Trying to ascertain why certain book reviews stick—while others disappear—has been an exercise in frustration for years now
A history of book reviews at Amazon would be a long one indeed. But a good place to start in somewhat recent history is 2012, the year of the John Locke paid-review scandal. A bestselling and high-profile indie author championed for his amazing success, Locke was found to have cheated the system. He wasn’t the only one, of course, and paid review services were easy to find and use at the time. For a look at what now feels like a quaint chapter in Amazon history, read this good New York Times piece.
After paid-review practices received heightened media coverage, Amazon started purging reviews from its site, but it never explained its methodology. And so it has been ever since. Because there are no clear statements from Amazon as to why they delete certain reviews (Amazon often simply points to their terms, which we’ll get to later), rumors abound in the author community. It’s said that Amazon will delete reviews from your Facebook friends, Twitter followers, and anyone else they see an online connection to—or that they will delete reviews that are short and meaningless. But there is no actual proof of these theories; exceptions exist for every theory floated. Nor is there clarity as to how Amazon makes these decisions or what connections they’re drawing.
One thing’s for sure, though: Amazon prioritizes verified purchases. Because of this emphasis and the greater likelihood that non-verified reviews won’t stick, the paid-review industry has simply adjusted its practice to pay people to become verified purchasers. Amazon battles those, too—and has sued those who write and facilitate paid and fake reviews—but the general outcome is that the site’s reviews aren’t always trusted by consumers. You can even find websites such as ReviewMeta that try to assess how much of a product rating is faked. (It may work to some extent, but it can be flawed when it comes to books.)
Amazon may be feeling the heat more than usual after a recent Buzzfeed piece revisited the review problem at the site. Authors have reported seeing significant numbers of reviews disappear from their books, which indicates Amazon is tweaking its algorithm for identifying illegitimate reviews. Established authors have witnessed this kind of purging before—and have also seen reviews reappear inexplicably. Our guess, based on conversations we’re seeing in various author groups, is that Amazon’s algorithm tweak was faulty and has now been corrected. Authors have seen their review counts return to normal.
Bottom line: This latest brouhaha aside, authors are in a difficult position with the “verified purchase” review designation because of the longstanding publishing custom to send out free and advance review copies to street teams, professional reviewers, bloggers, and others in the industry. While Amazon’s terms for leaving reviews have allowed for this practice to continue—specifically for books—it’s very noticeable how non-verified reviews get de-prioritized at the site; verified purchases almost always rise to the top. Many authors worry that, in the long run, the non-verified reviews will disappear altogether. If you’re unaware of Amazon’s review policies, be sure to read our item that explains the most important points.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
