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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2007 > April > 04
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Bogus book reviews on Amazon.com?
Investigative journalism requires some digging. If I don’t know the answers I begin to ask questions.
The other day I was sleuthing around on Amazon.com. I noticed that there was a mild uproar going on where customers post their reviews. The top customer reviewer on Amazon, Harriet Klausner, seemed to be attracting a number of dubious comments for her reviews.
So, I put up a post last Thursday expressing my puzzlement with the situation. As you can see, that post elicited a slew of comments.
Suddenly, I had all this information being poured forth by commenters. Her critics were scathing, they say she cannot possibly read all those books and that her reviews are poorly written. They said many unflattering things about the #1 reviewer on Amazon.
They also pointed to another Top Ten reviewer, a fellow who calls himself “Gunny.” They say that he is another bad reviewer who doesn’t read the many books he claims to be reviewing. He reviews many expensive, highly technical books.
He is a bold one indeed. It was pointed out by commenters that “Gunny” writes reviews and then sells the same books he supposedly reviewed on Amazon as “unread.”
As I have stated previously, I have a great deal of respect for Amazon. These seemingly bogus reviewers would seem to be a liability for Amazon.
I cannot prove any of these allegations but the evidence is compelling. Each new comment adds more detail to this ugly picture.
As a journalist, I’m wondering, does Amazon know that two of their top reviewers appear to operate with some questionable ethics?
Should the appearance of impropriety on the part of these “book reviewers” be a cause for concern to the largest on-line bookseller on the planet?
What do you think?
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