Moral Question

[Scarlett]

I wrote a review on Amazon and gave the item 3 stars. The company then emailed me and offered me £40 to remove the review! I thought this was pretty bad, since it meant they were bribing their reviewers with money so that only the good reviews remained on the site. They said they were a small company and reviews meant the difference between them staying in business and going under. I am torn. I feel I should remove the review and not take the money. That way it's good karma all round. What do you think?

[237SJ]

I would ignore it. I bought something from ebay (not expensive) and it wasn't fit for purpose and I said as much on feedback. The seller tried to bribe me with a free product if I changed my review which is against the rules on Ebay. He was lucky I didn't report him to Ebay which I would have if he pursued the matter.

[Maydup]

In hindsight, was your review reasonable? If so leave it there for the benefit of others. Personally I wouldn't take the money or remove the review. I would rtaher not deal with a company who cannot provide a five star service or product, and we need to be able to trust reviews.

[Mozz71]

Well, £40 is £40!

[Mamyalynne]

If your review was an honest appraisal of the Company/Purchase - then do nothing.

[ummmm]

I never leave bad reviews.

I once read a 1* review because someone noticed a loose roof tile.

Reviews can kill a business.

[Arksided]

With your next purchase give it two stars, they may up the ante.

[Theland]

Always tell the truth.

[Arksided]

It might only be worth two stars.

[ummmm]

So many people expect 5* service for 1* prices.

[jno]

if you think your review was fair - the product was okay, not too expensive but nothing special, or something along those lines - then it's fair to leave it as a warning to other buyers. Not a warning to avoid the seller, just a warning as to what they can expect.

But be sure in your own mind that your rating was right. What could they have done to merit four or five stars? If you think they had room for improvement, then three is fine.

And if there's room for improvement, they should concentrate on improving rather than bribing.

[Smowball]

Have you read other reviews?

[barry1010]

I would write another review stating that the company offered money to remove the original review. I have no tolerance for such bad practice

[rowanwitch]

I would report them, some people rely on the reviews.

[MartinMillar]

Report them to Amazon attaching the email offering the bribe.
I read the reviews before purchasing a new item and would be miffed if they were bribed to give good reviews on substandard items.

[Old_Geezer]

The way to get good reviews is to ensure the product and service is worthy of it. Bribery, in order to effectively have an incorrect picture to those relying on the reviews, is unacceptable. Assuming your review was fair, rather than removing it, the offer to do so should be reported to Amazon. Then you get good karma.

[bhg481]

If you accept the money you can never trust an Amazon review ever again because you will know that some of the reviews are false and you won't know which they are.

[douglas9401]

If you take the money you're selling Amazon customers down the river.

[aelmpvw]

revues? when it comes to amazon i just go with the flow

[Old_Geezer]

That way you'll just end up at sea.

[woofgang]

I would report them to Amazon but I don't need 40 quid....its easy to take the moral high ground in my circs.....