reviews_and_ramblings: (Default)
reviews_and_ramblings ([personal profile] reviews_and_ramblings) wrote2009-04-29 02:31 pm

Amazon Helpful Votes...

... what is the mystery under them?

I really don't understand. I know that they are used to rank the review, and probably to rank also the reviewer, better I'm sure they are used for that, but I really don't understand how they are given and by whom.

I have a lot of helpful positive votes, 88% on the total, so I'm very grateful to people who click on "yes" this review was helpful for me, and tried to ignore the 12% of negative votes, but today I notice something really strange. I was the first to review a book, and, even if I shouldn't say it, my review was good, not only since I loved the book, but also since people, publisher and author told me so.

So I posted my review on Amazon, and for a bit I was alone and no helpful positive vote. Then today I received a negative vote... and guys that made me think, since I really think my review was good. So I click on the book and noticed that the same book has now two other reviews, five stars like me, and from two frequently reviewer like me. And they both had two helpful positve votes! Why me not? (pout).

But the most strange thing is when I post a good review, or at least a review that gives an idea of the book, when maybe there isn't even the product description (and this happens often) and I'm the only review, and someone click the helpful negative button... what the hell have I said to make that people click on the negative button?

It's not the first time I discuss this matter with other Amazon reviewers, Jetm in primis, but I read also a blog by Amos Lassen... but I'd like to listen also to my friends opinion, are those votes really "real", are they indicative of a good review or not?

[identity profile] jessewave.livejournal.com 2009-04-29 04:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Elisa
I never really thought about it. I don't post a lot of reviews on amazon and recently very few. I and a number of amazon reviewers had a scare when an author reportedly found out a reviewer's personal information and she and her friends harassed the reviewer. A top reviewer (I think he was #10 which is pretty high) quit a few months ago when he got tired of the bullshit on amazon. I rarely check the number of positives or negatives on my reviews whenever I do post them. It's all a game.

Erases is right - imagine getting a bad review for a book that you spent 2 years writing and thought was hot, only to get the thumbs down. Some people may be in a bad mood when they click the "No" button. *g* At least you're in the positive zone!!

[identity profile] elisa-rolle.livejournal.com 2009-04-29 04:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes probably is better to see the glass more than half full ;-) As I said, if the review was one of my "so and so" nothing special, probably I wouldn't have noticed it, but it was a book I really loved. Elisa