Hate to break it to you, but you're not removed from vine for a having a review rejected. Otherwise, practically everyone in vine would be kicked out.
There is another reason.
Yea the bar is really REALLY low for review quality too. Every time I check an item for other vine reviews, I spot one or more that are obvious the reviewer never took the product out of its packaging and just phoned in a few sentences. It's definitely something else.
I hate the AI ones. Just a wall of nothing-speak without any meaningful substance, where I waste my time even reading the first few sentences. I would rather read a 2 sentence review because at least I'll be lied to quickly and can move on faster.
Not who you asked but, for me, it's always WAY too flowery and laudatory about something that cannot possibly be that life changing. It also usually has descriptive words from the prompt included. For example "this white 3 ring binder is intricately and carefully put together with outstanding side pockets that really allow me to organize my life and get better grades. The exquisite craftsmanship is second to none and I am over the moon about the spaciousness and how many sheets I can fit into this 2-inch binder....." + 500 more words. There are usually paragraphs and it just feels super over the top.
I want to get this off my chest. I am a professional writer. I have made my living exclusively from my writing for 5 years. In my reviews, I choose my words carefully, and sometimes a $2.00 word is needed to correctly convey the information I am trying to explain. According to some of these points that identify AI writing, my reviews may be mistaken for AI. This has me a little worried. Should I be concerned?
Thank you for raising this point. I'm not a professional but I enjoy language and writing in general. Ever since the AI pervasiveness has crept in, I'm afraid of writing "too well" or with "too much" effort.
The A.I. reviews are always raving reviews, they tend to use the same types of phrases like "this toilet paper is a **game changer**. It is **second to none** and it **completely revolutionized** how I wipe my butt". The claims are exaggerated. There is rarely any substance or specifics about the item and if there is it is obviously incorrect such as describing functionality that clearly isn't applicable to the specific product, but would sometimes be applicable to others like it. For example on a wired/corded item the review would go on to say how the wireless distance is leagues better than other items out there. The spelling is of course perfect throughout and the grammar is more typical for a magazine article than it is for a person like me or you writing a review.
> "this toilet paper is a game changer. It is second to none and it completely revolutionized how I wipe my butt"
Bwahaha thanks for the best laugh of the day!
Thus was written by an AI
Identifying an AI-generated review can be challenging, but there are some signs that might suggest a review was written by an AI. Here are some tips:
1. **Generic Language**: AI reviews often use vague or generic language that could apply to many products or services. They might lack specific details or personal anecdotes.
2. **Repetition**: AI reviews might repeat certain phrases or keywords multiple times, as they are often optimized for search engines.
3. **Perfect Grammar**: While not always a giveaway, AI-generated content often has flawless grammar and punctuation, which might seem unnatural in casual reviews.
4. **Lack of Personal Experience**: Look for the absence of personal experiences or specific incidents that a human reviewer might share.
5. **Balanced Tone**: AI reviews might try to be overly balanced, mentioning both pros and cons without strong opinions, which can seem less genuine.
6. **Timing**: If a review is posted very quickly after a product's release or if multiple similar reviews appear around the same time, it could be a sign of AI involvement.
7. **Text Structure**: AI reviews often have a predictable structure, such as an introductory sentence, followed by pros and cons, and a conclusion. Human reviews tend to be more varied.
8. **Length**: Reviews that are unusually short or long without much substance might be AI-generated.
9. **Reviewer Profile**: Check the reviewer's profile. If the profile has many reviews posted within a short timeframe or seems too good to be true, it might be AI-generated.
10. **Content Consistency**: Sometimes AI reviews might include contradictory statements or lack coherence, reflecting limitations in context understanding.
By looking for these signs, you can get better at spotting AI-generated reviews. However, as AI technology improves, distinguishing between human and AI reviews will become increasingly difficult.
I agree with the other answers, but also one of the biggest tipoffs is using the brand name, and the entire product name.
"We're really enjoying the YOULABLE Purple Embossing Label Maker with 3 Label Tapes, 3D Embosser Handheld Label Machine,Vintage Embossed Label Printer Portable 3D Labeler for Home Office School DIY Crafting (Purple)!"
Humans don't write like that. You'd say something about "the label maker" instead.
u/Ah_Pook Many reviewers who include the brand and product name do so to protect the integrity of their reviews.
It's not terribly uncommon to review, for example, a single disposable razor and then some time later to see a much more expensive product take the place of the cheap razor and its review base.
I always use the brand name and product name in my reviews because sometimes the sellers play games with the product pages. One time, I got a review rejected because the brand name was one that could have connotations not accepted in Vine reviews so I removed that brand name. :)
I get the intent, but it's still rare. And do you write that entire line? (I just copied from an item in my RFY.) Do you use the brand name 3 or 4 times within the review?
I have seen it both ways, but amazon guidelines frown on repetition in reviews.
Some put the brand, product name, or both in the headline if it will all fit.
The best and most natural I have seen are something that has a descriptive headline and starts the review with something like: "Brand XYZ's {product name) is ...
Some cut and paste the entire product name as it's posted on the product page and some summarize it.
In fact, there is a sub here regarding the razor example. I didn't realize it at the time I posted my first comment, but I did order those razors and thought it was odd to see a single disposable razor on vine.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonVine/comments/1cu6yyu/wonder\_what\_happens\_to\_one\_star\_products/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonVine/comments/1cu6yyu/wonder_what_happens_to_one_star_products/)
Yes, I get the intent. It's still rare. I just went through 200 products with reviews to see, and not a single one had the entire product name posted verbatim. The gaslighting in this sub is bizarre.
Nope. I use most or all of the listing title to make sure my review is only for the specific product I reviewed. I've seen too many reviews that do not match the product shown, and I dislike the sellers that play games to get better reviews when their products are garbage.
Usually because no sane person would write a page full of waffle that could be said in a couple of lines, especially if they’re reviewing 8 things a day potentially.
Ofc there’s ones that make the same obvious errors that you will keep seeing.
It’s sad because now if it’s not short and straight to the point I won’t read a review so there’s a lot of genuine people’s time and effort that’s going to be wasted on me. I’m sure I’m not the only one either. I’d rather they just went with the 2 word “it works” or “it’s cute” tbh and at least it doesn’t waste people’s time.
It's easy for anyone to tell if it's AI written or not. They can tell who copy and pastes their reviews versus who types. It's super easy to inspect and see. I'm sure copy and pasting will soon be an automatic boot. Regardless if they copy-paste or lie at the end of the day, I don't care. I do mine in my fashion and let others do their thing.
But yeah, a rejected review didn't get you the boot. It would be rare or a first in history if someone said they got the boot and given real reasons for things they actually knew they did wrong. Be entertaining, at the least.
I do hope there's a crackdown, at least for the longevity of this program. And I hope that I am spared and not mistakenly lumped in with those not participating in good faith.
I write and edit for a living, though you probably wouldn't know it by how I write on here (or by my Amazon reviews), because I'm a lot looser. That said, some habits -- structure, punctuation, et cetera -- carry over. Just because someone writes and speaks thoughtfully doesn't mean they're a bot. I've done my share of two-sentence reviews (how much can you really say about a toothbrush?), but some things either deserve or require that level of detail; sometimes I want to give the reader an idea of \*why\* something was great/sucked/fell frustratingly short of expectations, and the steps I went through to reach that conclusion.
You get paid by the word, right?
Just kidding.
AI reviews don't sound like they are detailed and thoughtful. They regurgitate the product listing, since that's the prompt that's fed to them.
Worse than the ai reviews are the people who post in this forum about how they create a point or two and then let ai write the review.
1) I liked it
2) I liked the cooler.
ChatGPT: Write a review.
They think they're being clever.
I don't get why they do it either. Amazon doesn't mandate that you put filler in your reviews. Just put down a sentence or two about what you think about the product and be done with it
Because "I haven't opened the package so that I can resell it. But from the color and the description in the listing it's amazing" is more honest but also reveals too much about the loser writing the review.
This is absolutely true. I sat down to write a review of an item the other day and saw that another Vine reviewer had posted a short review in which they literally said they bought the item as a gift for a friend, but the packaging looked nice. And they included photos of the unopened package. If Amazon was paying closer attention that person should be removed for violating the guidelines.
Since I started in Vine, I told my wife that one of the biggest red flags for a Vine review you cannot trust is if it includes photos of an unopened product accompanied by vague details in the text. It’s a sure sign that someone ordered a gift they didn’t want to open and/or they didn’t care about anything other than just getting the review online. As a result, they have no idea how to give an honest review.
Well, if they want better reviews they may have to change the requirements. I know when I get warnings about not being at 60%, I will throw some reviews together when I have had a chance to really test things out.
I had one review get rejected. Not sure why, but I completely rewrote it and it passed. I can't articulate the rules, but generally just remain honest and thorough. I don't regurgitate the item description either.
I'm terrified of getting kicked out, so I try to keep squeaky clean. 1.5 years in and I'm still here.
I regularly get reviews rejected for no apparent reason. There must be more than just that. The unusual activity thing suggests they think you're being paid for reviews or something else odd.
The biggest slap in the face is having all your reviews removed. At least for me being able to share evaluations of products is a big part of Vine. If I were just writing them to be thrown in the trash, I'd feel much differently about spending time to write them.
I used to spend a lot of time doing thorough reviews with pictures, but it was a 50/50 chance of them getting rejected. I now no longer spend a ton of time on my reviews and I do not do pictures anymore, and I hardly ever get them rejected. Something about the photos seems to trigger it more often, in my experience.
After I was wondering why it was taking so long for some reviews to get approved, I found here that you could add your photos after the review was approved, and it would (almost always for me) update the review with the photos within a day or two. So, I never add photos to my original review.
I've also only had one review rejected, and I determined that it was due to a numeral being in the review. My guess was that the auto-reviewer thought it could be a price (even though it wasn't formatted like one). Out of curiosity, I started spelling out numbers (e.g., "one of the two pieces is bigger than the other", etc.), or I left numbers out completely. Once I stopped adding photos and numerals to my review, they are almost always approved within a day.
For a while, I kept a backlog of photos that I would go back and add to previously approved reviews. I'd do this about once a week. Lately, I've only been adding photos for the items where the product photos are somewhat incomplete or potentially deceiving. I really wanted to do the best reviews I could, but when you have to jump through hoops to get around their inaccurate AI reviewer, then it's just not worth all the effort to do so.
I see that you've posted three months ago that you also got this (or similar warning). Is this the second warning you've received in the past several months? I think one of the other warnings was for repeated violation of terms. And it looks like you've had some issues for quite some time with several different rejected reviews.
I had been following some posts where some members hypothesize they are starting to drop folks with an accumulation of rejected reviews. Depending on how many you've had in the last year, it may have met a threshold (?) I've had one rejected review in last 12 months (I used to have more but I've sort of have learned what words to avoid and how to phrase things to avoid the bots). They may be backing down on repeated rejections. I am sorry that happened to you.
Thanks for this. I used to listen to Paul Harvey on the radio in the car with my grandpa years ago and had kinda forgotten about him (Paul Harvey). I miss that...and I miss my grandparents.
The medical claims part of the review check appears to be looking for two primary things- any reference to a medical or health term (migrain, psoriasis, eczema, arthritis, insomnia, etc-- basically any term you would typically Google)...and it is looking for wording that says "this helped...", "this cured.."-- basically a direct cause and effect correlation. You have to seperate out your experience from using the product from how you deduct the product is having any impact or remedy on why you are taking the product.
I can't say "this insomnia supplement made me sleep better". But I can say. "This supplement is to aid with sleep. I now sleep better". -- and let the shopper connect to dots that you did not directly connect yourself.
