Podcast Summary:
The My Wife Quit Her Job Podcast With Steve Chou
Episode 621: How Amazon Sellers Are Still Gaming Reviews Without Getting Banned
Guest: Dave Bryant (Ecom Crew)
Date: January 13, 2026
Episode Overview
Steve Chou welcomes Dave Bryant, co-founder of Ecom Crew, to discuss the sophisticated and ongoing tactics Amazon sellers use to game product reviews, even after Amazon’s highly publicized crackdowns. The episode also covers evolving e-commerce sales channels, shifts in content marketing, and strategies to build resilient businesses amid changing fees, tariffs, and review manipulation. Dave’s firsthand insights—including his testing of fake review services—reveal the persistent challenges Amazon faces and practical advice for legitimate sellers.
Key Themes & Discussion Points
1. Amazon’s Fake Review Problem: New Tactics Post-Crackdown
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Persistence of Fake Review Brokers
- Despite Amazon’s lawsuits and publicized wins, fake review brokers continue to operate from countries like India and Bangladesh, immune to U.S. legal enforcement (02:50).
- Sellers can still buy fake reviews for $4-$5 each, quickly and with little risk of detection.
"You could buy 100 of these reviews, you could buy a thousand ... very, very, very hard for Amazon to trace." — Dave Bryant (02:50)
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Amazon's Efforts and Their Limitations
- Initial crackdown targeted physical insert cards with review incentives, which was traceable (20:52).
- Tactics have shifted to Facebook groups and dedicated broker sites, making enforcement difficult.
"Now what's happened, it's gone from insert cards ... to review brokers." — Dave Bryant (20:52)
2. How Fake Review Services Operate (Dave’s Experiment)
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Dave’s Inside Look at Buying a Fake Review
- Dave successfully purchases a fake review while impersonating a Chinese seller, using crypto for payment (25:28–28:34).
- The process is sophisticated—with customer tracking, order management, and delays to avoid detection.
- Most reviews originate from Facebook groups; some brokers' advertisements even appear in Chinese “mecca” buildings for Amazon service companies.
"This is not some rudimentary operation ... They have a tracking service ... the whole process took about 10 days from the time I cryptoed the money to the time somebody bought the product and ultimately left the review." — Dave Bryant (28:34)
3. Weaponizing Reviews: The Double-Edged Sword
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Sellers Can Buy Both Positive & Negative Reviews
- Brokers will easily sell 1-star, 3-star, or 5-star reviews for competitors as well as themselves (30:00–30:28).
- Escalates to “tit-for-tat” review wars, especially in high-competition categories (beauty, supplements).
“You want one-star reviews, three-star reviews, five-star reviews, no problem. Anything you want, we’ll get it for you.” — Dave Bryant (30:06)
4. Seller Options When Targeted by Fake Reviews
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Amazon’s Slow and Unreliable Review Removal
- Reports show Amazon is more receptive to removal requests than in the past, but success is largely through brute-force case submissions; most are not removed (32:12).
- Third-party removal services exist, but these simply spam the process on a seller's behalf.
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Recommended Strategies
- Rapidly accumulate legitimate positive reviews to "wash away" the impact of negative attacks.
- In extreme, early-stage cases (e.g. negative reviews before shipping), relaunching a listing may be necessary.
"If you are in a really competitive category ... you have to have that launch velocity ... get a ton of sales, because you are going to get some percentage of people that are going to leave reviews." — Dave Bryant (33:06)
5. Amazon Category Selection & Bad Actor Avoidance
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Advice for Sellers
- Avoid hyper-competitive niches (supplements, beauty) heavily targeted for review manipulation.
- Build a diverse portfolio of products with moderate rather than blockbuster sales to remain under-the-radar (36:40).
- Focus on more "boring" or niche categories (off-roading, boating) where bad actors are rarer.
"Have a lot of products doing tens of thousands a month, not a single product doing millions of dollars.” — Dave Bryant (36:40)
6. Shifting E-commerce Landscape: Social/Livestream Selling & Content Trends
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Rise of Social Commerce
- Live and social selling (e.g., TikTok Shop) are gaining traction in North America, but have not yet reached the ubiquity seen in Asia (05:46–11:15).
- Influencers launching brands is an early step toward more mainstream live-selling trends.
