Have you noticed that you can’t comment on a product review on Amazon any more? One of my favorite uses of this feature was to ping a buyer for updates on their initial reaction to a product. A product really shows its stripes after a few months of usage, not at the initial unboxing.
Additionally, organic discussion is a strong indicator of whether a review is authentic or not — a real problem in the Amazon ecosystem. If Amazon were serious about cutting down review spam, they’d leave this already-operational system running.
I got this email from Amazon Services last winter explaining their action.
On 2020-12-15 03:25, Amazon Services wrote:
> Dear seller,
>
> You are receiving this email because you recently left a comment on a review.
>
> While reviews and feedback are important to our customers and sellers,
> the comments feature on customer reviews was rarely used. As a result,
> we are retiring this feature on December 16, 2020.
>
> We are committed to your continued success and will innovate and
> develop other opportunities for you to connect with customers.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Amazon Services
Rarely used? Really?
I think this is foolish. It’s important for users to discuss products months after the initial honeymoon period has ended.
