Amazon Throws Down the Gauntlet

And so, like a whiny two year old on the verge of a major meltdown, the powers-that-be at Amazon have crossed their collective arms, stomped their collective feet and, simultaneously, stuck out their bottom lips.  Yes folks, Amazon has taken their toys and gone home, coveting the Vine program as it throws all other honest reviewing sites under the proverbial bus.  But what's that?  A loophole?  Of course!

So Bezos et al have decided that sellers can no longer offer discounts or free products in exchange for reviews.  Seems fairly straight forward, and yet the cracks in this plan are larger than those in Shel Silverstein's sidewalk.   All one needs do to skirt this nifty new policy is to offer the discount, watch for those who don't VOLUNTARILY review and cull them from the reviewing herd.  And yet, something tells me the policy will have a more chilling effect on the reviewing community.

The reality is this--Amazon needs only to crosscheck the promotional codes with the person publishing the review.  Receive a code and write a review and wham, bam, next thing you know you're on the outside looking in, without a single remaining published word on the site.  It doesn't matter that the seller didn't ASK you to write the review.  The upshot is that if Amazon pulls the plug on you, they can SAY you were asked.  Proof?  Who needs it?  Certainly not the head honchos at Amazon.  With a reviewer rank of just over 500, and over 1300 published reviews, someone there got a wild hair and decided I had a personal relationship with a seller.  Which seller?  Who knows!  What kind of relationship?  The kind that made my reviews unacceptable.  The kind that gave Amazonian asshats carte blanche  to summarily dismiss me without even a handshake or severance pay.

So while many of us were handed our hats over the past year, I fear a larger purge is just over the horizon.  I applaud those sellers who are turning to other sites, like Walmart, and entertaining more blogger input and reviews.  I like that they are playing by the rules but remaining proactive and basically saying "fuck you" to the Amazon gods.  I have to voice my distaste, however, for those sellers who are trying to lure honest reviewers like myself by still demanding reviews and offering substantial payouts to break Amazon's TOS.  If Bezos wants to pout and circle the wagons to protect his precious, severely flawed, Vine program, respect the ridiculousness.  It's his company, and nothing speaks to a company guru louder than a loss of business.  Begin to explore other avenues for your products, and those of us who review justly will follow you.

Happy reviewing!