- Because I’m tired of being used. Rate the Product. Rate the Packaging. Rate the Delivery. Rate the Shipper. Rate the Seller. Answer Questions to “Help Another Customer”….but post a Book Review? I get thanked for reviewing, and then the review comes right down, presumably because as a published author, I am a professional. (I have certainly never concealed that—my first book was published by Del Rey Books in 1981. I had at least 7 books in print before Amazon even existed.)
- It’s like the worst Loyalty Program ever. Amazon tracks your every move, buying, browsing. Asks for continual feedback. Makes horrible guesses as to what you might be looking for next. Wants you to rate a book you have not had time to read, and maybe share a photo too. There’s no compensation for your work, but Amazon constantly badgers you to do more of it. For them. For Free. I feel used, pestered, and stalked.
- All customers should be treated equally. I get that it’s customers reviewing for other customers. But let’s be fair—if I buy a book on Amazon, am I not also a customer? Why ask me to review and then toss the review away?
And who needs reviews anyway? As a customer, I am perfectly capable of deciding whether or not I want to buy an item. I don’t require—or put much stock in reviews. I don’t need computer-generated Recommendations to find a book, and I have learned that glowing reviews fail to tell me as much as a quick look inside the book.
So no more, Amazon! I will spend my time Reading, not Rating..
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