I’ve
recently read a disturbing discussion on Goodreads. It seems some
readers/reviewers are taking advantage of the ‘glimpse of a book’ opportunity—a
growing trend with Amazon reviews. Some people are reviewing books based off
the 10% downloaded sample or from the “Look Inside”. The discussion on Goodreads
states that a few one-star reviews acknowledge their review is based off the
sample. If this is true, it affects the overall star rating.
According
to the person who started the discussion, she stated that during a 20-minute
browse session on Amazon, she came across five books that received a one-star based
off the sample. I spent about 15 minutes and didn’t find any.
If
this is truly a trend, and it continues, some of these so-called sample
reviewers might not even reveal it’s from the sample. I think it’s horrible
that people might want to boost their review stats on Amazon, or people are cheap
enough to read samples of books instead of purchasing them. To take the time to
give a poor star rating and review of a book you hadn’t read is shameful. Amazon
shouldn’t even be allowing such reviews. Reviews are important for all
products, especially for Indie Authors who are trying to build an audience.
Have
you heard about this new trend? Would you report an Amazon review if you saw it
was based off a sample?
Opportunity
and Robbery,
Bea
