Unable to place a WikiReader review on Amazon

[Joshua Judson Rosen]

Sean Moss-Pultz <sean at openmoko.com> writes:
>
> On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 10:46 AM, Joshua Judson Rosen
> <rozzin at geekspace.com> wrote:
> >
> > "" <jcolbert at netins.net> writes:
> > >
> > > You should be able to post a review on Amazon. I bought
> > > mine directly from the Wikireader site, as you did, and
> > > had no problem posting a review. You may need to log in to
> > > Amazon before you try to post.
> >
> > I think I have to actually buy /something/ *from Amazon* before
> > they'll let me post any reviews--I don't necessarily have to buy the
> > product that I'm reviewing from them, but I have to buy *something*
> > from them. You must have previously bought something from them.
> >
> > My Amazon account was only even created as a side-effect of the
> > `Amazon Payments' processing of the order placed through thewikireader.com,
> > so I don't meet that criteria: I've never bought /anything/ *from Amazon*.
[...]
>
> I emailed Amazon directly last night. Here's what they said:
> 
> "Please be informed that anyone registered as an Amazon.com customer
> is entitled to write a product review. It doesn't matter whether they
> bought the product from our website or not."
> 
> So it should work fine.

I think that Amazon is having communications difficulties....:

> I think you have to login to Amazon.com with your customer
> account. And you can write a review. Is this what you tried?

It is. After logging in, it tells me:
       
    To write a customer review: you must have used this account to
    complete a purchase* of an item from Amazon.com. Please wait 24
    hours after your first purchase before writing a review.

    If you have another account: and you have already used it to make
    a purchase, you can sign into that account to write a review.

    Other options:

    Go back to the item you were just viewing
    Visit Your Profile

    * A purchase requirement is used to maintain review quality.


After a series of phone-calls and e-mails with Amazon support staff
from various departments (`Amazon.com' support and `Amazon Payments'
support are 2 different departments; and I ultimately ended up at
`Amazon Community' support, which is the department that handles
issues related to product-reviews and other `community'-related things),
I finally got an e-mail that read:

    All reviewers must have a password-protected Amazon.com account
    used for at least one purchase from Amazon.com.

    You'll find helpful information in the Fine Print listed on the
    review submission form. Also, please take a look at our Review
    Guidelines for information about acceptable review content:

        http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=14279631


But it did take a while to get that out of them. They really *were*
friendly and intent on helping at every step of they way, it just
appears that they... have some communications problems. I did get to
talk to real, live people *immediately*--I didn't have to deal with
touch-tone menus or voice-recognition robots; so, there's that..., and
I do have to give them some points for that :)

> > It looks like the WikiReader has just been removed from their product
> > listing (except that it's still in some of the `bestsellers' lists,
> > depending on how you navigate there...), otherwise I'd just buy
> > another one [*from Amazon*] (hey--the holidays are coming! ;)).
> 
> Yes, our product is "missing" from their search. You can view / buy
> WikiReader here:
> 
>   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002N5521W

Yep--that's the URL that I ended up giving (reading) to the phone
support person during the third round of problem-resolution, because
she just couldn't find it otherwise. Not even looking for
`the best-selling electronic office dictionary' ;),
because she started in `electronics' and then moved to
`bestsellers' rather than starting in `bestsellers' and
moving through `electronics'.

> But forget about searching. That's totally broken.
> Seriously we're pulling our hair out over this one. Amazon might be
> nice to customers, but to suppliers it's the worse experience I have
> *ever* seen. I'm on the phone with them more than my girlfriend.

Yeesh.

Well, here's hoping that you're back in the listing soon.

Anyway, I guess I'll just buy something from Amazon (like another
WikiReader) when Amazon's product-listing is un-broken again, then
I'll be able to post a review.

It's nice to hear that I didn't get you banned from the shoppe or
something (along with your children! And your children's children! ...),
I guess.

-- 
"Don't be afraid to ask (λf.((λx.xx) (λr.f(rr))))."