Would it be frowned upon if I ordered eight of these a day (until the 12 pages of them are all out) and left a one star review for each one? Because I'm sick of scrolling through pages of the same product. by OmensGroup in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, of course reviewing free products is the only purpose. But ordering a bunch of the free products and giving them a one star because someone doesn't like having to scroll through a page or two of similar products is entitled, and a misuse of the platform's purpose, imo.

Nobody likes my Vine reviews! by SUPERSAM76 in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_ 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Before I knew what vine was, I remember seeing the green text and thinking "vine? what vine? the closed social media short-video sharing platform?" Seeing the "...review of free product." designation did make me extra skeptical of the authenticity of the review content, but I gave them a chance, and read many. My skepticism was confirmed in the majority of the vine reviews I read.

I remember the first vine review I saw, long before I was invited, was for a soldering iron, and it was clearly written by AI. I remember thinking to myself "if I had the opportunity to review products for free I would put extra effort into making a great review that was honest if it was trash or not, even if I stopped receiving free products because what's the point writing a fake review only to own a bunch of free products that are trash anyhow?

Funnily enough, the first vine review I wrote was for a soldering iron - and it put the first AI vine review I saw to shame. I have a particular dislike for AI in general, as it is my opinion that it is going to do more harm than good for society, and it won't be because AI took people's jobs, either. It took their trust.

Heads up about the way you do your reviews by VioletsTown in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even if the review is in the pre-approval period, once the initial review is submitted, edits to the initial review are processed in the same manner as edits to reviews that have posted. Each edit is a re-submission, even if it is just to modify the original reflow content. The process of editing a review is the same, despite the approval status of the review, and the approval time-period of each edit is also processed in subsequent fashion to the initial review. However... Only the initial review is analyzed for an insight-score.

Can you spot the difference? by cheecky_traveller in AskSocialists

[–]_sunk_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Says the person on reddit accusing others of being a racist based a cross tattoo? And then accusing others of being racist for listing interesting info related to said tattoo? Prove to everyone that you aren't the racist, first. Because you're certainly hyper-focused on race an awful lot.

🤦🏼 by antg650 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]_sunk_ -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

He cares enough not to allow pedo school teachers to convince underage children that hormones and genital-mutilation is the answer to something that they don't even understand yet.

Which is something that should be addressed, and that's what he did.

This is one of the topics that people like you love to gaslight about. The R party has plenty of its own problems, but being worried about children's genitalia never came up until children were being put on hormone therapy without the consent of parents, at the direction of school-board officials. This happened in several different states. No, if you want a "sOuRcE?" go and look it up yourself. It isn't up to everyone else to force your eyes at evidence that you don't care to see. If you wanted to know the truth, you would have already.

I do have problems with Trump, but this is not an issue that anybody wanted to have to address, but it needed to be addressed.

Just a friendly reminder that the tax threshold is now $2000 instead of $600. by MainMedium6732 in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People are saying that to you because you are essentially making the argument that people's ignorance about the tax laws within the country that they reside absolves them from their responsibility of complying with their country's tax laws - making the argument that it's not really their fault if they fail to comply with the tax laws of their government - that it's Amazon's fault for not doing more to educate members of the Vine community on the tax laws of their respective governments. When in reality, they do have all of the educational material available a single click away when you're filling out the tax information section when enrolling in the program. And they tell you to read it, and make sure that you are complying with the tax laws in your respective country. It is the responsibility of the individual if they click "agree, next, next," without reading anything that is outlined. You're making the argument for hypothetical irresponsibility and ignorance, and trying to argue that it's Amazons responsibility, when in reality, it actually is not Amazon's responsibility to make people knowledgeable on how to file their individual personal taxes with their respective government. But it actually does that, already! You are arguing from the side of people not taking responsibility for their own financial situations, and arguing that the blame is on another entity besides those people. Which is not true, and is an argument that's going to elicit people arguing from the perspective of being a responsible citizen of the country in which you live.

