Amazon book review policy.

I recently downloaded an eBook from Amazon’s kindle store. Upon reading it and enjoying it I usually make a point of taking the time to click on the review option of the item purchased to write a positive review.

Imagine my surprise today to click on the option and be hit with a message from Amazon informing me that I am not eligible to write a review for the listed item. It surprised me considering I had purchased the eBook from Amazon, I had read it and had good things to say about it. I have written numerous reviews over the years, this is the first time this has happened, so I guess the policy has changed sometime in the last year. So with all that relevant criteria I was informed the purported lack of eligibility is because I had not reached a £40 minimum spend with them in the last year!

It is an example of the on-line retailers getting more demanding and controlling of their customers and trying to steer and dictate their aggressive business strategies upon us. Shame they do not have someone equally aggressively asking for their proportionate tax payments!

Funny because it is the stories of, and my own experience of, getting signed up to their Prime service in a sneaky manner that has been actually making me steer away from Amazon recently but I have had an account with them for at least 10 years so far and my average yearly spend will be more than £40.

I felt qualified to review the book based on the fact I had read it…. seems that’s not the important element. As it’s not going on Amazon’s site, I will leave the review here.

Barnitts – Through The Years. By John Falsea

Brilliant read!

OMG just read this book through tears of laughter, the funny stories and tales of customer interactions are priceless! The book tells the story of this wonderful store right up to present day. The full history of the shop is explained with great interest and the pages are embellished with photographs of the oldest adverts, logo changes, ancient till receipts, building plans for expansion and such like, along with loads of photos from inside and out of just how the shop has changed through the years. I learned a lot, not only about Barnitts but also about the city of York and retailing too. It made me aware that we all need to think about how and where we shop, these small high street places really need customers to survive and thrive.

Just to add further I have worked in retail for the past 20 some years so love to read books from this sector, they are not too common unfortunately but this book really is a stand out and pretty unique. The insider insight seems to genuinely bring the shop to life and lets you understand a bit about the business and the company.

I really do recommend it.