"I think TikTok Shop is a really good example of how you can succeed outside of Amazon … If you're selling a boat anchor, yeah, probably not the best for TikTok shops." — Dave Bryant (03:47–07:11)
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Challenges Translating Asian Models to North America
- Cultural and linguistic differences make it hard for Chinese sellers to replicate live-selling success in the U.S. market (08:01–09:38).
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Content Marketing: Visual Over Written
- Google’s “helpful content” update slashed the effectiveness of written content sites, especially for non-visual brands (12:14–13:02).
- Visual and video-based content still works, especially if it’s hard for AI to replicate (e.g., detailed how-tos).
- AI is useful for content repurposing but cannot be trusted for niche e-commerce advice (41:41).
7. Amazon’s Rising Costs: Fees, Margins, and Profitability
- Advanced Product Cost Structure Now Required
- Previously, 4x landed cost was enough; with fee hikes and tariffs, sellers now need at least 6x landed cost pricing for sustainable 10% net margins (16:17).
- Tariffs affect U.S. sellers most, but also disrupt cross-border businesses (e.g., Canadian sellers losing de minimis advantage) (17:29–20:28).
8. Brand vs Marketplace: The Value of DTC vs Amazon
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Brand Building
- Steve emphasizes the value of brand recognition for long-term resilience; Dave counters that true strong brand affinity is rare for most Amazon private label businesses (37:06–37:53).
“For the most part ... brands are becoming less and less important and we’re kind of just getting into ... plain Jane private label products and we all have Amazon to thank for that.” — Dave Bryant (37:53)
9. Dave’s Forward Focus: Influencer Marketing & Content Creation
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Influencer Collaborations
- Dave focuses on working with existing influencers in his brand’s niches (off-roading, crafting), especially through YouTube and TikTok (39:26–40:14).
- Prefers influencer partnerships over becoming the sole content creator for his brands.
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Ecom Crew’s Transition
- Shift towards YouTube and email over blogging post-Google helpful update (40:28–41:25).
- AI aids in rewriting and repurposing content for multi-channel distribution (41:41).
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On the resilience of fake review sites:
“You can go onto their websites right now today, buy fake reviews for four to five dollars per review ... very, very, very hard for Amazon to trace.” — Dave Bryant (02:50)
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On Amazon’s crackdown:
“They suspended a lot of very, very major sellers, like public companies in China. So definitely that was a very real action ... Now what's happened, it's gone from insert cards ... to review brokers.” — Dave Bryant (20:52)
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On Dave’s test buy:
"To their credit ... I did legitimately get the review. ... This is not some rudimentary operation." — Dave Bryant (28:42)
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On fighting negative reviews:
"...all you can do is cross your fingers and hope that Amazon catches these fake reviewers." — Dave Bryant (30:42)
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On category choice:
"Avoid categories where bad actors exist ... If you're selling supplements or beauty products, yeah, you're going to have a lot of bad actors." — Dave Bryant (35:45)
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On the future of live and social selling:
"Logan Paul with Prime ... new, very successful brands are being driven by Internet influencers. And I think this is kind of like the first baby steps towards getting to the point of live selling." — Dave Bryant (10:26)
Important Timestamps
- [02:50] – Dave explains how fake review brokers continue despite Amazon’s efforts
- [09:38] – Live selling culture in China and its challenges in the western market
- [16:17] – Profit margins and cost structure realities for Amazon sellers in 2026
- [20:52] – The evolution from review inserts to review brokers and Facebook groups
- [25:28–28:34] – Dave's step-by-step experience purchasing a fake review
- [30:06] – On buying one-star reviews to attack competitors
- [32:12] – Seller options and limitations when removing fake reviews
- [35:45] – Categories to avoid and why
- [37:53] – The diminishing importance of brands on Amazon
- [39:26] – Dave's focus on influencer marketing and content
- [40:28] – Evolution of Ecom Crew (YouTube and email focus)
Where To Find Dave Bryant/Ecom Crew
Final Thoughts
This episode exposes the underbelly of the Amazon review ecosystem, shedding light on why fake review manipulations persist and how even major crackdowns often miss the mark due to clever tactics and international enforcement hurdles. Sellers—new and experienced—will find tactical advice for navigating Amazon’s current landscape, avoiding problematic categories, and considering future shifts to video, influencer, and social platforms for alternative growth.
Steve and Dave’s frank conversation is both a warning and a call to adapt, whether by choosing resilient product strategies, harnessing new content formats, or simply staying ahead of the curve in a turbulent e-commerce world.