You said that @ah giten and @EliJelly got scammed etc etc.
You don't know what they paid. You are perhaps arguing that the everyday price of these brands is higher than some competitors? Because I've watches the sale prices and they have had great deals.
You are being so general when talking about all of this, saying this can happen, and if you bought it we were scammed etc.
That just isn't true based on the fact that they had high rankings from buying reviews.
I've presented a few arguments in my past post, if you can show me how they don't make sense I'm all ears.
You have a conclusion about what they are doing and using this to support the conclusion, but the buying of reviews doesn't lead to that conclusion.
Let me know how you prove this isn't correct: By buying reviews they can offer a higher quality product for cheaper because they can sell more and make money off smaller margins due to high sales thanks to the unbelievable return on investment from that marketing strategy.
ETA:
(Also please note that many DDF'ers got products for very cheap on sale, you are likely saying the everyday price is a scam, but if someone got it on a great sale, you seem to also be saying it's a scam and overpriced, which makes no sense to me)
Don’t remember saying that specific people were scammed, rather in general millions of consumers have been scammed. For all I care some people got free products and maybe even some got cash from them. And maybe some people got deal prices on their products are not considered scammed, however deals are a legitimate marketing expense that boosts sales over time. However without their illegal advantage they may have to offer even better deals to remain ranked at the top.
However let’s focus on the people that buy at regular price. What defines a fair market price? Well, whatever the free market price is. However Amazon is not a free market, and the US has laws forbidding fake reviews.
An honest company that can make the same exact product at the same exact cost, invest the same amount in legitimate marketing expenses, and follow every technique from these Chinese scammers, will not be able to get to the top of search at the same selling price, at the same rate as the company that also implements fake reviews. They have a few choices and they’re all bad for consumers. Sell at $12 to counterbalance the effect of fake reviews, but there’s no margins, and they can’t reinvest in marketing when you’re not generating cash. Consumers can’t find the product and save a few dollars. Sell at $15 and generate few sales. Or sell a better version with more features at $17, but since it’s not a level playing field, they have to spend more on marketing and are forced to charge $20. Or don’t sell this product at all, and let this other seller enjoy more sales and healthier margins.
In an honest market, both sellers are fighting neck and neck at $15, and eventually one drops to $14 to generate more sales that will make up for the lower margins. Price war may ensue, and the consumer is always buying at non-distorted prices.
In summary - when there’s a level playing field of honest selling, all consumers enjoy better prices, better deals, more product selection, and greater innovation. While this market distortion might not be obvious, it’s real, and costing consumers millions each year.