Refund for a review - Scam?

there are other things you could review

ie, they might say ’ if you do not dive, then say that, but you can still review functions, quality, ui, price, reputation, waterproofness in a bathtub, etc ’

wle

I already covered that.

I turned it down also. I’d probably accept for a light I wanted, but my review would state that I got the light in exchange for the review.

I feel the average Amazon flashlight customer could actually benefit from a BLF member review. It could help them separate the crap from the garbage. As long as the company doesn’t say it must be a 5 star.

That (receiving merchandise in exchange for the review) is a direct violation of Amazon’s rules.

So a person is damned is they do or damned if they don’t….

From a “safety”(?) standpoint, there’s near-zero risk doing a review on Amazon. They screw you on the rebate, you return the item, get back your bux, and can then be free to trash the product as much as you want even out of spite. So it’d be stoopit of them to not give you that rebate or whatever.

Best, though, is to make sure that it’s something that you’d want to keep for yourself (or at least give as a gift). If it’s something you don’t want, and would likely just throw it out, you’re not doing anyone any favors by reviewing it. I got a few queries about reviewing items I had no interest in, and politely declined.

More important, though, is to try to ascertain if it’s good enough for you to be honest in your review. If it’s a “10000lm zoom AA tactical light” that looks like a mutant SK68, there’s no way you can give an honest review, let alone 5 stars. 100lm, maybe if you’re lucky, but… How can you not trash it in a review?

So assuming it looks nice, fits the description, seems honestly advertised, and is something you think you could honestly review, why not? (Repetitive word in there is “honestly”, so if there’s anything that seems deceitful, just pass, and don’t wrestle with your conscience. It ain’t worth the grief.)

One thing I’ve done in the past is to stress, “Okay, but I’ll do an honest review, is that okay?”. If you get the “No, we want 5-star!” demand, just pass. Say thanks-but-no-thanks, and don’t respond any more. Those are typically the 10000lm zoomie products, garbage, so don’t even bother.

Curious which is “brand S” everyone’s going on about, though. :laughing: Ofirn? Unwayman? Treamlight? I feel so left out…

That’s what I did, in a utility sink. :laughing: Okay, so maybe not diving, but at least snorkeling.

Those dive-lights are quite nice, though! No problem giving them a great review. After I reviewed one I bought another on my own dime.

I read they do not pay until the return window is closed to protect themselves from that.

In order to get paid, you need to post a 5-star verified review and be stuck with it.

I just got a request from Wurkkos, so given the timing, that might be what the OP is referring to. As per my usual, I responded:

I haven’t gotten a response (it’s only been a few hours), but it’s a dive light that looks a lot like my Sofirn SD05, so I’m interested in it.

S is probably sofirn

as far as getting paid for an ‘’approved review’’, at least on amazon, you can delete or edit your review at any time…

…if you were really mad at company “S”, or whatever.

That makes sense from their point of view. The more I think about this the more annoyed I get. I guess I shouldn’t think about it.

At the same time I begin to doubt whether or not I am even going to bother giving this company any good reviews even when I am very happy with something I have spent my own money on. We’ve established that they have rather loose morals so why would I want to give a positive review, even if genuine, when I know that any other 5 star reviews on any of their other products may be bogus?

Do you have a source for that?

I have no problem with this idea… however… it goes against Amazon policy. The idea is a verified purchase gets more weight in the grand scheme of things.

The article that I linked to states “Amazon has banned giving away free products in exchange for reviews”.

In this case where they refund or pay you via PayPal they are circumventing Amazon so some folks will look at that as gray at worst. However violating the intent by other means is still shady.

People being are okay with this sort of thing, taking part, helps explain some of the issues we have in this country and others. Sure, if I don’t take part it may not be noticed, probably will make no difference. But for me, it is the right thing to do, or not to do. I’ve said enough.

from https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201967050

The following are types of reviews that we don’t allow and will remove:

A review by someone who has a direct or indirect financial interest in the product.
A review by someone perceived to have a close personal relationship with the product’s owner, author, or artist.
A review by the product manufacturer, posing as an unbiased shopper.
Multiple negative reviews for the same product from one customer.
A review in exchange for monetary reward.
A review of a game in exchange for bonus in-game credits.
A negative review from a seller on a competitor’s product.
A positive review from an artist on a peer’s album in exchange for receiving a positive review from them.

Whoa! Screw that.

Any comped (and often not fully, either, because I don’t have an account linked with PP, so PP takes its vig right off the top) reviews I ever did, I got the rebate or whatever it’s called right after the item shipped, or at worst shortly after it was delivered. I don’t think I ever had to wait for a review to even be posted, let alone past the return window. (That to me seems to say they’re confident enough in the product to not hold anything hostage on you.)

I understand those “review clubs” do that (waiting ’til past the return window), though. So I’d have to wonder what kind of crap is being sold that you have to be backed into a corner before getting comped.

Nah, if I posted a review, I’d expect to see the comp within a few days. If not, I’d ask about it, what’s going on, etc., and if still no joy, screw it, I’m out, I’m returning the doodad well before the window closes.

Direct from Amazon to all sellers in a “Newsletter”:

Policy Reminder: Product Packaging and Inserts
Customer reviews help customers make informed purchase decisions and are a great source of suggestions about how to improve your products. Authentic customer reviews help new customers find and evaluate your products before purchasing. We want to remind you that Amazon policies prohibit box inserts and product packaging that direct customers to write a positive review, even if no incentive is offered for the review. Similarly, directing customers to contact you instead of leaving a negative review on Amazon is also prohibited. Please ensure your product packaging and box inserts are compliant with these policies before shipping your products to a fulfillment center or to customers. If you have products that are already in fulfillment centers and are in violation of Amazon’s policies, you can create a removal order to proactively remove your inventory.

Haha you are very naive because most reviews are like that.

Yeah, but that’s buzzfeed. Not exactly a trusted source for, well, anything.

Uh, yeah, I wasn’t really asking you to send me the link I already posted. That doesn’t say that Amazon has banned free products in exchange for reviews.

Since Amazon specifically states “monetary reward,” that completely leaves open the prospect of in-kind rewards like free merchandise.

So, once again, do you have an Amazon source that says giving away merchandise for reviews is banned?

Are we talking about the same thing? If there’s something in there that bans sending free merchandise to reviewers, I don’t see it.