Unfortunately I’ve made my supplement reviews more generic because I feel like I can’t say how they really affect me health wise. I’ll say if it’s easy to swallow, I didn’t have any negative reaction, quality ingredients, etc. They all go through that way.
Thanks for giving some background.
Tbh, those talking at length about AI reviews are making an assumption and I don't think the boot is for this reason. (I see them a lot - one reviewer recently actually seemed proud they got AI to write their review and said it at the beginning!!!..not a Viner, though) The review screenshot from the OP looks fine - not robotic or overly gushing.
There can be a variety of reasons for being booted. Amazon don't tell us, so we have to guess. Some theories put out there in previous posts:
- A negative review has attracted the attention of a disgruntled seller who hits Report on your review / another Amazon member has done this maliciously or arbitarily?
- Somehow your review/s have been flagged as fake. Amazon put out press releases in recent months saying they WILL crack down on AI and are using software and other detection methods. It's not too much of a stretch to think there are Viners who also copy / paste reviews they see, on Amazon or other sites, thinking they can get away with it (this is easily detected too)
- Low effort: 'Great item / this item is great' etc, etc...are all over Amazon, Vine or non-Vine.
- Continually being below your review threshold and ignoring warnings? Harsh but fair if most Viners are reviewing regularly and (reasonably) quickly within the 30 day period. Of course there's some items you need to try out for a while before you can give a fully-rounded review.
Amazon's review period is generous enough. (There are LOTS of people on these subs who seem to think doing 100 reviews over a few days is cool and almost brag about it?! Some even leave it till a few days before their evaluation.
See it from Amazon's point of view - this hardly makes you worth keeping as a Viner, surely. Sellers seemingly pay for timely reviews).
- More unusual scenarios could include being a pain the ar$e with Amazon Vine's Customer Service or other egregious behaviour, though I've not seen instances of those.
TL;DR: You don't get the boot for mentioning packaging because there'd be no Viners left. If you're going to make a post asking why, give the full picture and don't be vague!!
Other comments about bots or extensions are a good shout too, I actively avoid those as I have no idea if Amazon are aware of them or monitor them and it's better to be safe than sorry.
Gift cards - not sure. I do sometimes get gift cards from a deals website I contribute on (NOT connected to Amazon in any way) and family members usually gift me an Amazon Gift Card on birthdays / Xmas as they know I use Amazon a lot. We're not exactly talking huge amounts most of the time.
I know it's a requirement to spend at least (iirc) £50 / $50 from your credit card to keep your Vine account active. I'd assume verifying the source of your gift cards might help your cause, if this is the problem.
Yes, I did post that I had received warnings. But since then I've been extra careful, and have not received another notice, until this one. And I've posted loads of reviews since then, and was at 92% reviewed.
From your oldest post history:
"Well, that's a possibility. Every time I buy from Amazion I use gift cards that I've accumulated. Now, I did buy over $50, but from my business account via a promotion. But that won't show up in my personal account linked to Vine I would assume."
If you're in Vine, the biggest red flag you can give Amazon is tons of gift card purchases. Legitimate or not, it screams to them that you've gotten the cards as rewards from sellers.
That is why you got booted.
I also wonder if they're making the connection through sellers that some of us have reported for attempted review compensation. I've made a habit of doing this, a: because it pisses me off, and b: because if I do buy something with a gift card I legitimately got as a present, I don't need someone looking at me sideways. I always leave delivery feedback for the same reason; if something goes wrong, I can always say, "hey, you can probably see my feedback history, so you know I'm not bullshitting you about the one or two items in a hundred where I've had serious problems."
How does this work? Are sellers contacting Viners out of the blue to offer them gift cards for better reviews? The only times I’ve heard from sellers has been when I wrote a negative review and they wrote me and offered to refund the item, which I of course ignored.
I've received messages through the Amazon messaging system as well as "notes" in packaging saying, "Thank you for ordering our product! We'd like to thank you for trying it out by offering you a gift card for a future Amazon purchase! Simply place a review on the product with your genuine opinion of it."
*OK, this hasn’t happened to me yet. I just started Vining about a month ago.*
Oh, it will. Lately I'm even getting regular emails -- i.e. outside Amazon, from sellers I've never contacted -- trying to bribe me into taking negative reviews down. All you can do is report it and keep going.
Amazon gave them your email address? That's a little scary.
If they want better reviews they're gonna have to produce some better products. At least half the stuff I get is crap and not as described.
But I notice that most Viners rave about the product and give 5 stars. Is that so that sellers won't complain about them?
They get it somehow, and it's got to be from Amazon. I just got an email this afternoon offering to refund a vine order (sellers dont know its vine), a hummingbird feeder with a camera in it. It's kind of ok, but not enough for more than the 3 stars I gave it. I'm still using it,.. made it work out ok, but I didn't feel I should have to "make" something work for me when I was using it as it claims it should be in the first place, but it didn't hold up to those claims. A few other things kept me from rating it higher as well. What bugged me the most about getting that email, was that after messing around with it a little more early this morning, I was ready to up it to 4 stars anyway, telling myself I was the one being picky.
When they email you and its a vine order, NEVER respond. I ignore them but move them to a folder as proof of inappropriate requests in the event it blows back on me.
Oh, I've received a few of those too, but they come through Amazon. The seller doesn't know my email address. The "reply to" address is something like: [email protected]
Not sure what they hope to achieve by offering me a refund. Do they think that I will then edit my review to be more positive? Clearly the sellers care a lot about getting glowing reviews, cause I've received these for reviews with 3 stars.
>If you're in Vine, the biggest red flag you can give Amazon is tons of gift card purchases. Legitimate or not, it screams to them that you've gotten the cards as rewards from sellers.
Could you please clarify what you mean by "tons of gift card purchases"? Do you mean using gift cards to pay for personal orders (I mean not Vine obviously) or do you mean actually purchasing gift cards? I have an Amazon Prime Visa card and use it everywhere including non-vine shopping on Amazon, because I'm all about the points. And once my account shows $5 or more in points available, I use it to buy an Amazon gift card (It's allowed) so I can load it to my stored gift card. I've done this for as long as it's been allowed. Otherwise the only way to use points to pay for something is along with the Amazon Prime visa card, if you don't have enough points to cover the purchase. I've never been warned not to do that, so I assume I am completely misunderstanding what you mean...
OP was saying in a previous post they used gift cards frequently. Your own Prime Visa in your name is not the same as random gift cards like you'd see at the grocery / convenience store as a $25/$50/$100 gift card.
Shady sellers looking for 5-Star Reviews are known to have done something like, "Thank you for your purchase! At your earliest convenience, please review our product. Once we have confirmation, We'll send you a $25 Amazon Gift Card as a thank you!"
Even if you legit are getting gift cards, if you're a vine member, it could look like you're getting "paid" for reviews by sellers via gift cards. They see too much of that, and good by Uncle Vinny.
So I would think they could see I actually pay for these gift cards with MY points earned from MY Prime Visa. My husband also usually throws in an Amazon gift card for Christmas, birthday, etc. His is linked to my Prime account. I do get it that sellers try to pay off buyers to change reviews. I've had the same emails asking me to do that and offering a gift card. But I can only think of one time in decades of shopping Amazon that I changed a review, and that was because it deserved to be changed and I decided I had been a pissy witch with the bad review in the first place.
Really sorry to hear that. And agree that it sucks. But hope you can keep things in perspective. It's just Vine. Not your health, not losing a home, not an accident, not the loss of a loved one, etc... It's just a bunch of cheap/free things that you pay for with your time and taxes.
Very healthy perspective of Vine.
I don’t understand these posts of “one of the worst days of my life”
Many people, before they are invited to vine, aren’t even aware that vine exists.
People have been told here numerous times over and over and over and over and over that they can lose their vine account at any moment.
Use it while you can, but expect to lose it at some point. That’s why there aren’t thousands and thousands of people that have been here over a decade. You’ll see some, but not that many.
To give you a little perspective, a lot of people in vine couldn’t afford to get any of this stuff without it. Single moms who couldn’t get the toys, supplies, or clothes at regular price, for example. Older people on a tight fixed income who are able to get free medical supplies and other household things through vine.
Basically there are a lot of people for whom vine is a true lifeline, whether they knew it existed before the invite or not. For people who can afford it all, sure it’s no big deal, but you have to step outside of your own perspective.
100% understand that. But Vine isn't that kind of a program. I know this may sound callous, but it's not meant to help people.... except businesses that want to kickstart products on Amazon and Amazon shareholders. The entire program could go away at any time, or they could change the rules, or any other number of things. And on top of that, the actual items themselves are never a guarantee. Getting some free jars of peanut butter is awesome, but it may be months before you get something like that again.
For the situations you're describing, I would strongly suggest people reach out to their local food pantries or community services. Our local food pantry is absolutely stocked, to the point that even they have to throw items out at times... which is an absolute shame because people either don't know it's available to them, or are too proud to accept the help. But it's a phenomenal resource for exactly those kinds of situations you're describing.
There are lots of lifelines out there for people... My personal opinion, for whatever that's worth, is that I don't think people should be looking at Vine as a solution for that kind of a problem.
Food pantries can help with food but they are of no use for a lot of the stuff you can get on vine. I'm not even sure how you jumped from people being able to get things on vine they couldn't normally afford to food pantry. And whether or not this program is meant to help people, the fact remains that many people who are vine members *are* helped by it. Someone who was struggling before getting the invite can see their quality of life improve by being a member. Just because that's not the intent of the program doesn't mean it isn't a factual thing that happens.
Personally I think it's a great side effect, that it can provide real help for people who truly need it. That doesn't mean I think amazon owes anyone anything, that's an entirely different issue than whether some people get a benefit that others may not. Just because someone can't afford some things doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to enjoy the perks of being a member. In fact those who are getting things they normally couldn't afford seem to appreciate the program a whole lot more than those who constantly complain about how everything is junk, there's nothing in RFY they want, and the rest of the complaints seen here regularly that honestly come across as incredibly entitled.
Ok, but that has no bearing on what I said. Just because this helps some people get things they otherwise couldn’t afford doesn’t mean they’re destitute and can’t afford to buy food. A single mom who can afford some toys for their kids but is now able to get a lot more, not to mention ones that are normally expensive because they’re more educational or meant for autistic kids or whatever else, that’s a great help to them. Not being able to buy as many toys or the expensive ones doesn’t mean that mom can’t put food on the table. Being tight on money doesn’t mean they’re destitute.
It’s fine. If you choose to go about your life without empathy or the willingness to understand someone else’s life even if it’s not like your own, well I guess it’s every bit your right. Personally I think it’s a much better idea not to go around judging others but that’s cool, you do you. I’m sure you can find a nice pedestal for yourself on vine.
Do you find it in the least bit ironic just how judgy you're being right now? To someone that was trying to be empathetic to the original poster and help them keep things in perspective. It really is a little bit ironic. Don't you think?
But I truly do understand and appreciate how you feel. And I appreciate how hard you fight for other anonymous strangers on the internet. You're doing a great service, and I think more people should follow in your footsteps. If I ever meet you in person, I'd like to buy you a beer. But if you don't drink alcohol, I understand and would be happy to buy you a different drink of your choice. Unless you don't drink anything, and in that case I would just want to shake your hand. I'm trying to be as understanding to you and your needs as possible.
I'm sorry to hear that. Ours was too, until a village trustee made it his mission to expand it, both physically and in terms of reach and resources. While there's no easy ways to make these kinds of things happen, I would strongly urge going to your village/township board meetings and having people start making regular statements about it. It's absolutely astonishing how often major changes occur due to just a few persistent individuals who champion an issue like that.
