I tend to review only when I really love or really hate something, so I've tried more recently to make it a point to review mehh things, like the amber necklace I got for Mal which was what it was but didn't do anything for us.
Over the years, I've written 45 reviews, and some have been voted "helpful." One, especially got some attention and landed me in a book.
Because of these helpful votes and my what seems to me paltry review count, I'm in the top 20k reviewers on Amazon. I think I used to be higher, and am considered a "top reviewer."
A great deal of Amazon's credibility and trustability, I believe, comes from their customer reviews. They're given a cursory going-over before they're allowed, but Amazon doesn't weigh in favor of something by not allowing negative reviews. And authors/sellers can't delete reviews. It's brilliant.
However...
A couple of years ago, I started getting requests via email to read a book the author would give me for free in return for my posting an honest review. At first, I tried. I really did.
The first book I read... It was this one. The Story of the Sparklefly.
"Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 21:42:19 -0400
"Subject: Please Review My Children's Book (portion of proceeds to support Children's Literacy Programs)
"Hello,
"I got your email address from Amazon's top reviewer list as well as preschool websites. Being a top reviewer myself, I know you get many requests for reviews, so I really appreciate you taking the time to even read this email. For the past year I have put my heart and soul into a very special children's book about dragonflies. The first in this series (The Story of the Sparklefly about dragonflies) that will teach of love including self love, love for nature, love for each other and more, is finished. Even if you don't have children, feedback I've gotten from adults has been great, as they love it too. It seems to bring out the child within and help you to look at things in a new light. My book is free until Sept 3rd and I wonder if you might help me and give me an honest review. It's a very quick uplifting read. I can't tell you how much I would appreciate it! A portion of profits will go to help with children's literacy programs so I hope you'll consider helping me promote the book with the help of your review.
"Thank you!
"Mary Leckie"
I responded to her rather than leaving a review; I thought it would be kinder.
"Mary,
"Thank you for the invitation. However, I don't think you want for me to review your book on Amazon. I downloaded it and read the beginning, then skimmed the rest... and while I appreciate your effort, quite frankly, the book does not work on several levels.
"I've read your responses to several of the reviewers and you seem very defensive about your writing. I understand: when you put time and effort and love into something, it becomes your 'baby' and it is easy only to see and believe the best about it. Unfortunately, when one takes to writing as a profession, one has to learn to be ruthless in changing or cutting what doesn't work, and the beginning of that means being willing to listen to honest feedback and to implement it with a passion for becoming better.
"It is my opinion that what you have published is not a 'story' at all, as it doesn't meet the generally-understood standards of a story, namely some kind of arc that includes conflict, climax, and resolution. Instead, this reads more like a verbal painting. You're creating a world out of words, and that's saying something, but you need to coax an engaging story out of it. I understand that there is positivity and love and belief in magic and all of that, but it isn't enough. It's like being hungry for dinner and only getting the frosting off of a cupcake. I love frosting, but I'm hypoglycemic, and if I don't get something of substance, a little bit of sugar is just going to make me sick.
"One of my biggest problems with the book is that you do not properly punctuate, use consistent tense (or other grammatical structures), or appropriate capital letters. For someone who is wanting to support children's literacy programs, this seems like it would be essential to the mission.
"I urge you to find a professional editor for your book. Not just for the grammar issues, but because a professional editor will be able to pinpoint where you have missed out on opportunities to punch up the plot. The feedback of someone who knows the market will be invaluable.
"I wish you the best of luck, even as I believe you jumped the gun publishing this book. If you can implement some of the feedback you solicited in asking for reviews, that'd be a great start.
"Best,
"Laura"
I never heard back from her, but you can click on the "comments" and see how she responded (i.e. defended her choices rather than take anything to heart) to some early reviews.
After a couple more book requests, I made it a policy never to read those books. They were unanimously awful. But I started getting more and more requests for reviews.
Eventually, they started including product reviews. Some of the free stuff has looked cool, but the couple I've gotten were underwhelming once they were in hand. The cats ignored the playscape someone sent me. I felt bad leaving a "we put catnip in it and they still couldn't be bothered" review, so I didn't. Then I felt bad about getting free stuff when I didn't fulfill my end of the bargain.
It got to the point that I was receiving upwards of thirty (30!!) requests a day for reviews in exchange for free -- or, in some cases, DISCOUNTED (like I'm going to pay you for something I didn't know I wanted just so I can work for you??) -- items and books. Thirty a day.
There is no way to set up a junk filter using the address, because they're sent from individual people and I don't want to put key words like "sample" or "review" in a junk rule because sometimes vendors I use on purpose ask me to review my order or offer samples, and I want to get those emails!
I Googled several things, like "How can I stop getting review requests on Amazon?" and similar, but all I ended up with were tutorials about how to solicit feedback when you're selling on Amazon. So, yeah, the opposite of what I needed.
Eventually, I went into my profile, hid my email, and put the following note.
That did nothing to stem the flow. I ended up contacting Amazon and explaining my predicament to them. The response was that they understood my need for privacy, would make sure that my email is hidden, etc. And it kind of slowed down for a few weeks, but now it's getting back up to half a dozen or more per day.
So, I'm not writing any more reviews. I'm hoping that soon, I'll drop out of the Top 20,000 and people will leave me alone. But I think there must be an old list out there that sellers can purchase, anyway, because they can't be getting my email from the current website anymore.
Basically, Amazon seems unable to protect their reviewers from harassment, and this is a huge disservice not only to customers, but to their own infrastructure. Maybe some people don't mind dealing with junk mail to that extend every day, but it really really gets on my nerves.
Anyone else had this issue? Anyone else successfully dealt with it? I welcome advice!
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