Review-farming - The Secret Economy of 5-Star Reviews
How Chinese Sellers Game E-Commerce Platforms
We are Stella and Amy. We share firsthand stories at the crossroads of tech, business, and culture, helping leaders craft actionable cross-cultural strategies. Together, we bridge cultural divides and bring the world a little closer—one step at a time.
Like many people working on a home improvement project, I’d been scrolling through Instagram and Xiaohongshu (RedNote) for inspiration. One day, a post caught my eye:
Want a solid wood dresser for free? Limited spots available!
A free, high-quality dresser? Too good to be true—but curiosity won. I followed the instructions and got added to a group chat called “测评” (Test & Review) or review-farming.
Inside, I found daily posts offering “free” products—lamps, kitchen gadgets, home organizers. But there was a catch:
☑️Buy the product on Amazon first.
☑️Leave a 5-star review within a few days.
☑️Get fully reimbursed after the review is verified.
At first, it seemed like a win-win—buyers got free stuff, sellers got better rankings. But as I scrolled through, I realized this wasn’t just a small loophole; it was a carefully organized system designed to tackle one of the biggest challenges in e-commerce: the cold-start problem.
And it wasn’t just happening in this one group—it was everywhere.
The Cold-Start Problem: Stuck in Amazon’s Shadows
Imagine you’re an overseas manufacturer struggling with brutal competition and razor-thin margins at home. Selling on Amazon in the U.S. seems like a golden opportunity—huge demand, better profits.
So, you set up shop, list your beautifully designed home organizer, and wait.
🚨Nothing happens.
Your product is buried on page 50 of search results. Meanwhile, competitors with hundreds of reviews dominate the first page. Why? Because Amazon’s algorithm favors:
✅High sales
✅Strong reviews
✅Customer engagement
As a new seller with zero sales and no reviews, you’re stuck:
❌No sales = No reviews
❌No reviews = No visibility
❌No visibility = No sales
This is the cold-start problem—and if you don’t solve it, your product stays invisible. So, how do sellers break the cycle?
Getting Reviews: Seller Tactics to Boost Search Rankings
To escape the cold-start trap, sellers need reviews—fast. Some play by the rules, while others take shortcuts.
❌ The Traditional Way: Slow and Costly
Amazon Vine: Amazon invites trusted reviewers to test products for free and leave honest reviews. The downside? Unpredictable feedback and limited access. Sellers only do it when they are very confident in their products.
Organic Reviews: Hoping customers leave reviews on their own. Unless the product goes viral, your product sales remain stale and never see the light of day.
Ads & Influencers: Running PPC ads or paying influencers to promote products. Effective but expensive. Also, you still need to beg for reviews after a customer makes a purchase.
❌ Paid Fake Reviews: The Risky Shortcut
Some sellers buy fake reviews outright—bots or paid users leave 5-star ratings overnight. It’s easy to detect, and Amazon bans thousands of sellers for this.
❓ The Gray Zone: “Real” Reviews, But Not Really
A more sophisticated method involves real customers:
Buy the product at full price to appear legit.
Write a pre-arranged 5-star review (e.g. 100+ words, photos, videos).
Get reimbursed privately after posting.
Because real accounts are involved, platforms’ AI struggles to detect them. But make no mistake—it’s still against the rules.
And this gray-zone hack, “测评” (Test & Review), is exactly what I unknowingly stumbled upon in that RedNote group.
Inside the Review-farming System
This isn’t a random scam—it’s a structured system with clear budgets, timelines, and expected returns.
📌 The Strategy: Planning the Review-farming Cycle
Sellers don’t throw money at reviews randomly. Instead, they build a step-by-step campaign:
Seasonal products (3-6 months lifespan): Start reviews three months early to boost rankings before peak season.
Holiday products (1-1.5 months lifespan): Aggressive push using PPC ads, paid reviews, and heavy discounts.
For cheap or low-quality products, the strategy is simple: Move fast. Sell aggressively. Maximize profits before the negative reviews catch on.
📌 How It Works Behind the Scenes
Reviewers are recruited via RedNote, WeChat, Facebook, or Telegram.
Buy the product on the platform, Amazon, Wayfair or Esty, at full price (to look legitimate).
Leave a glowing 5-star review in 3-5 days (following strict word count & image guidelines).
Receive a refund via PayPal, WeChat Pay, or Alipay.