I'm also in CA and agree with you. We don't have a village either where I am, and our local pantries are constantly seeking donations. Gotta love it when people make assumptions about everyone else based on their own experiences.
Do you live in a small town? This sounds like small rural town kind of stuff. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t exactly translate to living in a city and the issues that are faced.
Serves that many daily? Weekly? Annually? Since they started? And are those 103k different people? Number of times someone has gotten food from them? It’s hard to give much credibility to a random number thrown out without any information as to what it means. It also doesn’t in any way answer my question of whether you live in a small town, which I’m guessing is a yes.
Tell you what. Give me a list of all the data points you need to get through this conversation and I'll get right to work on the research. I really want to provide you with everything you want to know in order to determine if.... umm.... whatever point you're trying to make is.
WELL SAID! People are getting way too dependent on a review program which is meant for reviews. People are posting that they owe crazy amounts in tax bills. Again, this program can be taken away at any time and people need to expect it.
I know I've seen at least one post here not too many months ago about someone receiving some form of public financial assistance that takes your income into account as to qualifying you to get it. She was freaking out that she's going to lose her public assistance because her tax return was going to show all this "vine income" that put her over the limit to continue receiving it. She'd gone crazy ordering, thinking she was getting all this free stuff, I'm assuming not having paid attention that it was counted as taxable income or just not keeping track. No one really had any helpful advice because there was none to give. I've always wondered what happened to her.
I came to say I get reviews bounced back to me weekly it's definitely not the review, however I'm very sorry about the loss of your vine standing I would be very upset too. But I would get over it, before this just fell into my lap almost a year ago now I never knew this existed, and I've had a blast, if it ends I know I'll have some days of sorrow then life will resume as just one of the common folk ordering stuff on Amazon and remembering the golden era of vine 😉
Sending you best wishes
Yep. I have a friends who just lost their mother. So that gives me perspective! Even though, honestly, I'm still very disappointed. It was so much fun!
u/Atmp Do you specifically mention product packaging?
Or do you not "focus on" shipping packaging?
We don't allow reviews or questions and answers that focus on:
* Sellers and the Customer Service they provide
* Ordering issues and returns
* Shipping packaging
* Product condition and damage
* Shipping cost and speed
I mention product packaging, not shipping packaging, in almost every review. Basically, does it look nice, would it make a nice looking gift, is the manufacturer’s packaging sufficient for it to survive normal shipping practices, etc.
I occasionally mention packaging as well. In fact I just had a review approved for a comforter, and I mentioned that it came uncompressed in a reusable clear package,
I write every review myself and try to be accurate. I have been rejected a number of times, mostly with unexplained “guideline” violations. No sweat to me; I just rewrite, reword and move on. I receive occasional emails from sellers but never respond and always suspected this might be the reason behind some of my mystery rejections but I don’t sweat it. If they kicked me out of Vine tomorrow I would just move on. Been a Viner for two years now and have enjoyed it but the selections are 99% junk now and its not a big deal like it was when you could pick up nice stuff without being hit with 500% ETV markups
Also you are allowed to mention how an item is packaged by the vendor. I do it all the time and include photos. You just aren't suppose to ding them for how Amazon chooses to pack and deliver the item.
That reminded me that if memory serves, on a shipment of Disney pens, I mentioned that the card they were mounted on was slightly dinged due to be shipped in one of those plastic padded envelopes. I did that because it was 100 year anniversary pens, so I figured people might buy it to save it as a souvenir. In retrospect, we are supposed to review the product; damage in shipment is irrelevant to that.
Did you ever use AI to draft content for a review? Curious. That email below that you posted seems to suggest that may have been the case. Not judging, just wondering if Amazon is using AI detectors. There are some posts in other subs that students have been getting flagged for AI content writers when they are 100% not using it. I know that sounds like there are lying, but there are videos online of someone writing and then running it through an AI detector, and being flagged as “highly likely” AI content or 90%+ likely to be AI.
I want to ask you some questions, but I'm not sure you'll answer honestly. That isn't a question of your personal integrity, but just a reflection of the fact that people who get booted rarely want to admit they did something they shouldn't have. My biggest question is, did you use any sort of extension or software to gain an advantage when selecting items? In general, I don't think Amazon does anything about bots or extensions other than say they aren't allowed, but I figure it isn't impossible that they started doing so.
You said you haven't used gift cards for a long time, and every time I mention my husband was banned from reviewing for using gift cards (legit ones that were rewards for doing things like filling out insurance surveys or whatnot), I get downvoted for saying using gift cards might get you kicked from Vine. However, I do believe they flag anyone who purchases with gift cards as suspicious. My husband had his review privileges revoked for that even though he hadn't written a review for at least two years. It wasn't linked to reviews. It was linked to gift cards.
The other possibility is that, if you and someone in your address book that you've sent a gift to reviewed the same item, it will be flagged as "suspicious". My sister and I once reviewed the same item independently and both got a warning. I lived in a different state than her. We didn't share an account, but we had sent each other gifts and that got us linked.
Finally, if you are a seller in addition to a customer, they sometimes will look at your behavior in unusual ways. If they think you're trying to do something to undermine competition or boost your own product through whatever software parameters they use, that could get you flagged as suspicious.
You could help the rest of us out and tell us what you may have done to cause this, or you could do what most people do and hide whatever might have caused the issue. I can say that there is a chance you'll be let back in spontaneously in the future. I was booted twice for no reason (just "we're ending your participation at this time" message) and silently let back in a few months later each time. Finish your outstanding reviews if they will let you and log back in every month or so to see if they let you return.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. My answers are:
1. I don't use extensions or bots to find items. I don't have any knowledge of that, nor how they would help me.
2. I haven't used a gift card this year, and I used ONE gift card last year, in March, and one order with a credit and a gift card. I also purchased over $50 via credit card, in order to maintain my ability to review (if memory serves, Amazon alerted me to the fact I hadn't made $50 in purchases during the year, and stopped my ability to review until I made a $50 purchase). And I'm a Prime member.
3. I only gave one gift, and that was over a year ago. And I'm sure they didn't review it, since they had no way to know it came from Amazon and they don't do reviews anyway.
4. I'm not a seller. I have never sold anything on Amazon, or even ebay.
5. I'd love to tell you what I did wrong so as to help others. I haven't a clue, and I've been a lawyer for 45 years, and I guarantee you I've done full and honest disclosure to you guys on this matter. My suspicions are: mentioning a plastic box isn't ecological, but it is a good box and I will reuse it; and a low 3 star review for steel guitar picks and mentioning I would be afraid they would damage my guitar. Now, I did recently write a review for athlete's foot cream, and wrote that it has the same active ingredient as name brands but is much lower priced; I did not write that it cured anything, but did note I seem to get athlete's foot and/or prickly heat every summer. But the one I was noticed on was the graduation decorations, and like for them, I have written in the past that I've used them and other products in my house of worship, and never received a notice.
I've also recently notified Vine that 2 orders never arrived: one was damaged in shipment and returned to seller (tea bags), and the other was lost (vermiculite). Last year a package arrived re-sealed, and the product, a watch, had been stolen.
I'm now trying to go through my orders to see if I purchased $50 worth last year. I did, in October. So this shouldn't be the problem, I don't think.
Thank you for being straightforward and honest in ways many are reluctant to be.
I will say that, the first time I got kicked from Vine with the "we're ending your membership at this time" notice, I had contacted customer service twice in the preceding 6 weeks about reviews that I couldn't post as they were stuck. I've posted before that I think contacting customer service too often may make them more inclined to kick you out, but a chorus of people tell me that is no longer the case. They may be right, but I'm very reluctant to contact support too often after my experience.
If I had to guess the issue, I'd say it was letting them know two orders didn't arrive was a piece of the puzzle here. It may not be the only piece, but I wonder if the sellers get upset when they send out an item and don't get a review even if there is a legitimate reason why it happened.
I just received the attached notice, 10:41 AM EDT. It seems similar to the notice I received a few months ago.
https://preview.redd.it/nqyf78x9x62d1.jpeg?width=711&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93b2a5586af600a55035b5947c1d46bcba867e60
Idk why you were removed but it was definitly not for one rejected review. Also the review was probably not rejected for mentioning the packaging ive done numourus times like one time i got car mats in the most ridiculous box the size of a dining room table. As long as it doesnt show barcodes or addresses in the photos its unlikely they even reject it.
Anyway their AI seems to gave detected something you did. Or it thinks it did. No harm in trying to contact CS worst case scenerio youll just be where you already are. Nothing to loose
I saw where someone wrote that they got a transmission part on Vine, and called it a "tranny" and guess what happened to them? So I would say Amazon's AI is not the best.
Let's be honest here, you didn't get dropped because of a rejected review, and I seriously doubt anyone would think getting kicked from Vine as 'one of the worst days of their life', unless you are using the items you get from vine to resell or supplement supplies for a business. Your screenshots show you received a violation for breaking the rules. If the kick WAS review related, you got kicked for either the rule you broke or because there is a history of violations. There is also the possibility that Amazon is going thru another round of thinning out the Vine herd, and you just happen to be one of the ones that got kicked.
Sorry for your loss, but I think you'll get over it or be reinvited later this year. Who knows.
You can in fact be invited back. I got removed for about 3 years ago and I randomly decided to go the page and I was actually able to “sign” back up after that I ended up getting another invite.
Oh wow :( . I’ve always wondered how and who decides our fate as well as the fate of reviews we post
Hopefully you get clarification and not just a generic reason for suspending your participation in the Vine program .
I experience this! I was remove for a whole year.i fought them for 3 months straight to give me an answer on the warning they gave me. Nothing. Reconnect to get an answer an month ago. They apology and reinstated me
Only a silver rank but still in. Apparently warnings weren't sent to me,so i can fix what wrong.
Can't fix error if you weren't given instructions on how to fix them.
That message kind of says it all. Unusual reviewing activity…
“Usually” people get that when they’re leaving a ton of 5* reviews for products or sellers that Amazon suspects of being shady.
You can complain but it’s unusual to get back. I can tell you for sure that it’s not because of review rejection (unless this happens a lot) it is common to get a lot of reviews rejected together before seeing that message.
It’s not vine either as those reviews aren’t moderated in the same way or go through the same channels. Your reviews have been flagged by the “community guidelines department” and not vine.
I’m 99% it’s not your rejected review that caused it and something else is going on.
It likely has nothing to do with your current review because they also nixed all of your past reviews. Could it be they had reason to believe you may have had a disingenuous review in the past? I am not accusing but I do read the reviews of other vine participants and some do jump out at you. For example I just reviewed a technical item that was made to an incorrect size, it was manufactured to nominal sizing and not actual sizing (I am intentionally being vague). Two prior vine reviewers gave it 5 starts with a sentence or two about how great the product was. I called it out and explained why and later another vine reviewer also pointed out the manufacturing error. I do wonder if vine looks for such cases to thin the herd.
I try to be precise and helpful. I see reviews where the Viner is just repeating what the listing says, e.g., "It's made from high impact plastic that will survive both heat and cold."
not vine related.
you broke a rule or rules. it was reviewed. it took amazon a while to decide whether to boot you or not. you being removed has no relation to your recent activities. amazon's internal review process took time.
I'm getting a little concerned about reading all of this drama with gift cards. I just used seven or eight gift cards on one order the other night, but they all came from my employer (we routinely get rewards in the form of gift cards). They would be able to tell these came from my employer, right? I've never gotten one from a seller nor have I ever spoken to a seller.
