Author:
they took down my review double-quick!
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Date Posted: 22:03:16 03/12/02 Tue
Author Host/IP: spider-we061.proxy.aol.com/205.188.195.46
In reply to:
Cici
's message, "Re: Anyone checked out Amazon.com reviews lately?" on 00:19:33 03/03/02 Sun
>OK, I know I’m opening an old wound here, but has
>anyone checked out the Amazon.com’s “reviews” of
>Rebel Heart lately? The book has like a 4 ½ star
>customer rating, and I’m convinced most, if not all,
>are written by Der Buell. It’s funny, it’s so
>obvious—the writing’s the same, and most are like a
>press release for the book. Very sad and pathetic,
>because like it matters.That ain't going to ever sell
>your book, babe!
Actually, the sad thing is that, I've noticed, the glowing reviews do bump the book's sales rank up a notch. Then when the people suckered in by those reviews post their own reviews saying how unbelievably bad the book is, the sales rank goes down a notch. Until the bad reviews are taken down, that is.
All of which tends to make me think that Bebe probably didn't have to twist Amazon.com's arm too much -- not when pampering her delusional ego also means pumping up their bottom line.
I doubt her book is the only book (or other product) they do this with. For example, while on Amazon.com, I somehow clicked on a link to the page for the memoir/manifesto of David Duke, the Ku Klu Klansman, white-supremacist politician, and all-around professional racist. Now, I'm not comparing Bebe to David Duke -- if David Duke is like cancer, then Bebe is more like a big, nasty pimple. But, my point is, David Duke's book got 4 and a half stars, too, with nary a negative review to be found. Is it that everybody just loooved his book so much? Yeah, I'll bet!
Who knows how often they do this. My feeling is that they probably making a habit of slanting the reviews -- after all good reviews are money in their pocket -- but it only becomes obvious in extreme cases, like Bebe's.
I sure don't feeling like writing up my little Bebe/Amazon.com experience for Publishers Weekly. I couldn't make it sing. The whole thing just left me feeling stupid for taking Amazon.com's "customer reviews" halfway seriously in the first place.
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