These day , most of the product on Amazon ’s on-line marketplace is n’t actually from Amazon . Anestimated56 % of all products sold on the chopine come from third - party Peter Sellers . Now , these sellers are n’t supposed to be able-bodied to e-mail their Amazon client direct , and doing so outside of Amazon ’s prescribed channel breach the platform ’s terms of serve .
However , a interest newWall Street Journalreport shows that some sellers are still finding ways to get in ghost with buyers and hunt them about editing or delete their negative reexamination , and some companies even pop the question “ email descent ” and “ reviewer lookup ” services so vender can hunt down unsatisfied customer .
One such customer the Journal address with is New Yorker Katherine Scott , who said she left a electronegative review for a kitchen petroleum spraying bottle that she bought in March after the product did n’t work as push . A week by and by , someone claiming to be a customer serve rep from the seller reached out via email to extend her a repayment in exchange for delete her limited review .
Photo: Denis Charlet (Getty Images)
When Scott require for a refund but refused to take down her review , she received an electronic mail from another representative offer her $ 20 , double what she paid for the product , to delete it . She welcome several more unwanted emails over the next few calendar month , all beleaguer her to take her review down .
“ It was so creepy-crawly . They emailed me right away about it over and over , ” Scott told the outlet .
At least a dozen other customer reviews for similar production mentioned that the seller achieve out and pressured them to revise their negative limited review . “ Product does n’t work and ship’s company will get at you till you exchange critique , ” one customer wrote , the Journal report . “ vendor provide $ 20-$30 to cancel negative inspection , ” said another .
Screenshot: ZonBoost (Gizmodo)
Another Amazon customer , Ben Hendin of Tulsa , Oklahoma , told the outlet that a seller reached out to him four times after he impart a disconfirming review of a finger splint . To stress to convince him to delete the reexamination , the seller go along upping the repayment amount , eventually touch $ 40 , more than replicate what the splint toll .
When it come to sharing info with third - political party sellers , Amazon only releases “ customers ’ personal information related to those transactions with that third party , ” according to itsprivacy notice . Qualified sellers have the alternative of using Amazon ’s buyer - seller messaging service , but that use a unique encrypted e-mail name and address rather than the customer ’s personal email .
“ We do not apportion client email name and address with third - party trafficker , ” an Amazon spokesperson told Journal .
Amazon’scustomer product review policiesfor marketer explicitly prohibit them from necessitate a client to change or remove their review . seller are also banned from offering “ a repayment or other compensation ” to a commentator in interchange for editing their review .
As for how the seller flummox her e-mail reference , Scott told the Journal she had a theory . Her Amazon package come with a “ free giving ” cut-in for a cooking thermometer that incite her to infix her email address and purchase order ID , she said . This kind of insert is also against Amazon ’s policies , a company representative told the Journal . Hendin enounce he asked the seller directly about how they got his touch information , to which the illustration reportedly replied : “ party boss found it through social software program hunting for names . ”
There ’s ostensibly enough demand from sellers that companionship have begin offering services explicitly dedicated to finding contact info for unsatisfied customers . One company the Journal investigated , Matic Chain , reportedly offers an “ e-mail extraction service for Amazon trafficker . ” A troupe representative order the outlet that it combs through Google and social medium to match a vendee ’s name with their contact info .
Another company that offer similar services , ZonBoost , openly boasts about it on its site . As screenshotted below , it advertise a “ Reviewer Lookup ” tool where , for just $ 60 a pop , you could secure in the link to the Amazon review and ZonBoost foretell to “ bump you those buyers ’ name & personal email with 100 % accuracy ! ” ( Technically it ’s 60 “ credits , ” but each credit costs one dollar . )
“ The information source of all of our characteristic is Amazon ’s database , which guarantees 100 % accuracy ! ” reads the tool ’s Q&A page .
After the Journal strain out to Amazon about Scott ’s experience , the listing , seller , and sword all melt from the platform , grant to the outlet .
“ The issue you ’re highlight was discover by our internal cognitive operation , and the appropriate enforcement actions were taken , ” an Amazon spokesperson say the outlet . They continued :
“ Amazon provide a great deal of help content , proactive coaching , warning and other aid to sellers to secure they remain compliant with our understandably stated policies . We have clear policies for both reviewers and sell partners that nix revilement of our community feature , and we freeze , ban and take effectual action against those who violate these policies . Bad player that attempt to abuse our system make up a tiny fraction of activity on our internet site and we utilise advanced tools to combat them and we make it more and more unmanageable for them to hide . ”
So what should you do if a trafficker tries to pressure you into changing your inspection ? An Amazon voice tell the Journal that customers can report them by emailing[email protected]or snap the “ Report Abuse ” link on the critical review Thomas Nelson Page .
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