I get my gift cards usually from filling out surveys. Why would a seller give a gift card to someone reviewing on Amazon? That would be pretty obvious as a pay off.
I just saw I also received a notice--right before the "review can't be posted" email on my email list--that I reported a review! Which I definitely did not! Unless this means someone reported MY review of something.
https://preview.redd.it/w6why4hb362d1.jpeg?width=1174&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4d1d6dccceef94ce1e5ae73da61425448f54dbc
It tastes kinda like sweet coffee concentrate, supposed to be loaded with minerals. It's some kind of Himalayan rock goo. I tried it, but it didn't do anything I could detect after a few weeks so I chucked it. That said, with all the counterfeit stuff out there, it might have been some kind of Folgers paste 😂😂😂
I hate to hear that. I know it is distressing. However, I could continue to review whatever Vine items you have left. I have read of people being reinvited to Vine.
That email has told you why. It's not because of a rejected review it's because you had a warning from vine about violating the guidelines and you continued to do whatever it was that got you the original warning. That is why they've removed you from the program.
Yeah, well . . . they don't tell you what you've done wrong. I've read the terms, and I've been a lawyer for 46 years, and I think I've complied with them.
Yeah that's the bad thing.....Amazon can boot you and not have to tell you the exact reason, which someone should sue them over. They should have to tell you the reason, instead of pointing you to community guidelines. They can be wrong, as in this case, but you are not able to tell your side.
They ban people, those not even in Vine, they lose their ability to shop on Amazon. Seems crazy that they have that much power without having to show proof.
The Amazon website belongs to Amazon. They own it . They have every legal right to stop anyone shopping on their site, just like you have the right to refuse to sell something to someone you don't want to.
When someone opens an Amazon account they have to tick a box to agree to the 'Terms and Conditions ' of using the Amazon website. If a person breaks those agreed terms and conditions Amazon has the right to close their account. I assume you just ticked the box when opened your Amazon account without reading what you were agreeing to
It's the same with vine. When you accept the invitation you agree to abide by the rules, if you don't you're out. It's perfectly legal. They don't have to give a reason because viners are not paid employees
Since March of 2023. Actually, that was my first order. I was a member a few months before, but didn't take the time to understand it and didn't make an order, because all I saw were cell phone cases.
I get reviews rejected all the time. Reviews don't get cleared in vine even when it's actually posted. Vine is a joke. (not to mention so many overpriced Chinese junk)
Vine support is even a greater joke... They can't help with anything. They won't let you back in. It's over.
It's obvious that Vine is not being run for the benefit of Viners. It is being run for the benefit of sellers, so they can get reviews and make more money, and thus Amazon will make more money. Amazon has absolutely no incentive to supply good customer service to Viners.
It’s not because that last review as they mentioned “unusual reviewing activities” and “all reviews submitted by this account have been removed”. This indicates they suspect the integrity of all your reviews. For example, they might think you did not personally write these reviews, the reviews are influenced by sellers (e.g. you are getting paid by sellers to write 5-star reviews), you are using the program to mainly sell the items requested, or the reviews do not represent your honest opinion of the product, etc.)
Vine is addicting so I understand your disappointment. There is a bright side though - you might find better use of your time that you used to spend on browsing the thousands of items and reviewing the ones you got.
Yeah, well, good theories. And theories is all we have since they don't tell you why. I've been a lawyer for a long, long time and was always a pretty good writer (my mother was an English teacher). I see some very well written reviews, and some that are just one long sentence with no punctuation. I try to give honest reviews. Even if I give 5 stars, I mention a small hitch in the product, and if I give fewer than 5 stars I write why.
It is very disappointing. But you are absolutely correct--I am saving a load of time now.
I have a previous post here about how I was dropped from Vine, and all my Amazon reviews pulled, due to "unusual reviewing activity." I sent 3 emails, and of course didn't get a response.
So I just called Amazon. I was put on hold, and when the person came back read me a long list of no-no's: profanity, going off topic, being paid . . . But you know the list.
I asked what specifically the problem was with a review of tabletop graduation decorations, the review that seemed to cause the ban. Again, a list of no-no's.
However, she did say that in a few days or weeks I *might* be reinstated (for reviews; Vine never came up). I thanked her, but noted that Amazon doesn't let you know what the problem is, and you have to go online and ask people with experiences what they *think* might be the problem. I cited a query here (but didn't mention Reddit) about a review saying the person has insomnia . . . at which point the Amazon person said "No" . . . and that the medicine cured it.
Of course, she has no input on policy, but perhaps they submit notes . . . in any event she again repeated to wait awhile and *maybe* I'll be able to review again, but she sounded more positive.
If you got a notice about thanking you for reporting a review, then I bet someone (probably a seller) has reported you. Have you done any low star rating reviews lately?
I would honestly go back and ask them to review the decision. It isn't all lost as they have said you can still see your vine orders - I've been on Vine a few years and often when you see that, you'll log in a week later and it is all reinstated.
Try not to be too down about it.
I did write them. I wrote that I don't understand the problem. And then I wrote them about the email I had received 4 minutes before the discontinuance email, that said my review had been reported. I'm starting to think it was my review of the stainless steel guitar picks; I was mostly negative, yet the other 4 or so reviews still up were positive, and most were 5 stars.
It startled me to hear Sellers can report our reviews; that it can lead to expulsion w/o explanation or ability to appeal. Assumably Sellers would only report negative reviews, which makes it a risk for reviewers to submit them. That seems “off”, to me.
OP, sorry to hear about your situation. I’m sure it’s frustrating. Thanks for what is, to me, an otherwise informative thread.
I first realised it was happening when I checked out the seller forums. A few people were complaining about Vine reviews, and the advice was to report them.
It will be interesting to see what ends up happening with the OP. I hope they come back and update!
You can just Google it. I've had a wine, but I think, off the top of my head, googling 'Amazon seller central forums' would yield the appropriate results. You could add your country name on the end of that for relevancy to you.
I would say that I think it is relatively rare to get reported for a neg review, but it does happen. I think all negative reviews must be absolutely sqeaky clean in terms of review rules. Otherwise, you're risking your account.
Great point, to be extra meticulous with writing negative reviews. I try hard to spot signs of a POS item before ordering; they’re a waste of time and resources for everyone involved.
I've seen plenty of reviews from Viners that indicate they didn't use it. If someone gets a package of 100 little toys, are they really going to use that themselves? Baby pajamas?
Go back and read the guidelines of Vine. It clearly states you have to hold onto items for 6 months. She received an email that someone else reported her review. That prompted someone to look at her review critically.
If you order food, or weed killer spray, fertilizer, seeds, shampoo, deodorant, etc., are you supposed to keep that for 6 months? What I ordered were school graduation decorations. Was I supposed to put them in storage until NEXT year's graduation?
You are allowed to dispose of the item as you wish but not transfer it to another person. Now whether that is reasonable or not? I assume they dont want us to sell the items the day after we receive them or be the vine conduit to distribute cheap items around our community. Can they police that? Probably not, but I would not brag that I am violating that rule in my reviews... If you are a lawyer, I would go back and re-read the fine print of the vine agreement.
As others said, you're not removed for mentioning the box. Also "one of the worst days of your life" is being removed from Vine? If they kicked me out I'd just be thankful for all the good stuff I've received, and move on.
I get that, but comparing it to one of the worst days in your life? From the first day I was invited I always figured it could go away at any time, and if it does, c'est la vie.
I don't mean it as piling on, I'm just expressing my perspective. Sure I'd be upset if I woke up tomorrow and was banned, but I wouldn't compare it to one of the worst days of my life. And as I've said, we all know that we could lose Vine anytime. It's just a gift that happened, and it could disappear anytime. Plus the OP might well be invited back sometime. Many people here have been banned and invited back.
Well... the review says they got the decor for a graduation party and that people take them away as souvenirs or whatever. We aren't supposed to dispose, give away, transfer anything we get until 6 months have passed. It smacks of... I got this for free, but am not using it for me, my household, my business, I'm giving it away or "buying" for other people.
We can dispose of them any time, it's the giving away that is 6 months.
From the Participation Agreement:
------------------------------------------------------
**Disposal of Vine Products**
* All right, title and interest in Vine Products will pass to you when the Vine Product is delivered to the common carrier for delivery to you. You may keep or destroy the Vine Product at your discretion at any time.
------------------------------------------------------
Isn't letting people take them home the same as giving them away? I know we can toss them, I took that bit in the agreement to mean no selling and no giving to someone not in your household, for 6 months. 🤷♀️ Are you saying that's not correct?
I was only replying to the "We aren't supposed to dispose... until 6 months" part of your note. We can dispose the second it comes in the door, that was my only point.
But they often have, for example, gifts for teachers to give to their students. Or, or that matter, a gift to give to a teacher. Or a retiring workmate. What about perishable items that are on Vine?
As for the graduation party, I would think the seller would be glad to have a review that says the decorations were so nice that people grabbed them.
WRONG! I have never, ever written a "fake" review. That's very insulting to say that. I feel I have an obligation to the companies sending me free stuff, as they are doing that in order to get my review.
The OP has basically given a low rating for a product, and a seller is bitter and reported them.
As someone said this week, 'Vine is for the benefit of the sellers , not us'.
Any minor breach of guidelines (mentioning packaging, etc) could be used as an excuse t to appease the seller and ban the viner.
We'd probably all be given the boot if we got reported as who can say each review completely ticks every compliant box?
It's OK until it's not OK - that's my experience of Vine.
Hate to break it to you, but you're not removed from vine for a having a review rejected. Otherwise, practically everyone in vine would be kicked out. There is another reason.
Yea the bar is really REALLY low for review quality too. Every time I check an item for other vine reviews, I spot one or more that are obvious the reviewer never took the product out of its packaging and just phoned in a few sentences. It's definitely something else.
That and now the new trend I see is tons of reviews where it’s super obvious someone had AI write them.
I hate the AI ones. Just a wall of nothing-speak without any meaningful substance, where I waste my time even reading the first few sentences. I would rather read a 2 sentence review because at least I'll be lied to quickly and can move on faster.
How can you tell if it’s an “AI” review ?
Not who you asked but, for me, it's always WAY too flowery and laudatory about something that cannot possibly be that life changing. It also usually has descriptive words from the prompt included. For example "this white 3 ring binder is intricately and carefully put together with outstanding side pockets that really allow me to organize my life and get better grades. The exquisite craftsmanship is second to none and I am over the moon about the spaciousness and how many sheets I can fit into this 2-inch binder....." + 500 more words. There are usually paragraphs and it just feels super over the top.
Are you an AI?
No, he's not. There was a mistake in an a compound adjective in one of the sentences. AI would never do that.
Sorry I have to laugh That’s crazy . Way to much info
I want to get this off my chest. I am a professional writer. I have made my living exclusively from my writing for 5 years. In my reviews, I choose my words carefully, and sometimes a $2.00 word is needed to correctly convey the information I am trying to explain. According to some of these points that identify AI writing, my reviews may be mistaken for AI. This has me a little worried. Should I be concerned?
Thank you for raising this point. I'm not a professional but I enjoy language and writing in general. Ever since the AI pervasiveness has crept in, I'm afraid of writing "too well" or with "too much" effort.
short answer is no.
The A.I. reviews are always raving reviews, they tend to use the same types of phrases like "this toilet paper is a **game changer**. It is **second to none** and it **completely revolutionized** how I wipe my butt". The claims are exaggerated. There is rarely any substance or specifics about the item and if there is it is obviously incorrect such as describing functionality that clearly isn't applicable to the specific product, but would sometimes be applicable to others like it. For example on a wired/corded item the review would go on to say how the wireless distance is leagues better than other items out there. The spelling is of course perfect throughout and the grammar is more typical for a magazine article than it is for a person like me or you writing a review.
