After she leaves a 5-star review, the sellers reimburse her via PayPal or an Amazon gift card, and let her keep the items she reviews.

…She meticulously records into an Excel spreadsheet each product, its target review date, the item’s delivery date, whether she’s taken a photo or submitted a review, what she paid, the reimbursement paid by the seller, and the amount she lost or made in the transaction, among other pieces of information.

…“I really don’t think I’m making money on it at all. I’m pretty sure I’m losing money,” Jessica said while looking over her spreadsheet. “I’m pretty sure I’m at a 10% loss. But I’m okay with it, because I’ve gotten a whole bunch of new stuff.”

…Jessica’s activity, as far as Amazon is concerned, looks legitimate. She makes purchases from her own Amazon account and credit card, so her reviews are labeled as a “verified purchase.” After the sellers confirm Jessica has left a 5-star review, the payment is made out of Amazon’s view. The credit card, an Amazon-branded rewards card, gives Jessica an extra bonus for the purchase. In other words, third-party sellers aren’t the only ones paying her to leave fake reviews and superficially boost sales — Amazon is too.

Many sellers tell her the exact keywords to search for on Amazon to more closely simulate an actual Amazon purchase. The method — searching for a keyword and adding the item to a shopping cart — also elevates the product’s profile in search results.

Sellers instruct Jessica not to review products for at least five to six days after receiving the item to make the review appear more authentic. 

…Rebate websites offer Amazon products at deep discounts or for free and streamline the process for giveaway seekers like Jessica. The fake purchases increase the item’s sales rank, which can help attract more genuine sales. To receive a full refund, she agrees to buy the item on Amazon within a certain time period, submits her order number to the seller as proof of purchase, and, most importantly, promises to not return the item. The websites wait 35 days, after Amazon’s return window closes, to refund Jessica through PayPal, and don’t require a review.

…A study by the firm found that a 1-star increase in a product’s average rating led to a 26% jump in sales.

LeBaron said that a high ranking in a search can be worth tens of thousands of dollars in monthly revenue. 

…These merchandisers get access to Amazon’s customers. In turn, the company gets a cut of their sales.

Amazon reported that in 2018, customers spent $160 billion on items from third-party sellers — 58% of all sales on the site.

This Amazon Customer Has Received Hundreds Of Free Products In Exchange For 5-Star Reviews

wild.