At the bottom of every product page on Amazon sits a collection of user reviews that serve as a resource for those who need a second opinion before making a purchase. And while regular customers write many of these reviews, there are also plenty of others who receive free products in exchange for their perspective. The following video shows the positives and negatives behind this system and how Amazon tries to filter out the worst offenders.
Questions:
- Do you think it is ethical for companies to offer free products to consumers in exchange for Amazon reviews? Why or why not?
- Why are “word-of-mouth” reviews on sites like Amazon so important to companies?