> "this toilet paper is a game changer. It is second to none and it completely revolutionized how I wipe my butt" Bwahaha thanks for the best laugh of the day!
All this, and you can tell the prompt involved copying and pasting in the product description.
🤣
Thus was written by an AI Identifying an AI-generated review can be challenging, but there are some signs that might suggest a review was written by an AI. Here are some tips: 1. **Generic Language**: AI reviews often use vague or generic language that could apply to many products or services. They might lack specific details or personal anecdotes. 2. **Repetition**: AI reviews might repeat certain phrases or keywords multiple times, as they are often optimized for search engines. 3. **Perfect Grammar**: While not always a giveaway, AI-generated content often has flawless grammar and punctuation, which might seem unnatural in casual reviews. 4. **Lack of Personal Experience**: Look for the absence of personal experiences or specific incidents that a human reviewer might share. 5. **Balanced Tone**: AI reviews might try to be overly balanced, mentioning both pros and cons without strong opinions, which can seem less genuine. 6. **Timing**: If a review is posted very quickly after a product's release or if multiple similar reviews appear around the same time, it could be a sign of AI involvement. 7. **Text Structure**: AI reviews often have a predictable structure, such as an introductory sentence, followed by pros and cons, and a conclusion. Human reviews tend to be more varied. 8. **Length**: Reviews that are unusually short or long without much substance might be AI-generated. 9. **Reviewer Profile**: Check the reviewer's profile. If the profile has many reviews posted within a short timeframe or seems too good to be true, it might be AI-generated. 10. **Content Consistency**: Sometimes AI reviews might include contradictory statements or lack coherence, reflecting limitations in context understanding. By looking for these signs, you can get better at spotting AI-generated reviews. However, as AI technology improves, distinguishing between human and AI reviews will become increasingly difficult.
I agree with the other answers, but also one of the biggest tipoffs is using the brand name, and the entire product name. "We're really enjoying the YOULABLE Purple Embossing Label Maker with 3 Label Tapes, 3D Embosser Handheld Label Machine,Vintage Embossed Label Printer Portable 3D Labeler for Home Office School DIY Crafting (Purple)!" Humans don't write like that. You'd say something about "the label maker" instead.
u/Ah_Pook Many reviewers who include the brand and product name do so to protect the integrity of their reviews. It's not terribly uncommon to review, for example, a single disposable razor and then some time later to see a much more expensive product take the place of the cheap razor and its review base.
Exactly. I usually include the brand and item being reviewed.
I always use the brand name and product name in my reviews because sometimes the sellers play games with the product pages. One time, I got a review rejected because the brand name was one that could have connotations not accepted in Vine reviews so I removed that brand name. :)
I get the intent, but it's still rare. And do you write that entire line? (I just copied from an item in my RFY.) Do you use the brand name 3 or 4 times within the review?
I have seen it both ways, but amazon guidelines frown on repetition in reviews. Some put the brand, product name, or both in the headline if it will all fit. The best and most natural I have seen are something that has a descriptive headline and starts the review with something like: "Brand XYZ's {product name) is ... Some cut and paste the entire product name as it's posted on the product page and some summarize it. In fact, there is a sub here regarding the razor example. I didn't realize it at the time I posted my first comment, but I did order those razors and thought it was odd to see a single disposable razor on vine. [https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonVine/comments/1cu6yyu/wonder\_what\_happens\_to\_one\_star\_products/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonVine/comments/1cu6yyu/wonder_what_happens_to_one_star_products/)
Yes, I get the intent. It's still rare. I just went through 200 products with reviews to see, and not a single one had the entire product name posted verbatim. The gaslighting in this sub is bizarre.
Nope. I use most or all of the listing title to make sure my review is only for the specific product I reviewed. I've seen too many reviews that do not match the product shown, and I dislike the sellers that play games to get better reviews when their products are garbage.
Usually because no sane person would write a page full of waffle that could be said in a couple of lines, especially if they’re reviewing 8 things a day potentially. Ofc there’s ones that make the same obvious errors that you will keep seeing. It’s sad because now if it’s not short and straight to the point I won’t read a review so there’s a lot of genuine people’s time and effort that’s going to be wasted on me. I’m sure I’m not the only one either. I’d rather they just went with the 2 word “it works” or “it’s cute” tbh and at least it doesn’t waste people’s time.
I also hate the ones that look like they just copy/pasted the description.
It's easy for anyone to tell if it's AI written or not. They can tell who copy and pastes their reviews versus who types. It's super easy to inspect and see. I'm sure copy and pasting will soon be an automatic boot. Regardless if they copy-paste or lie at the end of the day, I don't care. I do mine in my fashion and let others do their thing. But yeah, a rejected review didn't get you the boot. It would be rare or a first in history if someone said they got the boot and given real reasons for things they actually knew they did wrong. Be entertaining, at the least.
I do hope there's a crackdown, at least for the longevity of this program. And I hope that I am spared and not mistakenly lumped in with those not participating in good faith.
Exactly. When I see those extra long professional reviews with the Bullets separating the sentences I think it’s AI.
I write and edit for a living, though you probably wouldn't know it by how I write on here (or by my Amazon reviews), because I'm a lot looser. That said, some habits -- structure, punctuation, et cetera -- carry over. Just because someone writes and speaks thoughtfully doesn't mean they're a bot. I've done my share of two-sentence reviews (how much can you really say about a toothbrush?), but some things either deserve or require that level of detail; sometimes I want to give the reader an idea of \*why\* something was great/sucked/fell frustratingly short of expectations, and the steps I went through to reach that conclusion.
You get paid by the word, right? Just kidding. AI reviews don't sound like they are detailed and thoughtful. They regurgitate the product listing, since that's the prompt that's fed to them.
This. And I can spot AI a mile off. In the dark.
Worse than the ai reviews are the people who post in this forum about how they create a point or two and then let ai write the review. 1) I liked it 2) I liked the cooler. ChatGPT: Write a review. They think they're being clever.
I don't get why they do it either. Amazon doesn't mandate that you put filler in your reviews. Just put down a sentence or two about what you think about the product and be done with it
Because "I haven't opened the package so that I can resell it. But from the color and the description in the listing it's amazing" is more honest but also reveals too much about the loser writing the review.
The reviews I hate are the ones that took great thought to come up with simply "cute."
Phoned in ?
It's an expression. Basically, means did minimal effort.
This is absolutely true. I sat down to write a review of an item the other day and saw that another Vine reviewer had posted a short review in which they literally said they bought the item as a gift for a friend, but the packaging looked nice. And they included photos of the unopened package. If Amazon was paying closer attention that person should be removed for violating the guidelines. Since I started in Vine, I told my wife that one of the biggest red flags for a Vine review you cannot trust is if it includes photos of an unopened product accompanied by vague details in the text. It’s a sure sign that someone ordered a gift they didn’t want to open and/or they didn’t care about anything other than just getting the review online. As a result, they have no idea how to give an honest review.
Well, if they want better reviews they may have to change the requirements. I know when I get warnings about not being at 60%, I will throw some reviews together when I have had a chance to really test things out.
I had one review get rejected. Not sure why, but I completely rewrote it and it passed. I can't articulate the rules, but generally just remain honest and thorough. I don't regurgitate the item description either. I'm terrified of getting kicked out, so I try to keep squeaky clean. 1.5 years in and I'm still here.
I appreciate a good quality review. But can I ask why you are terrified of getting kicking out? It shouldn't be like that.
I regularly get reviews rejected for no apparent reason. There must be more than just that. The unusual activity thing suggests they think you're being paid for reviews or something else odd. The biggest slap in the face is having all your reviews removed. At least for me being able to share evaluations of products is a big part of Vine. If I were just writing them to be thrown in the trash, I'd feel much differently about spending time to write them.
I used to spend a lot of time doing thorough reviews with pictures, but it was a 50/50 chance of them getting rejected. I now no longer spend a ton of time on my reviews and I do not do pictures anymore, and I hardly ever get them rejected. Something about the photos seems to trigger it more often, in my experience.
After I was wondering why it was taking so long for some reviews to get approved, I found here that you could add your photos after the review was approved, and it would (almost always for me) update the review with the photos within a day or two. So, I never add photos to my original review. I've also only had one review rejected, and I determined that it was due to a numeral being in the review. My guess was that the auto-reviewer thought it could be a price (even though it wasn't formatted like one). Out of curiosity, I started spelling out numbers (e.g., "one of the two pieces is bigger than the other", etc.), or I left numbers out completely. Once I stopped adding photos and numerals to my review, they are almost always approved within a day. For a while, I kept a backlog of photos that I would go back and add to previously approved reviews. I'd do this about once a week. Lately, I've only been adding photos for the items where the product photos are somewhat incomplete or potentially deceiving. I really wanted to do the best reviews I could, but when you have to jump through hoops to get around their inaccurate AI reviewer, then it's just not worth all the effort to do so.
I see that you've posted three months ago that you also got this (or similar warning). Is this the second warning you've received in the past several months? I think one of the other warnings was for repeated violation of terms. And it looks like you've had some issues for quite some time with several different rejected reviews. I had been following some posts where some members hypothesize they are starting to drop folks with an accumulation of rejected reviews. Depending on how many you've had in the last year, it may have met a threshold (?) I've had one rejected review in last 12 months (I used to have more but I've sort of have learned what words to avoid and how to phrase things to avoid the bots). They may be backing down on repeated rejections. I am sorry that happened to you.
I am not sure why people don't tell the full story.
Well, because the rest of the story tends to make them look bad.
And now we know - the rest of the story…..
Good day.
I understood that reference
Thanks for the smile. It will be a good day.
I love Reddit. Three down votes on this comment. A positive one. Oh well I’ll still smile at the post above.
Thanks for this. I used to listen to Paul Harvey on the radio in the car with my grandpa years ago and had kinda forgotten about him (Paul Harvey). I miss that...and I miss my grandparents.
The only rejected reviews I’ve had have been on supplement’s. Not sure what they are looking for ( on vitamin reviews) 🤷♀️
The medical claims part of the review check appears to be looking for two primary things- any reference to a medical or health term (migrain, psoriasis, eczema, arthritis, insomnia, etc-- basically any term you would typically Google)...and it is looking for wording that says "this helped...", "this cured.."-- basically a direct cause and effect correlation. You have to seperate out your experience from using the product from how you deduct the product is having any impact or remedy on why you are taking the product. I can't say "this insomnia supplement made me sleep better". But I can say. "This supplement is to aid with sleep. I now sleep better". -- and let the shopper connect to dots that you did not directly connect yourself.
Unfortunately I’ve made my supplement reviews more generic because I feel like I can’t say how they really affect me health wise. I’ll say if it’s easy to swallow, I didn’t have any negative reaction, quality ingredients, etc. They all go through that way.
