NetGalley Addicts Support Group discussion

Amazon UK seem to have a new policy that unless a user has purchased £40 worth of goods in the previous year they can longer post reviews. As many publishers state they wish this to be done it looks as though I shall be unable to review certain books.

Has anyone found a way round this?

I don’t think that’s new. It’s been around for awhile, you have to purchase so much in a calendar year (at least in the US).

That being said I also think books are an exception.

I thought books were an exception but I can’t post any reviews. I’ll try to live chat with someone.

I know they sometimes have review limits for non-verified purchasss- do you think you’ve hit your limit?

I thought it was £50 for the UK site and $50 for the US site. If you have Prime or Kindle Unlimited, I think you can still review. What I don't get is if I'm one of their affiliates, and my reviews generate sales for them, why can't I post book reviews?

Sara, I may have reached some sort of limit. David, I am an affiliate, too. I’ve been in touch and it’s being looked into.

I have Prime and Kindle Unlimited and live in Canada. I always used to post my reviews to Amazon UK but they no longer allow me to do it.

It's nothing new. Perhaps you always got to the $40,- before?
As a Dutch person, Amazon never has been my default webshop. Especially since I would need a credit card to pay there, and here it is not the usual thing to buy stuff with a credit card - we have good and secure ways to pay with our debit card online. So many people, including me, don't have a CC, making it impossible to buy on Amazon too. Meaning I have never in all those years I have been reviewing for NG been able to review books on Amazon because of this restriction. Believe me, it's been there for years.

Rebecca wrote: "Sara, I may have reached some sort of limit. David, I am an affiliate, too. I’ve been in touch and it’s being looked into."

I wrote to them as well about it, and they also said they're looking into it. Why do I doubt that they will????

You can write unlimited reviews about things you have bought on the site but there’s a limit to book and film reviews if you bought elsewhere. I think it’s something like 5 or 7 per week.

Thank you for all your replies. Barbara, I post less than one a week. I shall await their response, though I won’t hold my breath!

mine always says I haven't reached a £40 spend to be able to write any reviews

Okay- I found out from another group I’m in that they have lowered the limit for non-purchase reviews. We believe the limit is five. I don’t know if that’s helpful or not and I’m not promising that’s the issue. Hopefully someone gets back to you!

Fictionophile wrote: "I have Prime and Kindle Unlimited and live in Canada. I always used to post my reviews to Amazon UK but they no longer allow me to do it."

I'm in Canada as well as only post to Amazon.ca and don't have any issues. I make it clear on my profile that this is the site I will be posting to.

I have heard from Amazon and I do indeed have to spend at least £40 a year. Pffft!

We always purchase through my husband’s account so we could use mine but it feels wrong for it to be a condition. Still, it’s their site so their rules.

Now, if a publisher states in the request granted email that they want me to post a review to Amazon, will they know if I don’t?

I would just shoot them a message and say Amazon won't allow you to post one.
I have usually spent well over the required amount every year lol

I will let them know, or I may just treat myself. I can justify it now, right ? 😉

Rebecca wrote: "I will let them know, or I may just treat myself. I can justify it now, right ? 😉"

I'd say go for it. $40 in the grand scheme of things isn't that much. Lately I feel like I spend $40/week on Amazon since I'm not shopping.

Jodie wrote: "Fictionophile wrote: "I have Prime and Kindle Unlimited and live in Canada. I always used to post my reviews to Amazon UK but they no longer allow me to do it."

I'm in Canada as well as only post ..."

I'm also from Canada, and often get the "you don't qualify"....because I haven't spent the required amount of money on their site. However, every now and then I can post a review, but I haven't figured out why, so I keep trying :)

i got to ask the question - why shouldn't amazon make people use their service before you can post reviews? I mean Itunes does and many other places - its not like they are making you purchase those specific books there

This is nothing new, that's always been Amazon's policy. Actually I think it's pretty great that they let you review any books you want even if they aren't purchased from them. I don't think it's unreasonable that they want you to spend $50, that's not a lot of money for a year of reviews :) I don't think a limit of 5 or 7 a week is unreasonable either, after all it is a purchasing site. Just my opinion but I've never ever had a problem with posting a review on Amazon. As for your thoughts about publishers, they most definitely want to see your reviews for their books on Amazon. I've talked to authors and publishers, they love the early and continued reviews on Goodreads but Amazon is the one they all want to see their books reviewed on!!

If you don't want to spend the money you can review on BookBub which is also very popular now and Barnes and Noble which is actually kind of a pain to post on sometimes.

I don’t mind this policy it just caught me by surprise. I post no more than a dozen reviews a year (not many at all) on my account and purchase way too much on my husband’s account. It’s never been an issue before. We’ll simply make some of our purchases through my account.

Jantine wrote: "It's nothing new. Perhaps you always got to the $40,- before?
As a Dutch person, Amazon never has been my default webshop. Especially since I would need a credit card to pay there, and here it is n..."

Hi Jantine, I don't know about the Dutch Amazon site specifically but on the UK site you don't have to pay by credit card, indeed my default is my debit card, not sure if you meant something entirely different.