Amazon Customer Reviews

My new book Banking in Crisis had its first customer review on Amazon (see below). It got five stars! I actually know who the reviewer is - YuXiang Long - a very enthusiastic student from my 2013 Money and Banking class. Thanks Long!  If you want to write a customer review on Banking in Crisis, please feel free to do so.

But can we trust Amazon  (or TripAdvisor) reviews? Could I not manipulate Amazon reviews of my book by bribing family, friends and students to post overly positive reviews? Are Amazon customers savvy enough to catch on and do they simply ignore them?  What type of Amazon reviews do I pay attention to? If I'm buying a book or DVD, I usually ignore customer reviews. However, if I'm buying a piece of gadgetry, I usually read a cross-section of the reviews, particularly those which comment on the functioning etc of the gadget.  When it comes to hotels, I usually ignore hotels with under 200 reviewers and I start by reading the terrible (one-star) and poor (two-star) reviews. In this way, I gain an insight into things which turn me off hotels (excessive noise, poor breakfasts etc.).