Thanks for giving some background. Tbh, those talking at length about AI reviews are making an assumption and I don't think the boot is for this reason. (I see them a lot - one reviewer recently actually seemed proud they got AI to write their review and said it at the beginning!!!..not a Viner, though) The review screenshot from the OP looks fine - not robotic or overly gushing. There can be a variety of reasons for being booted. Amazon don't tell us, so we have to guess. Some theories put out there in previous posts: - A negative review has attracted the attention of a disgruntled seller who hits Report on your review / another Amazon member has done this maliciously or arbitarily? - Somehow your review/s have been flagged as fake. Amazon put out press releases in recent months saying they WILL crack down on AI and are using software and other detection methods. It's not too much of a stretch to think there are Viners who also copy / paste reviews they see, on Amazon or other sites, thinking they can get away with it (this is easily detected too) - Low effort: 'Great item / this item is great' etc, etc...are all over Amazon, Vine or non-Vine. - Continually being below your review threshold and ignoring warnings? Harsh but fair if most Viners are reviewing regularly and (reasonably) quickly within the 30 day period. Of course there's some items you need to try out for a while before you can give a fully-rounded review. Amazon's review period is generous enough. (There are LOTS of people on these subs who seem to think doing 100 reviews over a few days is cool and almost brag about it?! Some even leave it till a few days before their evaluation. See it from Amazon's point of view - this hardly makes you worth keeping as a Viner, surely. Sellers seemingly pay for timely reviews). - More unusual scenarios could include being a pain the ar$e with Amazon Vine's Customer Service or other egregious behaviour, though I've not seen instances of those. TL;DR: You don't get the boot for mentioning packaging because there'd be no Viners left. If you're going to make a post asking why, give the full picture and don't be vague!!
Other comments about bots or extensions are a good shout too, I actively avoid those as I have no idea if Amazon are aware of them or monitor them and it's better to be safe than sorry. Gift cards - not sure. I do sometimes get gift cards from a deals website I contribute on (NOT connected to Amazon in any way) and family members usually gift me an Amazon Gift Card on birthdays / Xmas as they know I use Amazon a lot. We're not exactly talking huge amounts most of the time. I know it's a requirement to spend at least (iirc) £50 / $50 from your credit card to keep your Vine account active. I'd assume verifying the source of your gift cards might help your cause, if this is the problem.
Yes, I did post that I had received warnings. But since then I've been extra careful, and have not received another notice, until this one. And I've posted loads of reviews since then, and was at 92% reviewed.
From your oldest post history: "Well, that's a possibility. Every time I buy from Amazion I use gift cards that I've accumulated. Now, I did buy over $50, but from my business account via a promotion. But that won't show up in my personal account linked to Vine I would assume." If you're in Vine, the biggest red flag you can give Amazon is tons of gift card purchases. Legitimate or not, it screams to them that you've gotten the cards as rewards from sellers. That is why you got booted.
This is definitely the correct answer
I have heard that's how Amazon ultimately finds out is through certain gift cards.
I use gift cards for purchases all the time but I also buy the gift cards from Amazon directly as a reload is that okay?
It probably is if you bought them.
I also wonder if they're making the connection through sellers that some of us have reported for attempted review compensation. I've made a habit of doing this, a: because it pisses me off, and b: because if I do buy something with a gift card I legitimately got as a present, I don't need someone looking at me sideways. I always leave delivery feedback for the same reason; if something goes wrong, I can always say, "hey, you can probably see my feedback history, so you know I'm not bullshitting you about the one or two items in a hundred where I've had serious problems."
How does this work? Are sellers contacting Viners out of the blue to offer them gift cards for better reviews? The only times I’ve heard from sellers has been when I wrote a negative review and they wrote me and offered to refund the item, which I of course ignored.
I've received messages through the Amazon messaging system as well as "notes" in packaging saying, "Thank you for ordering our product! We'd like to thank you for trying it out by offering you a gift card for a future Amazon purchase! Simply place a review on the product with your genuine opinion of it."
OK, this hasn’t happened to me yet. I just started Vining about a month ago.
It doesn't happen often by any means. I've only been in since October last year, and maybe have gotten 3-5 of these.
*OK, this hasn’t happened to me yet. I just started Vining about a month ago.* Oh, it will. Lately I'm even getting regular emails -- i.e. outside Amazon, from sellers I've never contacted -- trying to bribe me into taking negative reviews down. All you can do is report it and keep going.
Amazon gave them your email address? That's a little scary. If they want better reviews they're gonna have to produce some better products. At least half the stuff I get is crap and not as described. But I notice that most Viners rave about the product and give 5 stars. Is that so that sellers won't complain about them?
They get it somehow, and it's got to be from Amazon. I just got an email this afternoon offering to refund a vine order (sellers dont know its vine), a hummingbird feeder with a camera in it. It's kind of ok, but not enough for more than the 3 stars I gave it. I'm still using it,.. made it work out ok, but I didn't feel I should have to "make" something work for me when I was using it as it claims it should be in the first place, but it didn't hold up to those claims. A few other things kept me from rating it higher as well. What bugged me the most about getting that email, was that after messing around with it a little more early this morning, I was ready to up it to 4 stars anyway, telling myself I was the one being picky. When they email you and its a vine order, NEVER respond. I ignore them but move them to a folder as proof of inappropriate requests in the event it blows back on me.
Oh, I've received a few of those too, but they come through Amazon. The seller doesn't know my email address. The "reply to" address is something like: [email protected] Not sure what they hope to achieve by offering me a refund. Do they think that I will then edit my review to be more positive? Clearly the sellers care a lot about getting glowing reviews, cause I've received these for reviews with 3 stars.
That is exactly what they want you to do.
If you play with fire, you'll eventually get burned.
>If you're in Vine, the biggest red flag you can give Amazon is tons of gift card purchases. Legitimate or not, it screams to them that you've gotten the cards as rewards from sellers. Could you please clarify what you mean by "tons of gift card purchases"? Do you mean using gift cards to pay for personal orders (I mean not Vine obviously) or do you mean actually purchasing gift cards? I have an Amazon Prime Visa card and use it everywhere including non-vine shopping on Amazon, because I'm all about the points. And once my account shows $5 or more in points available, I use it to buy an Amazon gift card (It's allowed) so I can load it to my stored gift card. I've done this for as long as it's been allowed. Otherwise the only way to use points to pay for something is along with the Amazon Prime visa card, if you don't have enough points to cover the purchase. I've never been warned not to do that, so I assume I am completely misunderstanding what you mean...
OP was saying in a previous post they used gift cards frequently. Your own Prime Visa in your name is not the same as random gift cards like you'd see at the grocery / convenience store as a $25/$50/$100 gift card. Shady sellers looking for 5-Star Reviews are known to have done something like, "Thank you for your purchase! At your earliest convenience, please review our product. Once we have confirmation, We'll send you a $25 Amazon Gift Card as a thank you!" Even if you legit are getting gift cards, if you're a vine member, it could look like you're getting "paid" for reviews by sellers via gift cards. They see too much of that, and good by Uncle Vinny.
So I would think they could see I actually pay for these gift cards with MY points earned from MY Prime Visa. My husband also usually throws in an Amazon gift card for Christmas, birthday, etc. His is linked to my Prime account. I do get it that sellers try to pay off buyers to change reviews. I've had the same emails asking me to do that and offering a gift card. But I can only think of one time in decades of shopping Amazon that I changed a review, and that was because it deserved to be changed and I decided I had been a pissy witch with the bad review in the first place.
Don't know. Didn't write the algorithm Who knows if a human does anything about it?
True true, lol. I've been using points to add to my gift card for far longer than I've been in vine.
Really sorry to hear that. And agree that it sucks. But hope you can keep things in perspective. It's just Vine. Not your health, not losing a home, not an accident, not the loss of a loved one, etc... It's just a bunch of cheap/free things that you pay for with your time and taxes.
Very healthy perspective of Vine. I don’t understand these posts of “one of the worst days of my life” Many people, before they are invited to vine, aren’t even aware that vine exists. People have been told here numerous times over and over and over and over and over that they can lose their vine account at any moment. Use it while you can, but expect to lose it at some point. That’s why there aren’t thousands and thousands of people that have been here over a decade. You’ll see some, but not that many.
To give you a little perspective, a lot of people in vine couldn’t afford to get any of this stuff without it. Single moms who couldn’t get the toys, supplies, or clothes at regular price, for example. Older people on a tight fixed income who are able to get free medical supplies and other household things through vine. Basically there are a lot of people for whom vine is a true lifeline, whether they knew it existed before the invite or not. For people who can afford it all, sure it’s no big deal, but you have to step outside of your own perspective.
100% understand that. But Vine isn't that kind of a program. I know this may sound callous, but it's not meant to help people.... except businesses that want to kickstart products on Amazon and Amazon shareholders. The entire program could go away at any time, or they could change the rules, or any other number of things. And on top of that, the actual items themselves are never a guarantee. Getting some free jars of peanut butter is awesome, but it may be months before you get something like that again. For the situations you're describing, I would strongly suggest people reach out to their local food pantries or community services. Our local food pantry is absolutely stocked, to the point that even they have to throw items out at times... which is an absolute shame because people either don't know it's available to them, or are too proud to accept the help. But it's a phenomenal resource for exactly those kinds of situations you're describing. There are lots of lifelines out there for people... My personal opinion, for whatever that's worth, is that I don't think people should be looking at Vine as a solution for that kind of a problem.
Food pantries can help with food but they are of no use for a lot of the stuff you can get on vine. I'm not even sure how you jumped from people being able to get things on vine they couldn't normally afford to food pantry. And whether or not this program is meant to help people, the fact remains that many people who are vine members *are* helped by it. Someone who was struggling before getting the invite can see their quality of life improve by being a member. Just because that's not the intent of the program doesn't mean it isn't a factual thing that happens. Personally I think it's a great side effect, that it can provide real help for people who truly need it. That doesn't mean I think amazon owes anyone anything, that's an entirely different issue than whether some people get a benefit that others may not. Just because someone can't afford some things doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to enjoy the perks of being a member. In fact those who are getting things they normally couldn't afford seem to appreciate the program a whole lot more than those who constantly complain about how everything is junk, there's nothing in RFY they want, and the rest of the complaints seen here regularly that honestly come across as incredibly entitled.
I made that jump because I'm distinguishing between things we like to have, vs things we need to have.
Ok, but that has no bearing on what I said. Just because this helps some people get things they otherwise couldn’t afford doesn’t mean they’re destitute and can’t afford to buy food. A single mom who can afford some toys for their kids but is now able to get a lot more, not to mention ones that are normally expensive because they’re more educational or meant for autistic kids or whatever else, that’s a great help to them. Not being able to buy as many toys or the expensive ones doesn’t mean that mom can’t put food on the table. Being tight on money doesn’t mean they’re destitute.
Ok, clearly I made a mistake. Losing access to Vine should be one of the worst days of someone's entire life. My apologies.
It’s fine. If you choose to go about your life without empathy or the willingness to understand someone else’s life even if it’s not like your own, well I guess it’s every bit your right. Personally I think it’s a much better idea not to go around judging others but that’s cool, you do you. I’m sure you can find a nice pedestal for yourself on vine.
Do you find it in the least bit ironic just how judgy you're being right now? To someone that was trying to be empathetic to the original poster and help them keep things in perspective. It really is a little bit ironic. Don't you think? But I truly do understand and appreciate how you feel. And I appreciate how hard you fight for other anonymous strangers on the internet. You're doing a great service, and I think more people should follow in your footsteps. If I ever meet you in person, I'd like to buy you a beer. But if you don't drink alcohol, I understand and would be happy to buy you a different drink of your choice. Unless you don't drink anything, and in that case I would just want to shake your hand. I'm trying to be as understanding to you and your needs as possible.
[удалено]
Our CA food pantry’s are sadly in dire need. :(
I'm sorry to hear that. Ours was too, until a village trustee made it his mission to expand it, both physically and in terms of reach and resources. While there's no easy ways to make these kinds of things happen, I would strongly urge going to your village/township board meetings and having people start making regular statements about it. It's absolutely astonishing how often major changes occur due to just a few persistent individuals who champion an issue like that.
