Amazon sues several web sites for 'phony' reviews
Amazon is suing several聽websites it says offer fake, positive reviews of products that are for sale on its own site.
The lawsuit, filed in Amazon鈥檚 hometown of Seattle, demands the websites stop the practice, which Amazon says deceives customers and gives an unfair advantage over other sellers who aren鈥檛 trying to game the system.
鈥淲hile small in number, these reviews threaten to undermine the trust that customers, and the vast majority of sellers and manufacturers, place in Amazon, thereby tarnishing Amazon鈥檚 brand,鈥� the suit says, according to聽.
The sites targeted in the lawsuit include buyamazonreviews.com and buyazonreviews.com.聽聽
The suit names Jay Gentile, of California, as owner of buyazonreviews.com. The paper says he did not respond to a request for comment.
But Mark Collins, owner of buyamazonreviews.com, defended the practice.
鈥淲e are not selling fake reviews. however we do provide Unbiased and Honest reviews on all the products,鈥� Collins wrote in an email to the Times. 鈥淎nd this is not illegal at all.鈥�
His site promises customers that they 鈥渃an have unlimited 4 and 5 star reviews this week.鈥�
鈥淥ur skilled writers look at your product, look at your competitor鈥檚 products and then write state of the art reviews that will be sure to generate sales for you,鈥� it further states.
On the crowded Amazon e-commerce landscape, it can be difficult for some products to get noticed. The site鈥檚 algorithm gives priority to products that have received multiple reviews and even more clout if those reviews are from users who are active on the site.
The lawsuit says the websites sell reviews for $19 to $22 per review.
It accuses them of聽of trademark infringement, false advertising and violations of the Anticyber颅squatting Consumer Protection Act and the Washington Consumer Protection Act. The suit says the sites use Amazon鈥檚 name and logo illegally, as well as having names confusingly similar to Amazon鈥檚 own.
The suit, filed Wednesday, is believed to be the first time Amazon has gone after purportedly fake reviews in court.
An Amazon spokeswoman told the paper that it does not comment on pending legal action.
Doug Gross is a staff writer covering personal finance for聽. Follow him on Twitter聽聽and on聽.
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