Amazon says that it prohibits negative reviews that violate community guidelines, including by focusing on seller, order, or shipping feedback rather than on the item's quality.
I've always really disliked this policy, especially on items that are shipped by the seller instead of fulfilled from Amazon. Say you want to buy some of those Japanese Kit Kats that come in unusual flavors (at least to the American palate). Feedback that candy from Seller A arrived stale or melted and that candy from Seller B arrived in great shape would be helpful. I don't need yet more reviews of the product in the abstract, I need information about what condition it will be in when it arrives at my door, and seller practices can absolutely influence that.
I purchased an item advertised as "fulfilled by Amazon" with Prime shipping. However, when I tried to return it, the seller insisted I pay $56 for overnight shipping. After returning the item as requested, the seller refused to refund my money, claiming the item had been opened, which wasn't true.
(But how do you prove it wasn't opened after the fact, especially when they have pictures of it opened? Shady!)
When I wrote a review detailing my experience, it was removed the next day because it focused on the seller's return policy. So now, I'm not only out $100 for the AC sensor itself but also $56 for return shipping. What's worse, I can't even warn others about the seller's shady practices.
My review included screenshots of the seller's communication, but all of it was removed. This allowed the seller to falsely imply they offer free returns when they clearly don't.
I'm frustrated that Amazon didn't provide real support and simply told me to use the seller's return system. And then to have them also censored my review... that all just leads to a junky experience for future buyers who won't have a full picture.
Compare this to Costco... ugh. Anyway, look I just want a human at Amazon to remember how much I spent there, and be like, "Oh great, we see you've had an account for 25+ years, we value that, we'll take care of you! We don't want shady sellers on our platform!" But... nope.
Comments
I've always really disliked this policy, especially on items that are shipped by the seller instead of fulfilled from Amazon. Say you want to buy some of those Japanese Kit Kats that come in unusual flavors (at least to the American palate). Feedback that candy from Seller A arrived stale or melted and that candy from Seller B arrived in great shape would be helpful. I don't need yet more reviews of the product in the abstract, I need information about what condition it will be in when it arrives at my door, and seller practices can absolutely influence that.
I purchased an item advertised as "fulfilled by Amazon" with Prime shipping. However, when I tried to return it, the seller insisted I pay $56 for overnight shipping. After returning the item as requested, the seller refused to refund my money, claiming the item had been opened, which wasn't true.
(But how do you prove it wasn't opened after the fact, especially when they have pictures of it opened? Shady!)
When I wrote a review detailing my experience, it was removed the next day because it focused on the seller's return policy. So now, I'm not only out $100 for the AC sensor itself but also $56 for return shipping. What's worse, I can't even warn others about the seller's shady practices.
My review included screenshots of the seller's communication, but all of it was removed. This allowed the seller to falsely imply they offer free returns when they clearly don't.
I'm frustrated that Amazon didn't provide real support and simply told me to use the seller's return system. And then to have them also censored my review... that all just leads to a junky experience for future buyers who won't have a full picture.
Compare this to Costco... ugh. Anyway, look I just want a human at Amazon to remember how much I spent there, and be like, "Oh great, we see you've had an account for 25+ years, we value that, we'll take care of you! We don't want shady sellers on our platform!" But... nope.