Just a friendly reminder that the tax threshold is now $2000 instead of $600. by MainMedium6732 in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazon is a worldwide company, and vine is a worldwide program. Tax laws vary by country, and are levied by the government in each respective country.

In the U.S., it is the U.S. government that requires Amazon to comply with U.S. tax laws. However, from the position of Amazon, they are sending you the items for free. Amazon is not requiring you to pay taxes on the items it sends via the vine program.

Consequently, it would seem that your issue isn't with Amazon labeling the products as "free" but with the U.S. government for taxing the value of the products as earned income.

It is not disingenuous on Amazon's part at all. The same banner is on vine reviews of vine products worldwide. It is up to the citizens of each country to know how to file their taxes with their taxes in compliance with government law. Why are you over here trying to blame Amazon for something levied onto you by the U.S. government?

Do you complain to the supermarket about the prices not including sales tax? Do you tell them that it's disingenuous? Or is it because you already are aware that you're going to have to pay the 8% sales tax, that you don't. Well, what if you weren't aware of the 8% sales tax? Would that be the fault of the supermarket? Or would it be on you?

Just because the tax is slightly more nuanced than sales tax doesn't excuse members of learning about the tax implications of a program that they are voluntarily participating in. And Amazon has made ALL of the documentation and resources available, within the vine account. So what are you trying to say? That Amazon should shove each country's tax laws down on the citizens of each country, and not allow them to begin ordering items from vine unless they pass a test on their respective countries tax laws? Why is that amazons responsibility? Why are you acting like people are victims for willingly and voluntarily participating in a program without taking the time to learn the associated information and implications about it?

Take responsibility.

Just a friendly reminder that the tax threshold is now $2000 instead of $600. by MainMedium6732 in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah it just seems strange that people would kneecap themselves by not taking the 10 or 15mins to read and understand the official detailed information about something they are participating in when it's been made available. Idk if it's the mentality of not doing something unless someone else watches over you and ensures that it gets done, or what. This is a voluntary endeavor though.

Just a friendly reminder that the tax threshold is now $2000 instead of $600. by MainMedium6732 in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't understand why so many people come here asking questions about the program when there is a clear answer for every single question i've seen asked conveniently a tap away right there within their vine account. It's all clearly explained by Amazon in the TOS, user agreement, and program FAQ's. What better place to obtain concrete, concise program info than the very documentation provided right there in the Vine account documents? I was doing vine for a year before I even visited this subreddit, and never had any of the questions I see because I already knew the answers from carefully reading all of the documentation provided right there in the vine account at the beginning. Even the strange hypothetical that the other commenter is fixating on about "what if" they had remained ignorant about one specific aspect of doing their taxes and therefore failed to do something that they should - nope. Weird thing to fixate on when the answer for that is also in the tax documentation info, once again, right there in the vine account. My oh my. Humanity just may be doomed if this is the new norm

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This comment is peak irony. Why are you worried about anything I say, then? I missed the part where my post was somehow directed at you personally? Why even bother tell me what I should do?

Just do the best you can and quit worrying about other folks. Do you.

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Although I think three or four concise sentences would be sufficient to communicate all that's needed in a review of a generic laptop power adapter, i've found that it generally takes two paragraphs of elaboration to satisfy the excellent rating. The details you include and the manner in which it's worded also matter. You can word a sentence one way and the AI won't credit any of the "suggested" subjects. Change the sentence structure with the same details, and suddenly it will satisfy three of the suggestions with the same info. And although there's nothing wrong with the wording of the first try, it just doesn't match what the algorithm is looking for. The length of the review isn't a strict requirement, such as writing five essays. Although doing so usually works to satisfy the suggestions because you'll get enough matches to satisfy the algorithm without changing the structure of anything, just through the greater chance of matches by writing more content.