To avoid detection, reviews are posted gradually over weeks. A well-planned schedule may look like this:
Week 1:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday - 1 paid customer per day
Wednesday, Sunday - 2 paid customers per day
Week 2:
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday - 1 paid customer per day
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday - 2 paid customers per day
Week 3:
Tuesday, Friday, Saturday - 2 paid customers per day
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday - 1 paid customer per day
Sunday - 3 paid customers per day
Week 4: Final push for reviews from paid customers
The goal is to create an illusion of organic popularity, tricking the platform’s ranking algorithm.
📌 The Cost of Review-farming
Staged reviews can get expensive. The cost of these reviews varies by product price and the complexity of the review campaign:
Low-priced items (<$20): $5-$10 per review
Mid-priced items ($20-$100): $10-$30 per review
High-priced electronics ($100+): $50 or more per review
For sellers, investing a few thousand dollars upfront in "测评" might seem risky, but the potential boost in rankings and sales often outweighs the initial costs.
The Middlemen: The Hidden Aggregators
Imagine having to personally manage hundreds of reviewers—keeping track of who bought what, who wrote their reviews on time, and who qualifies for reimbursements. Sounds exhausting, right? This is where the "middlemen" step in.
These hidden players act as the glue between sellers desperate for visibility and eager reviewers looking for great deals. Middlemen manage lively online groups (like the one I joined), continually offering a buffet of products at enticing discounts or entirely for free. It's like a daily treasure hunt, keeping consumers excited and engaged.
But there's more to their role than just matchmaking. Middlemen also carefully screen reviewer accounts, verifying they're established, trustworthy, and have credible purchase histories. This vetting process helps ensure the reviews will pass the platform's scrutiny and genuinely boost product rankings.
It is not an easy job. The middlemen’s responsibility covers multiple aspects:
✅Manage Reviewer Groups: Operate active online communities where reviewers gather.
✅Recruit Reviewers: Continuously attract new reviewers by offering appealing products for free or at substantial discounts.
✅Screen Reviewer Accounts: Vet accounts for legitimacy, ensuring they aren't newly created and have credible purchase histories.
✅Match Sellers and Reviewers: Efficiently pair products from sellers with suitable reviewers.
✅Maintain Engagement: Keep reviewer groups lively and attractive with regular offerings.
✅Ensure Review Legitimacy: Guide reviewers on what to write and when to post, to produce credible, detailed reviews that boost search rankings without triggering fraud detection.
✅Facilitate Transactions: Smoothly handle reimbursements and communications between sellers and reviewers.
✅Reduce Detection Risks: Act as intermediaries, minimizing direct contact and friction, thus helping both parties avoid unwanted attention from platforms like Amazon.
By acting as intermediaries, middlemen create a smooth, friction-free experience for both parties, reducing risks and awkward interactions. In short, they're the essential backstage operators who keep the wheels of the review-farming system spinning—and thriving.
Algorithms vs. Fraudulent Reviews
Of course platforms like Amazon won’t just sit back and watch as sellers game the system. Amazon, for example, uses AI-powered fraud detection to identify fake reviews by tracking:
Suspicious review spikes (e.g., too many 5-star reviews too fast).
Unnatural language patterns (e.g., overly similar reviews).
Reviewer behavior (e.g., reviewing unrelated products rapidly).
Network analysis (e.g., spotting review farms).
IP tracking (e.g., multiple reviews from the same source).
Despite these efforts, sellers keep finding loopholes—keeping this battle ongoing. And the risks of getting caught are severe:
FTC Fines: U.S. regulators now fine companies up to $51,744 per fake review. Even a few detected fake reviews could lead to massive penalties, enough to cripple smaller businesses.
Platform Bans: Amazon frequently shuts down entire seller accounts permanently, cutting off revenue overnight and potentially ending businesses.
Legal Consequences: Sellers involved in deceptive practices may face legal investigations and costly lawsuits.
Reputation Damage: Getting publicly exposed for fake reviews can destroy consumer trust, severely harming future sales and brand reputation.
“堵不如疏” – To Block or To Guide?
With cutthroat competition and shrinking profits in China’s domestic market, sellers take risks to survive. The reality? E-commerce platforms’ cold-start problem is so brutal that some sellers see no other way.
There’s an old Chinese saying: “堵不如疏”—"It's better to divert than to block." Platforms can keep investing in AI to crack down, but is that the only way?
What if, instead of just policing, platforms offered better support for new sellers?
Because as long as ranking depends on reviews and sales velocity, the review-farming industry isn’t going anywhere.
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