Remember the mysterious disappearance of gadget vendors Aukey and Mpow, RavPower and Vava, as well as TaoTronics, TaoTronics, Choetech and TaoTronics? It turned out that Amazon deliberately yanked them, while vaguely referring to the sacredness of its user reviews. They were only the tip of an iceberg. According to The Verge, Amazon has now permanently banned more than 600 Chinese brands from 3,000 different seller accounts.
Amazon claims that this is the grand total after five months of global crackdown. A spokesperson for Amazon tells us that these 600 brands were banned because they knowingly, repeatedly, and significantly violated Amazons policies, particularly those around review abuse.
The numbers were reported by the South China Morning Post earlier, citing an interview conducted with an Amazon Asia Vice President on state-owned television.
The Wall Street Journals Nicole Ngyuen reported on how RavPower offered gift certificates in return for reviews. This led to Amazon's crackdown.
After my fake review, RAVPower, an Amazon-native electronic brand, has been removed from the listings.
For reviews on Amazon products, the company offered $35 gift certificates. RAVPower acted as a wholesale vendor on that listing.https://t.co/6nazZZ5Wtb pic.twitter.com/znp9u48YHV nic nguyen (@nicnguyen) June 16, 2021
This is the kind of card I have been collecting for years. Amazon has banned incentivised reviews in 2016. However, it is a complicated business. Some of these offers may be disguised as VIP testing programs or extended warranties. Others offer incentives only if you leave a negative review. They will give you a product free of charge or a refund, provided you delete the review.
Amazon Prime Day is today
Request:
For a story, please send me photos if you find insert cards in any of your new purchases. They don't have to be suspicious. pic.twitter.com/7337ookNPp Sean Hollister (@StarFire2258) June 22, 2021
Banning brands are losing their grip
Amazon's latest crackdown on Chinese brands is not yet clear. It is possible that some of their products will be able to escape Amazons net. Aukey was among the first companies to be banned in May. However, they were still selling earbuds as a sub-brand by July. You can still purchase a pair on Amazon today. I also found a Choetech wireless charging mat and a RavPower batteries. We have asked Amazon for information on its ban dodging policies. We will let you know our findings.
According to the South China Morning Post, in July, Shenzhen Youkeshu Technology, which is also known as YKS, reported that Amazon had shut down 340 of YKS' online stores and had frozen more than $20 million of its assets. YKS was described by the publication as one of China's largest online retailers.
Here's Amazons complete statement:
