I write fiction and am therefore no stranger to literary deception. But there are boundaries. Deception ends when I turn my attention away from the manuscript. I do not countenance fraud in real world.
The attached solicitation arrived via USPS in my mailbox yesterday, purportedly from the Amazon “Customer After-sales Team” but signed
The sender was the Chinese consumer appliance brand Gocheer or its US distributor. The letter entreats me, a verified customer, to leave a 5-star review in exchange for a $40 Amazon Gift Card. The dehumidifier in question had 9,139 reviews as of 1:30 pm this afternoon. Approximately 6,300 (69 percent) of those reviews awarded 5 stars. It makes me wonder. Did Gocheer pay $250,000 ($40 x 6,300) to dominate the dehumidifier market on Amazon? And did Gocheer really think this could continue unchecked?
One of the great no-no’s in literature is paying for “likes”; it is strictly forbidden by Amazon’s terms of service. Despite the taboo, there are nevertheless countless “author service companies” on the Internet which aggressively stretch the envelope. But no one is as brazen in the literary world as Gocheer is in the world of consumer products. Forgery, mail fraud, consumer fraud, and a permanent, physical paper trail? Grant the company this: it has chutzpah… a new 1-star rating, and a copy of this missive in the hands of Amazon’s in-house counsel. Well played, Gocheer. Perhaps you should anoint yourself Gocry.