[AMS]

Link

Hello Review Fans-

Some of you may have received an e-mail about this already, others may receive e-mail about this in the coming months. Regardless, I wanted to let everyone here know about our new program, called Amazon Vine, that will be launching on August 15th.

Vine helps our vendors generate awareness for new and pre-release products by connecting them with the voice of the Amazon community: our reviewers. Vine members, called Voices, may request free copies of items enrolled in the program and have the ability to share their opinions before these products become generally available.

As with all Amazon reviews, we want your honest opinion of the product. Amazon will not edit or modify any reviews beyond small tweaks to fit within existing guidelines (this is exactly how it works today). Through this program, Amazon customers will be able to read trustworthy customer reviews that wouldn't normally appear on pre-release products to help them to make informed purchase decisions.

Amazon reviewers are invited to become Vine Voices based on the trust they have earned in the Amazon community for writing accurate and insightful reviews. Many of you may receive invitations to join Amazon Vine in the ensuing months, and we hope you will take advantage of the benefits this program provides.

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Thanks for all the feedback and questions. We're not ready to answer all of these questions now, but I'll tell you what I can:

- This will not just be books.
- The number of mails sent so far is small. Invitations will be going out over the next few months.
- As far as I know, California is still part of the US
- We have given the vendors absolutely no assurances about good publicity. They understand that the nature of their reviews will depend on the quality of their product.
- Reviews will be inline with the rest of reviews, not in a separate bucket. They will, however, be marked as being reviews from the Vine program.
- E-mail settings are not based on them being public for the profile, but whether or not Amazon can send you commercial mail. If you want to check/change your preferences you can do so here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/gss/ccp/

Also, I posted this instead of Jim only because he has been on vacation. You lot haven't scared him off yet (please don't, we like him) and he deserves more of the credit for this than I do.

-Russell

Link

Amazon will supply free advance copies of books, movies to customer reviewers

Amazon.com will provide free advance copies of books, movies and music to customers who agree to post reviews of the new releases on the company's Web site.

The program, Amazon Vine, will permit negative reviews as long as they meet Amazon's regular review guidelines, said manager Russell Dicker.

"As with all Amazon reviews, we want your honest opinion of the product," Dicker said. "Amazon will not edit or modify any reviews beyond small tweaks to fit within existing guidelines -- this is exactly how it works today."

Starting August 15, Amazon will ask customers to join the program in invitations e-mailed over the next few months. To be eligible, customers must allow receipt of commercial e-mail from Amazon. Customers can check and change their settings here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/gss/ccp/

Asked if publishers would pay Vine placement fees, Dicker didn't elaborate. Many professionals in the book trade believe it's unethical to pay for reviews, although in this case Amazon would receive the payment, not the reviewer. It's also unclear whether small publishers or self-publishers will be allowed to participate.

In 2006 Amazon experimented with recruiting its Top Reviewers to critique advance copies of the fantasy novel The Stolen Child, and Amazon bought the book's film rights. The publisher, Doubleday, acknowledged the overwhelmingly positive online reviews propelled the book onto bestseller lists. However, some readers argued Amazon should have disclosed it was a paid placement by Doubleday.

Dicker emphasized publishers won't expect good reviews. "We have given the vendors absolutely no assurances about good publicity," he said. "They understand that the nature of their reviews will depend on the quality of their product."

[wurlybird9]

sounds cool. I've not bothered doing many reviews on Amazon. I guess this is an incentive to get started.

[bayoubabe]

*bump* this starts on Wed. not sure if i want 'commercial' email to come to my in box or not..