VIP Deals is an Amazon merchant that sells the Vipertek black leather case folio for the Kindle Fire. It was reported that it sent out a letter to customers who purchased its product, stating that it is offering a full refund for a review on Amazon.
The letter didn’t ask for a positive review from the customer but it wants them to share their experience to help others learn about the qualities of the product. The merchant added that customers should rate their 5-star experience so that it can have a 100 percent perfect five-star score.
As of late January, 92 percent of the 335 product reviews were five stars. They featured raving reviews of the product. Only a few reviewers stated their displeasure of the bribe. According to them, the letter was included inside the packaging of the product during shipment.
VIP Deals denied that the letters were sent with the package. To date, the merchant has around 5,000 positive reviews on Amazon and a 4.9 star rating. The letter was generic enough that it could be included in all of its products sold on Amazon. After Amazon received word about the bribe, the online retail giant deleted the reviews made for the product. It also removed the products sold by the merchant and banned it from the marketplace.
