For example if the listing was for a TV, then you might see old reviews that say stuff like _"It came with free ink, it prints very quickly and the images are great!"_
Which would obviously suggest that the original ratings and reviews were for a printer, and not a TV.

[nailbitter]

I love watching your videos because I learn so much from them and you have a fun way to impart your information.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated to write this comment. Haha

[jaisondesai]

Didn’t he already post this vid before?

[squirrelupgrade]

Noticed that the video is only y minutes and 43 seconds, not 8 minutes so he doesn't get mid-roll ads. This guy is so wholesome.

[diyflamethrowers]

That find definitely sketchy, but many well-known brands do this. I have FIVE 3D printers a couple of feet away from me that I got for free (or heavily discounted) after leaving a review. The reviews I did for them were never "fake". I always would do a comprehensive review, and wouldn't lie. I always added a Pros and Cons section, and would relay issues back to the brand.

Oh, and I think I've received easily 20 spools of PLA and PLA+ the same way. I know it's against Amazon's TOS and frowned upon, but some will legitimately pay you back.

[Fisheee]

I bought a wireless keyboard, and the seller said if I leave a 5 star review, I'll get a $30 amazon gift card. The keyboard was $35, so I said sure, and left a positive review. To my surprise, the seller actually sent me an amazon gift card, but it was $28 worth, and I'm guessing it's because he converted from Yuan to USD. So yeah

[defeatignorance]

I bought the same lights for my daughter and step-son. I was very impressed. In fact, I was so impressed I have thought about getting them for my room because they truly change the atmosphere of a space. If more people would review honestly they wouldn't need to pay for reviews because they truly have an awesome product in those RGB lights.

Reviews are super important these days. The free market has never been freer when we can see thousands of reviews at the click of a button. But we must ensure those reviews are honest. Good products deserve to succeed, the bad ones do not. We have the power as the consumer but only if we are honest. A dishonest review might lead someone to make a purchase they wouldn't have if the reviewer was honest and didn't sell out for a free product.

I'm glad these lights had a 4.7 rating, I just wish it was legitimate...because it could be. The lights have stayed on 24/7 for months, do not increase energy consumption enough to notice, and have stuck to their walls when most things won't. They deserve 5 stars.

[chewcodes]

My Dad has done some of these reviews. They aren't scams; essentially they sent him the product to try, he was asked to leave an honest review (if it's bad he can say so) and then it's up to the company as to what to do with the product. We've reviewed a speaker and some cool earbud headphones. The speaker was meh, so we said so and we sent it back (they did give us a discount if we wanted to buy it, though), but the earbuds they let us keep. I suppose there are legitimate cases of this but be wary of the fake ones.

[allsp]

I have watched almost all of your videos, and this is that one that caught me off guard... Well done. I didn't see that coming!

[ChevyDude]

I was wondering where this video went. I was always wondering if a Community strike or Amazon issue.