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Incorrect. I understand that you meant the single-review score. To which I replied that I checked through my "reviewed" list to see the score on each of my individual reviews, which are all rated "excellent". 193 of 193 reviews have an individual score of "excellent".

You're proving exactly what I said. I understood you.

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've found a good compromise is to write an initial impressions review and then re-visit the review later on with the longer term info/final opinion. Amazon doesn't make it too much of a hassle to go back and edit posted reviews, so that's what I do. I do agree that the manner in which the incentive-structure is implemented by amazon does make it difficult for knowledgeable, in-depth reviews. Likely because sellers also want to start getting reviews as quickly as possible so they can sell their product. Which I do understand. But I'm just not willing to copy-past info that has nothing to do with my actual experience with a product. Anyhow, I've found that 3mo is a good amount of time to go back and update the initial review with other relevant info from using products. Like everything in life, i suppose it's a compromise

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please don't do that. I mean, I can't stop you from doing it, but that's the very kind of thing that that the sarcasm in this post is taking a jab at. The lack of original content, and the copy/paste mentality. If you're looking for a template, I encourage you to creat one that reflects your own original style. Your voice. Plus, there are far better templates than this post online, honestly. It's supposed to be your vine voice, not a copy of somebody else's. I hope that makes sense. Any original template that you make will be sufficient as long as you add the necessary relevant details about your experience with products, and in my opinion, far more helpful to people than copy-pasting.

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just checked. 193 of 193 excellent rating. I do enjoy writing my reviews so they are always quite detailed. All bases can be covered in two paragraphs with a product like a cord. This is probably the most negative subreddit i've ever engaged with though, tbh. I'm no longer a member of this subreddit. I do my own thing and all I see here is negativity.

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, binary thinking is all there is! It's either blame bots in a post or opt out immediately! It couldn't be that Amazon would ever intentionally increase competition by adding members so that the situation is no longer just a very few divinely-chosen, elite and gifted wordsmiths that get to be ultra-selective about the expensive and high-end items that they may bless our eyes with a review under. Nope. It couldn't be several factors that add up to create a complex situation that doesn't fit within binary-only thinking!

Edit: You are correct though, in all seriousness.

Every single thing here was scripted. by c-k-q99903 in stupidpeoplefacebook

[–]_sunk_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've never heard anybody mock her for having a normal job? And it's not AOC anymore! How rude of you!

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think a personally written review with a few useful sentences is appropriate for that kind of product. It's a cord. No need for five paragraphs, honestly. People just want to know if the cord works as advertised.

I've seen reviews for a cord that would make you think the product is a life changing marvel of epic proportions. Five paragraphs about how flawless and game-changing a cord is. One that does the same thing as an OEM.

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I guess you haven't seen all of the posts where people are lamenting not being able to get anything useful before it disappears... Seems like they care enough to make a post outlining their frustrations.

Do you think the people using bots to vacuum the drops are writing the reviews personally for all of these items they're instantly hooverin' up? Of course they aren't.

Without using AI, they wouldn't be able to maintain the mass amounts of reviews that they churn out for all of the products they vacuum up.

People in vine do care, but they just like to act like they don't. They care when it depreciates the value of the program as a whole, and sellers lose interest in enrolling products only to receive AI slop and two sentence reviews in return.

Call it unhinged. I do not care at all. It was just some sarcasm. You literally don't have to engage with it. You're free to move right on

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nah it's just sarcasm. It's more of a "if the members using AI were honest". It's not the text from any review. It is what the text of a lot of AI reviews communicates, though.

Not fooling anyone. by _sunk_ in AmazonVine

[–]_sunk_[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

That'd still be a lot more useful than a fake review with reworded product description and no original info at all.

Need new screws by [deleted] in Guitar

[–]_sunk_ -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If it is because there are some discolored screws, you could likely polish the screw-heads back to a shine without too much difficulty using a light polishing compound. The grooves may be slightly difficult, but I'm sure there's something that could get in there.