Behind the "Negative Reviews Tsunami" in E-commerce: Unveiling How Online Water Armies "Destroy" Stores

Behind the "Negative Reviews Tsunami" in E-commerce: Unveiling How Online Water Armies "Destroy" Stores"Boss, today's sales have 'exploded'!" Song Changqing (pseudonym), the owner of an umbrella factory in Shangyu District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, also runs an online store. He opened the back-end of his online store and found that the store's best-selling umbrella had sold over 300 units in just a few hours

Behind the "Negative Reviews Tsunami" in E-commerce: Unveiling How Online Water Armies "Destroy" Stores

"Boss, today's sales have 'exploded'!" Song Changqing (pseudonym), the owner of an umbrella factory in Shangyu District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, also runs an online store. He opened the back-end of his online store and found that the store's best-selling umbrella had sold over 300 units in just a few hours. Although he found it strange, he didn't think much of it, assuming he had just caught a wave of "traffic". However, the next day, orders were met with a flurry of returns; on the third day, a wave of negative reviews washed over his store. "I thought it was a "negative review master" group attack, but they didn't make any demands..." Perplexed, Song Changqing experienced three "destructive" negative review "bombings" in just two months. It wasn't until he reported the incident to the Shangyu Branch of the Shaoxing Municipal Public Security Bureau that the truth behind this "mysterious" negative review tide gradually emerged...

The Nightmare of "Negative Reviews Tsunami": From Celebration to Collapse

In April 2023, Song Changqing's online store experienced an unprecedented wave of celebration. The store's best-selling automatic umbrella sold over 300 units in a few hours, leaving him ecstatic. However, this celebration was as ephemeral as a fleeting bloom. The next day, a flood of refund requests poured in, making Song Changqing realize something was wrong.

After carefully inspecting the warehouse, he discovered no quality issues with the products. However, the subsequent dozens of negative reviews were like a bolt from the blue, sobering him instantly. Each review claimed "mismatched products," stating that they had received rusty old umbrellas instead of automatic umbrellas. Baffled, Song Changqing tried to contact one of the buyers to understand the situation, but the buyer was evasive, stating that someone had told them to do this.

Song Changqing couldn't help but feel suspicious, suspecting that he was under a malicious attack by a "negative review master" group. However, they didn't make any financial demands, only continuously posting negative reviews, which made him even more uneasy.

Over the next two months, Song Changqing's store was hit with a second and third wave of "attacks". They even applied for refunds as soon as the goods were shipped, not only causing him to lose umbrellas but also bear the cost of logistics and packaging.

After three "attacks", Song Changqing's umbrella listing, which had once reached the top of the category, dropped to second place. Statistics showed that there were over 1,600 orders for purchases that were immediately refunded, over 100 negative reviews, and some goods were only refunded without being returned, directly resulting in over 13,000 yuan in lost express delivery fees. The store's monthly turnover for the month after the "negative reviews" plummeted by 1 million yuan, with a profit loss of tens of thousands of yuan.

To salvage the store's reputation, Song Changqing had no choice but to offer discounted sales, using the lowest prices to regain positive reviews from real buyers. At its lowest point, a 22-yuan umbrella was sold for just 11 yuan.

"It's like swallowing a bitter pill." While running these loss-making promotions, Song Changqing filed complaints with the platform and ultimately decided to report the matter to the police.

The "Love-Hate Story" Behind "Malicious Reviews"

After receiving the report, the Cyber Security Department of the Shangyu Police immediately launched an investigation. Based on their years of experience, they realized that this case was different from previous malicious review cases. In the past, malicious reviews were often individual acts, primarily using the store owner's fear of negative reviews to extort small sums of money. This time, it was clearly organized, premeditated, and aggressive, with a huge profit chain behind it.

Through in-depth investigation, the police discovered an e-commerce company located in Wenzhou (hereinafter referred to as "Wenzhou Company"). This company was large-scale, employing thousands of people, owning its own stores, collaborating with multiple factories, and independently operating product sales, with goods directly shipped from factories. The company earned "operating fees" and had always enjoyed good business.