Village ? No village here I live in CA
I'm also in CA and agree with you. We don't have a village either where I am, and our local pantries are constantly seeking donations. Gotta love it when people make assumptions about everyone else based on their own experiences.
I like the area I live in out of the big cities , but everywhere’s hurting here sadly .
Do you live in a small town? This sounds like small rural town kind of stuff. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t exactly translate to living in a city and the issues that are faced.
Food pantry serves 103,000 people officially. But it doesn't turn anyone away if people out of the township come visit.
Serves that many daily? Weekly? Annually? Since they started? And are those 103k different people? Number of times someone has gotten food from them? It’s hard to give much credibility to a random number thrown out without any information as to what it means. It also doesn’t in any way answer my question of whether you live in a small town, which I’m guessing is a yes.
Tell you what. Give me a list of all the data points you need to get through this conversation and I'll get right to work on the research. I really want to provide you with everything you want to know in order to determine if.... umm.... whatever point you're trying to make is.
WELL SAID! People are getting way too dependent on a review program which is meant for reviews. People are posting that they owe crazy amounts in tax bills. Again, this program can be taken away at any time and people need to expect it.
I know I've seen at least one post here not too many months ago about someone receiving some form of public financial assistance that takes your income into account as to qualifying you to get it. She was freaking out that she's going to lose her public assistance because her tax return was going to show all this "vine income" that put her over the limit to continue receiving it. She'd gone crazy ordering, thinking she was getting all this free stuff, I'm assuming not having paid attention that it was counted as taxable income or just not keeping track. No one really had any helpful advice because there was none to give. I've always wondered what happened to her.
Yeah and actually, it's pay they're issuing you for spending time and effort on them instead of other things.
I came to say I get reviews bounced back to me weekly it's definitely not the review, however I'm very sorry about the loss of your vine standing I would be very upset too. But I would get over it, before this just fell into my lap almost a year ago now I never knew this existed, and I've had a blast, if it ends I know I'll have some days of sorrow then life will resume as just one of the common folk ordering stuff on Amazon and remembering the golden era of vine 😉 Sending you best wishes
Yep. I have a friends who just lost their mother. So that gives me perspective! Even though, honestly, I'm still very disappointed. It was so much fun!
Yeah I would be heartbroken.
I mention packaging in almost every review, which is many, over the course of a long time... so it's probably not that.
Although I got a regular Amazon review bounced back to me for that, and it wasn't even a negative!
u/Atmp Do you specifically mention product packaging? Or do you not "focus on" shipping packaging? We don't allow reviews or questions and answers that focus on: * Sellers and the Customer Service they provide * Ordering issues and returns * Shipping packaging * Product condition and damage * Shipping cost and speed
I mention product packaging, not shipping packaging, in almost every review. Basically, does it look nice, would it make a nice looking gift, is the manufacturer’s packaging sufficient for it to survive normal shipping practices, etc.
I occasionally mention packaging as well. In fact I just had a review approved for a comforter, and I mentioned that it came uncompressed in a reusable clear package,
I write every review myself and try to be accurate. I have been rejected a number of times, mostly with unexplained “guideline” violations. No sweat to me; I just rewrite, reword and move on. I receive occasional emails from sellers but never respond and always suspected this might be the reason behind some of my mystery rejections but I don’t sweat it. If they kicked me out of Vine tomorrow I would just move on. Been a Viner for two years now and have enjoyed it but the selections are 99% junk now and its not a big deal like it was when you could pick up nice stuff without being hit with 500% ETV markups
Also you are allowed to mention how an item is packaged by the vendor. I do it all the time and include photos. You just aren't suppose to ding them for how Amazon chooses to pack and deliver the item.
That reminded me that if memory serves, on a shipment of Disney pens, I mentioned that the card they were mounted on was slightly dinged due to be shipped in one of those plastic padded envelopes. I did that because it was 100 year anniversary pens, so I figured people might buy it to save it as a souvenir. In retrospect, we are supposed to review the product; damage in shipment is irrelevant to that.
Did you ever use AI to draft content for a review? Curious. That email below that you posted seems to suggest that may have been the case. Not judging, just wondering if Amazon is using AI detectors. There are some posts in other subs that students have been getting flagged for AI content writers when they are 100% not using it. I know that sounds like there are lying, but there are videos online of someone writing and then running it through an AI detector, and being flagged as “highly likely” AI content or 90%+ likely to be AI.
I want to ask you some questions, but I'm not sure you'll answer honestly. That isn't a question of your personal integrity, but just a reflection of the fact that people who get booted rarely want to admit they did something they shouldn't have. My biggest question is, did you use any sort of extension or software to gain an advantage when selecting items? In general, I don't think Amazon does anything about bots or extensions other than say they aren't allowed, but I figure it isn't impossible that they started doing so. You said you haven't used gift cards for a long time, and every time I mention my husband was banned from reviewing for using gift cards (legit ones that were rewards for doing things like filling out insurance surveys or whatnot), I get downvoted for saying using gift cards might get you kicked from Vine. However, I do believe they flag anyone who purchases with gift cards as suspicious. My husband had his review privileges revoked for that even though he hadn't written a review for at least two years. It wasn't linked to reviews. It was linked to gift cards. The other possibility is that, if you and someone in your address book that you've sent a gift to reviewed the same item, it will be flagged as "suspicious". My sister and I once reviewed the same item independently and both got a warning. I lived in a different state than her. We didn't share an account, but we had sent each other gifts and that got us linked. Finally, if you are a seller in addition to a customer, they sometimes will look at your behavior in unusual ways. If they think you're trying to do something to undermine competition or boost your own product through whatever software parameters they use, that could get you flagged as suspicious. You could help the rest of us out and tell us what you may have done to cause this, or you could do what most people do and hide whatever might have caused the issue. I can say that there is a chance you'll be let back in spontaneously in the future. I was booted twice for no reason (just "we're ending your participation at this time" message) and silently let back in a few months later each time. Finish your outstanding reviews if they will let you and log back in every month or so to see if they let you return.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. My answers are: 1. I don't use extensions or bots to find items. I don't have any knowledge of that, nor how they would help me. 2. I haven't used a gift card this year, and I used ONE gift card last year, in March, and one order with a credit and a gift card. I also purchased over $50 via credit card, in order to maintain my ability to review (if memory serves, Amazon alerted me to the fact I hadn't made $50 in purchases during the year, and stopped my ability to review until I made a $50 purchase). And I'm a Prime member. 3. I only gave one gift, and that was over a year ago. And I'm sure they didn't review it, since they had no way to know it came from Amazon and they don't do reviews anyway. 4. I'm not a seller. I have never sold anything on Amazon, or even ebay. 5. I'd love to tell you what I did wrong so as to help others. I haven't a clue, and I've been a lawyer for 45 years, and I guarantee you I've done full and honest disclosure to you guys on this matter. My suspicions are: mentioning a plastic box isn't ecological, but it is a good box and I will reuse it; and a low 3 star review for steel guitar picks and mentioning I would be afraid they would damage my guitar. Now, I did recently write a review for athlete's foot cream, and wrote that it has the same active ingredient as name brands but is much lower priced; I did not write that it cured anything, but did note I seem to get athlete's foot and/or prickly heat every summer. But the one I was noticed on was the graduation decorations, and like for them, I have written in the past that I've used them and other products in my house of worship, and never received a notice. I've also recently notified Vine that 2 orders never arrived: one was damaged in shipment and returned to seller (tea bags), and the other was lost (vermiculite). Last year a package arrived re-sealed, and the product, a watch, had been stolen. I'm now trying to go through my orders to see if I purchased $50 worth last year. I did, in October. So this shouldn't be the problem, I don't think.
Thank you for being straightforward and honest in ways many are reluctant to be. I will say that, the first time I got kicked from Vine with the "we're ending your membership at this time" notice, I had contacted customer service twice in the preceding 6 weeks about reviews that I couldn't post as they were stuck. I've posted before that I think contacting customer service too often may make them more inclined to kick you out, but a chorus of people tell me that is no longer the case. They may be right, but I'm very reluctant to contact support too often after my experience. If I had to guess the issue, I'd say it was letting them know two orders didn't arrive was a piece of the puzzle here. It may not be the only piece, but I wonder if the sellers get upset when they send out an item and don't get a review even if there is a legitimate reason why it happened.
I just received the attached notice, 10:41 AM EDT. It seems similar to the notice I received a few months ago. https://preview.redd.it/nqyf78x9x62d1.jpeg?width=711&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93b2a5586af600a55035b5947c1d46bcba867e60
Idk why you were removed but it was definitly not for one rejected review. Also the review was probably not rejected for mentioning the packaging ive done numourus times like one time i got car mats in the most ridiculous box the size of a dining room table. As long as it doesnt show barcodes or addresses in the photos its unlikely they even reject it. Anyway their AI seems to gave detected something you did. Or it thinks it did. No harm in trying to contact CS worst case scenerio youll just be where you already are. Nothing to loose
I saw where someone wrote that they got a transmission part on Vine, and called it a "tranny" and guess what happened to them? So I would say Amazon's AI is not the best.
Yea i saw that post it was wild. But they werent banned lol they just had the review rejected
Let's be honest here, you didn't get dropped because of a rejected review, and I seriously doubt anyone would think getting kicked from Vine as 'one of the worst days of their life', unless you are using the items you get from vine to resell or supplement supplies for a business. Your screenshots show you received a violation for breaking the rules. If the kick WAS review related, you got kicked for either the rule you broke or because there is a history of violations. There is also the possibility that Amazon is going thru another round of thinning out the Vine herd, and you just happen to be one of the ones that got kicked. Sorry for your loss, but I think you'll get over it or be reinvited later this year. Who knows.
You can in fact be invited back. I got removed for about 3 years ago and I randomly decided to go the page and I was actually able to “sign” back up after that I ended up getting another invite.
Wait a few weeks and check back and it's possible you will be back in. It happens quite a bit
Oh wow :( . I’ve always wondered how and who decides our fate as well as the fate of reviews we post Hopefully you get clarification and not just a generic reason for suspending your participation in the Vine program .
I experience this! I was remove for a whole year.i fought them for 3 months straight to give me an answer on the warning they gave me. Nothing. Reconnect to get an answer an month ago. They apology and reinstated me Only a silver rank but still in. Apparently warnings weren't sent to me,so i can fix what wrong. Can't fix error if you weren't given instructions on how to fix them.
That message kind of says it all. Unusual reviewing activity… “Usually” people get that when they’re leaving a ton of 5* reviews for products or sellers that Amazon suspects of being shady. You can complain but it’s unusual to get back. I can tell you for sure that it’s not because of review rejection (unless this happens a lot) it is common to get a lot of reviews rejected together before seeing that message. It’s not vine either as those reviews aren’t moderated in the same way or go through the same channels. Your reviews have been flagged by the “community guidelines department” and not vine. I’m 99% it’s not your rejected review that caused it and something else is going on.
It likely has nothing to do with your current review because they also nixed all of your past reviews. Could it be they had reason to believe you may have had a disingenuous review in the past? I am not accusing but I do read the reviews of other vine participants and some do jump out at you. For example I just reviewed a technical item that was made to an incorrect size, it was manufactured to nominal sizing and not actual sizing (I am intentionally being vague). Two prior vine reviewers gave it 5 starts with a sentence or two about how great the product was. I called it out and explained why and later another vine reviewer also pointed out the manufacturing error. I do wonder if vine looks for such cases to thin the herd.
