How to be a More Savvy Amazon Buyer, Looking Out for Suspicious Reviews

As a published author, reader reviews on Amazon are pretty important for me in a few ways:

• Getting reader feedback (especially constructive criticism)
• A dopamine burst that comes from reading a positive review
• Helping drive sales when potential buyers see positive reviews

It really bothers me when I see other authors with suspicious looking review patterns for their books.

Suspicious patterns include:

• A flood of 5-star reviews that are all posted within a few days of the book's release, with no other reviews to ever follow
• The 5-star reviews have similar language in them, often with superlatives that seem way more enthusiastic than a normal review (Best! Must read!)
• The reviews are written in a very familiar tone, almost referring to the author as if they are a close friend or family member (because this is often true)
• The reviewers have never reviewed any other book or Amazon product
• The reviewers have only reviewed books by that same author

Having suspicious reviews doesn't mean the book is bad... but buyers need to beware and dig deeper before buying.

When looking at reviewers, be sure to click the "see all my reviews" link next to a reviewer's name. You might sniff out suspicious patterns (no other reviews or reviews only of that author's books).

It's striking (or funny) sometimes to see a 1-star review from a reader who is spitting angry after they bought a book that had nothing but 5-star reviews... I've seen reviews that call out the author for having a "large friends and family" network, implying the other reviews are not earned legitimately.

As a shopper, you can also look for reviews that are tagged as verified purchasers of the book. These could still be "fake" reviews, but most of the suspicious reviews are missing this "Amazon Verified Purchase" label.

Another great tip (from a reader named Remco, who commented below) is to use the Amazon "Look Inside" feature to actually read a bit of the book yourself. Or, get the Kindle book preview (which you can view on your computer or on the web, even if you don't have a Kindle device or app).

As an author, I have never asked friends or family to put up reviews just to game the system with reviews that weren't earned. I don't promise people free copies to entice them to post a 5-star review, but I do follow the standard industry practice of giving away free review copies in advance of publication to get "endorsement blurbs" that are included in the book and on the Amazon page, but don't factor into Amazon star ratings.

There are many unethical practices related to book reviews (and product reviews), so, as always - "buyer beware!" When I've reported suspicious looking review patterns to Amazon before, they haven't done anything about this. I think it's an important issue for Amazon to address for the sake of their credibility with buyers and customers.

Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the “lean healthcare” methodology. Mark is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen. His latest, The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen will be available later this month. Learn more about Mark’s on-site and public workshops. He is also the Chief Improvement Officer for KaiNexus and Mark blogs most weekdays at www.LeanBlog.org.