Logically, this company and the factory were collaborating for mutual benefit, with no need to launch a "negative review tide" attack on the factory's store. Could it be the personal actions of company employees?

Through multi-dimensional investigations, the police found that, besides Song Changqing, several other factories had suffered similar "attacks". This case wasn't an isolated incident but rather a "cyber army" criminal case involving malicious reviews to suppress online stores on e-commerce platforms.

The Madness of "Cyber Armies": Malicious Revenge Behind Money

Further investigation revealed that Chen, the "second-in-command" of Wenzhou Company, was the mastermind behind this incident. It turned out that Chen noticed that products originally operated by his company were being squeezed out of the top of the category, replaced by products operated by former employees. In a fit of anger, Chen discussed with his boss and decided to retaliate against these former employees, targeting merchants who had reached the top of the category.

They issued instructions in the company group: "Everyone, list the people who quit and are now operating the same products outside our company. When you find one, take them down. After you take them down, we will charge to the top of the category again." "Find one, destroy one, regardless of the means."

After these instructions were issued, Wenzhou Company hired "brushing hands" at a price of about 8 yuan per order, specifically targeting employees who had left the company and continued to operate products, as well as merchants who had reached the top of the category on other e-commerce platforms, to post negative reviews.

Chasing the Truth: Netting Operations, Legal Sanctions

After securing sufficient criminal evidence, the Shangyu Police carried out a netting operation, simultaneously conducting arrests in Wenzhou, Hangzhou, and Yiwu, seizing 17 work computers and 16 mobile phones at the scene.

Some suspects were even unaware that they had violated the law when they were apprehended, believing it was fair business competition. They didn't realize that this malicious brushing of negative reviews not only severely harmed the property interests of merchants but also seriously disrupted the online consumption order.

E-commerce Platforms' Responsibility: Maintaining a Fair Competition Ecosystem

The occurrence of this case exposes the madness behind "cyber armies" and reveals the shortcomings of e-commerce platforms in maintaining fair competition.

E-commerce platforms should strengthen their supervision of malicious brushing of negative reviews, establish a (perfect reporting mechanism), promptly handle user complaints, and maintain a healthy platform ecosystem. At the same time, platforms should also strengthen supervision of merchant business practices, prevent malicious competition, and provide a fairer and more just competitive environment for merchants.

Conclusion

Behind the "negative review tsunami" are malicious competition and the pursuit of profits. The madness of "cyber armies" not only damages the interests of merchants but also destroys the online consumption environment and impacts consumer trust.

The cracking of this case serves as a warning against "cyber army" behavior. It reminds us that in the age of the internet, maintaining a fair competition ecosystem is crucial. At the same time, consumers should also be vigilant and not blindly trust online reviews. They must sharpen their eyes, be rational consumers, and maintain a healthy online consumption order.

Here are some related aspects that can expand the depth and breadth of the article:

• The Current Situation and Development Trends of Online Water Armies: This could explore the types, operation models, and profit-making methods of online water armies, as well as analyze their impact on society.

• Regulatory Issues of E-commerce Platforms: This could analyze the regulatory strength and measures of e-commerce platforms in combating malicious brushing of negative reviews, and propose improvement suggestions.

• The Dilemma of Consumer Rights Protection: This could discuss the difficulties faced by consumers in protecting their rights when confronted with malicious brushing of negative reviews, and propose solutions.

• Improvement of Laws and Regulations: This could discuss the degree of perfection of relevant laws and regulations, and propose suggestions for laws and regulations targeting online water army behavior.

• Reflection on Moral Ethics: This could discuss the moral ethical issues behind online water army behavior and call for society to work together to resist such unethical conduct.

By incorporating these extensions, the article can become more comprehensive, profound, and have stronger real-world significance.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is sourced from the internet. The copyright of the text, images, and other materials belongs to the original author. The platform reprints the materials for the purpose of conveying more information. The content of the article is for reference and learning only, and should not be used for commercial purposes. If it infringes on your legitimate rights and interests, please contact us promptly and we will handle it as soon as possible! We respect copyright and are committed to protecting it. Thank you for sharing.(Email:[email protected])