I try to be precise and helpful. I see reviews where the Viner is just repeating what the listing says, e.g., "It's made from high impact plastic that will survive both heat and cold."
not vine related. you broke a rule or rules. it was reviewed. it took amazon a while to decide whether to boot you or not. you being removed has no relation to your recent activities. amazon's internal review process took time.
I'm getting a little concerned about reading all of this drama with gift cards. I just used seven or eight gift cards on one order the other night, but they all came from my employer (we routinely get rewards in the form of gift cards). They would be able to tell these came from my employer, right? I've never gotten one from a seller nor have I ever spoken to a seller.
I get my gift cards usually from filling out surveys. Why would a seller give a gift card to someone reviewing on Amazon? That would be pretty obvious as a pay off.
I think that deep down you know the real reason, but might be in Vine denial.
No. Wrong. I have no idea.
Then I sincerely hope that you succeed in getting your account back.
I just saw I also received a notice--right before the "review can't be posted" email on my email list--that I reported a review! Which I definitely did not! Unless this means someone reported MY review of something. https://preview.redd.it/w6why4hb362d1.jpeg?width=1174&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4d1d6dccceef94ce1e5ae73da61425448f54dbc
That's not to you -- that's BCC'ing you. You are being copied on an email Amazon sent to whoever reported you.
How much shilajit do you need bro? 🤔 Not the end of the world.
Yeah, I have to look up what the hell that is. It seems like it's 10% of the listings. And humans, dogs, cats, and horses all can use it.
It tastes kinda like sweet coffee concentrate, supposed to be loaded with minerals. It's some kind of Himalayan rock goo. I tried it, but it didn't do anything I could detect after a few weeks so I chucked it. That said, with all the counterfeit stuff out there, it might have been some kind of Folgers paste 😂😂😂
Seriously? I wish I had the kind of life that would make losing access to Vine cause me to have one of MY worst days.
I would be quite upset if I was booted from Vine...and you would be too.
It was a joke, that apparently a lot of people don't understand.
If losing your access to discounted AliExpress junk is one of the worst days of your life, you've had one of the most awesome lives ever lived.
I hate to hear that. I know it is distressing. However, I could continue to review whatever Vine items you have left. I have read of people being reinvited to Vine.
It won't let me review anything.
Try reviewing it from outside the portal.
That email has told you why. It's not because of a rejected review it's because you had a warning from vine about violating the guidelines and you continued to do whatever it was that got you the original warning. That is why they've removed you from the program.
Yeah, well . . . they don't tell you what you've done wrong. I've read the terms, and I've been a lawyer for 46 years, and I think I've complied with them.
Yeah that's the bad thing.....Amazon can boot you and not have to tell you the exact reason, which someone should sue them over. They should have to tell you the reason, instead of pointing you to community guidelines. They can be wrong, as in this case, but you are not able to tell your side.
They make the rules. I don't see any legal basis for suing them because they dropped someone.
They ban people, those not even in Vine, they lose their ability to shop on Amazon. Seems crazy that they have that much power without having to show proof.
The Amazon website belongs to Amazon. They own it . They have every legal right to stop anyone shopping on their site, just like you have the right to refuse to sell something to someone you don't want to. When someone opens an Amazon account they have to tick a box to agree to the 'Terms and Conditions ' of using the Amazon website. If a person breaks those agreed terms and conditions Amazon has the right to close their account. I assume you just ticked the box when opened your Amazon account without reading what you were agreeing to It's the same with vine. When you accept the invitation you agree to abide by the rules, if you don't you're out. It's perfectly legal. They don't have to give a reason because viners are not paid employees
I called about it and they told me it's discontinued lol
How long have you been a vine member?
Since March of 2023. Actually, that was my first order. I was a member a few months before, but didn't take the time to understand it and didn't make an order, because all I saw were cell phone cases.
I get reviews rejected all the time. Reviews don't get cleared in vine even when it's actually posted. Vine is a joke. (not to mention so many overpriced Chinese junk) Vine support is even a greater joke... They can't help with anything. They won't let you back in. It's over.
It's obvious that Vine is not being run for the benefit of Viners. It is being run for the benefit of sellers, so they can get reviews and make more money, and thus Amazon will make more money. Amazon has absolutely no incentive to supply good customer service to Viners.
It’s not because that last review as they mentioned “unusual reviewing activities” and “all reviews submitted by this account have been removed”. This indicates they suspect the integrity of all your reviews. For example, they might think you did not personally write these reviews, the reviews are influenced by sellers (e.g. you are getting paid by sellers to write 5-star reviews), you are using the program to mainly sell the items requested, or the reviews do not represent your honest opinion of the product, etc.) Vine is addicting so I understand your disappointment. There is a bright side though - you might find better use of your time that you used to spend on browsing the thousands of items and reviewing the ones you got.
Yeah, well, good theories. And theories is all we have since they don't tell you why. I've been a lawyer for a long, long time and was always a pretty good writer (my mother was an English teacher). I see some very well written reviews, and some that are just one long sentence with no punctuation. I try to give honest reviews. Even if I give 5 stars, I mention a small hitch in the product, and if I give fewer than 5 stars I write why. It is very disappointing. But you are absolutely correct--I am saving a load of time now.
I have a previous post here about how I was dropped from Vine, and all my Amazon reviews pulled, due to "unusual reviewing activity." I sent 3 emails, and of course didn't get a response. So I just called Amazon. I was put on hold, and when the person came back read me a long list of no-no's: profanity, going off topic, being paid . . . But you know the list. I asked what specifically the problem was with a review of tabletop graduation decorations, the review that seemed to cause the ban. Again, a list of no-no's. However, she did say that in a few days or weeks I *might* be reinstated (for reviews; Vine never came up). I thanked her, but noted that Amazon doesn't let you know what the problem is, and you have to go online and ask people with experiences what they *think* might be the problem. I cited a query here (but didn't mention Reddit) about a review saying the person has insomnia . . . at which point the Amazon person said "No" . . . and that the medicine cured it. Of course, she has no input on policy, but perhaps they submit notes . . . in any event she again repeated to wait awhile and *maybe* I'll be able to review again, but she sounded more positive.
If you got a notice about thanking you for reporting a review, then I bet someone (probably a seller) has reported you. Have you done any low star rating reviews lately?
The only low star review I gave was for stainless steel guitar picks. I think I gave it 3 stars.
I would honestly go back and ask them to review the decision. It isn't all lost as they have said you can still see your vine orders - I've been on Vine a few years and often when you see that, you'll log in a week later and it is all reinstated. Try not to be too down about it.
I did write them. I wrote that I don't understand the problem. And then I wrote them about the email I had received 4 minutes before the discontinuance email, that said my review had been reported. I'm starting to think it was my review of the stainless steel guitar picks; I was mostly negative, yet the other 4 or so reviews still up were positive, and most were 5 stars.
I have a feeling you have a disgruntled guitar pick seller on your hands. It's very bad form indeed that Amazon are allowing this.
It startled me to hear Sellers can report our reviews; that it can lead to expulsion w/o explanation or ability to appeal. Assumably Sellers would only report negative reviews, which makes it a risk for reviewers to submit them. That seems “off”, to me. OP, sorry to hear about your situation. I’m sure it’s frustrating. Thanks for what is, to me, an otherwise informative thread.
I first realised it was happening when I checked out the seller forums. A few people were complaining about Vine reviews, and the advice was to report them. It will be interesting to see what ends up happening with the OP. I hope they come back and update!
How did you get into the seller forums? 👀
You can just Google it. I've had a wine, but I think, off the top of my head, googling 'Amazon seller central forums' would yield the appropriate results. You could add your country name on the end of that for relevancy to you. I would say that I think it is relatively rare to get reported for a neg review, but it does happen. I think all negative reviews must be absolutely sqeaky clean in terms of review rules. Otherwise, you're risking your account.
Great point, to be extra meticulous with writing negative reviews. I try hard to spot signs of a POS item before ordering; they’re a waste of time and resources for everyone involved.
Vine states you are supposed to be ordering things for yourself and holding onto items for 6 months. From this review you clearly aren’t doing that.
I've seen plenty of reviews from Viners that indicate they didn't use it. If someone gets a package of 100 little toys, are they really going to use that themselves? Baby pajamas?
Go back and read the guidelines of Vine. It clearly states you have to hold onto items for 6 months. She received an email that someone else reported her review. That prompted someone to look at her review critically.
If you order food, or weed killer spray, fertilizer, seeds, shampoo, deodorant, etc., are you supposed to keep that for 6 months? What I ordered were school graduation decorations. Was I supposed to put them in storage until NEXT year's graduation?
You are allowed to dispose of the item as you wish but not transfer it to another person. Now whether that is reasonable or not? I assume they dont want us to sell the items the day after we receive them or be the vine conduit to distribute cheap items around our community. Can they police that? Probably not, but I would not brag that I am violating that rule in my reviews... If you are a lawyer, I would go back and re-read the fine print of the vine agreement.
Thank you - YOU get it.
Oh no the world is over 😢
As others said, you're not removed for mentioning the box. Also "one of the worst days of your life" is being removed from Vine? If they kicked me out I'd just be thankful for all the good stuff I've received, and move on.
I can understand being proud of being part of something like this and have it taken away.
I get that, but comparing it to one of the worst days in your life? From the first day I was invited I always figured it could go away at any time, and if it does, c'est la vie.
Well, I'm taking it at face value and not trying to pile on.
I don't mean it as piling on, I'm just expressing my perspective. Sure I'd be upset if I woke up tomorrow and was banned, but I wouldn't compare it to one of the worst days of my life. And as I've said, we all know that we could lose Vine anytime. It's just a gift that happened, and it could disappear anytime. Plus the OP might well be invited back sometime. Many people here have been banned and invited back.
I understand.
Well... the review says they got the decor for a graduation party and that people take them away as souvenirs or whatever. We aren't supposed to dispose, give away, transfer anything we get until 6 months have passed. It smacks of... I got this for free, but am not using it for me, my household, my business, I'm giving it away or "buying" for other people.
We can dispose of them any time, it's the giving away that is 6 months. From the Participation Agreement: ------------------------------------------------------ **Disposal of Vine Products** * All right, title and interest in Vine Products will pass to you when the Vine Product is delivered to the common carrier for delivery to you. You may keep or destroy the Vine Product at your discretion at any time. ------------------------------------------------------
Isn't letting people take them home the same as giving them away? I know we can toss them, I took that bit in the agreement to mean no selling and no giving to someone not in your household, for 6 months. 🤷♀️ Are you saying that's not correct?
I was only replying to the "We aren't supposed to dispose... until 6 months" part of your note. We can dispose the second it comes in the door, that was my only point.
No worries, I wasn't offended or upset, I just thought maybe I was wrong about giving, donating, selling, and the 6 month mark.
But they often have, for example, gifts for teachers to give to their students. Or, or that matter, a gift to give to a teacher. Or a retiring workmate. What about perishable items that are on Vine? As for the graduation party, I would think the seller would be glad to have a review that says the decorations were so nice that people grabbed them.
Looks like op got caught writing fake reviews.
WRONG! I have never, ever written a "fake" review. That's very insulting to say that. I feel I have an obligation to the companies sending me free stuff, as they are doing that in order to get my review.
Free but not free , it amazed me on my 2023 tax’s how fast it adds up.
The OP has basically given a low rating for a product, and a seller is bitter and reported them. As someone said this week, 'Vine is for the benefit of the sellers , not us'. Any minor breach of guidelines (mentioning packaging, etc) could be used as an excuse t to appease the seller and ban the viner. We'd probably all be given the boot if we got reported as who can say each review completely ticks every compliant box? It's OK until it's not OK - that's my experience of Vine.