https://www.rt.com/news/438586-amazon-bribes-delete-reviews-china/
No bad reviews? Amazon employees might have deleted them for bribes
Some Amazon employees have reportedly been bribed by sellers to remove bad reviews of products sold through the online retail giant. The average bribe is around $300 per review, with most of the demand coming from China.
The retail giant has launched an internal investigation into the shady practice, with a probe ongoing since May, when Eric Broussard, Amazon’s vice president, was reportedly notified of the problem, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The transactions were facilitated by middlemen who used the messaging service WeChat in China.
Citing people familiar with the scheme, the WSJ reported that it costs around $300 to delete one review. However, brokers prefer to trade wholesale, with the minimum number of reviews for removal standing at five.
Depending on the type of data and its volume, the brokers also charge between $80 and $2,000 for coveted data.
Up for grabs are internal sales statistics, including keywords, as well as an option to delete reviews or buy customers’ email addresses.