Amazon plans to issue a warning label for frequently returned products so other customers would proceed cautiously before making a purchase.
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The warning labels have reportedly appeared on several third-party listings fulfilled by Amazon. According to The Verge, the new system will hopefully encourage sellers to be more honest about the quality of their products and reduce free returns from customers. Amazon’s return policy allows customers to return new and used products for up to 30 days.
Amazon spokesperson Betsy Harden said in a statement to The Information that the company is showing return rate information on their website to help customers decide what to buy. The company also released a tag that displays how many units of a product have been sold. However, the ‘frequently returned’ tag will be slowly rolled out as Amazon didn’t reveal when it’ll be available outside the United States.
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It was also revealed that some third-party sellers use fake reviews to boost their products. The Verge also reported that Amazon was cracking down on sellers targeting Facebook groups and asking members to write positive reviews in exchange for free products across the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
“The fraudsters behind such groups solicit fake reviews for hundreds of products available for sale on Amazon, including car stereos and camera tripods. One of the groups identified in the lawsuit is “Amazon Product Review,” which had more than 43,000 members until Meta took down the group earlier this year. Amazon’s investigations revealed that the group’s administrators attempted to hide their activity and evade Facebook’s detection, in part by obfuscating letters from problematic phrases.
Amazon strictly prohibits fake reviews and has more than 12,000 employees around the world dedicated to protecting its stores from fraud and abuse, including fake reviews. A dedicated team investigates fake review schemes on social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, and regularly reports the abusive groups to those companies.”
However, some customers feel that the company should stop selling cheap products in general instead of using the tag. One Twitter user wrote, “someone associated with a famous vacuums cleaner brand told me that customers buy fakes from amazon and when it breaks they return/repair for warranty, only to learn that the product was a fake.”
They should fade out reviews after 2 years or weigh them differently. Recently saw a product with a top review from 2009.
— Raj – PlanMoreTrips.com (@planmoretrips) March 28, 2023
How would this work in categories like clothes/apparel, I guess customers may buy 5 and return 2/3 based on size/texture/feel.
— Chidambar Kulkarni (@chidambarsk) March 28, 2023
That is a great idea. Won’t solve it: I had a frequent return & it was due to an error in the title. Despite the title being correct on another @Amazon site they wouldn’t believe it, me, buyer FB/review, their own pack shots or the physical product they had on FBA to fix it! 🤷♂️
— Phil Jeffcock 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 🐳🆔=🐘🆔=@mastodonapp.uk (@PJeffcock) March 28, 2023