Integrity of Amazon Reviews & Vine

Amazon needs to do a better job of allowing business owners to engage with those posting reviews. We are a young brand who's building a good name and solid reputation with new customers on Amazon. For as much time, effort and money that goes into bringing high quality products to market, it would be nice to see reviews from industry experts. It's true that everyone has a voice, but some reviewers are fake, competitors out to squash a new brand, unqualified to review the product itself or generally false and misleading. Brand owners need to have a voice.

We have two vine reviews that state the expiration date is not on the package when in fact our expiration date is on the package. Granted it is black print on a black package but our product has a multi-year shelf-life and we didn't feel it needs to overwhelm the package itself. Shouldn't the Vine reviewer focus more on the freshness, flavor and taste of the tea?

Other reviewers have commented on the subjective taste of a particular tea when stating they did not follow our brewing instructions. They place a review and then say next time I will follow the brewing instruction. Wouldn't it make sense to brew it again prior to posting the review?

We sell high quality loose leaf tea. A Vine 3 star reviewer states they wish this was in tea bags so they can take it on the go. You can buy tea bags to take our teas on the go. The reviewer also states that this tea is more expensive than the tea they are used to drinking. Surprising to comment on price when they received the product for free and we are providing nearly double the quantity of our competitors for literally only 30% more in price. Also stated that they drink Black and Green tea, while this tea that they are reviewing is an herbal blend.

Lastly, Brand Owners are coming to Vine for expert opinions to showcase their products and put their best foot forward. Vine reviewers should provide the attention to detail that the product deserves. In addition, Amazon should look out for its Brand Owners. When new products hit the market with no reviews and review of a 1 or 2 comes in, it should be validated for authenticity. This is such a poor rating that is literally detrimental to the product and company at launch. One person has the power to completely squash a product. It will take ten 5 star reviews to overcome this bad rating; which could take months. This is literally unethical. There should be guidelines of what 1 & 2 star reviews mean.

We had one customer review that was unverified and they left a 2 star review without any comments. It was only our second review on the product so it crushed our rating. We were not able to respond and Amazon did not remove the review. This is what promoted us to join the Vine program; which we thought would have more integrity. We love Amazon and want to become a pillar brand on this platform. We hope that brand owners will have a voice and more integrity will be brought into the overall review process.