penny l.

I have been a prime member for over a year now. I often use coupons and promo codes to purchase my items, and you get free shipping with Amazon prime, which makes it affordable to buy things I could not otherwise afford. I do get great deals, however that does not bias my opinion regarding whether or not i like a product, whether it is a waste of money etc. That being said. I do take advantage of the opportunity to speak my mind (as evidenced by this review)
After reviewing Amazon items for almost 2 years now, I have gotten quite a few helpful votes on my reviews (35 reviews were marked helpful) which would indicate that I am not just giving a good review because of a reduced price on an item.
Approximately two weeks ago, I tried to review an item and was unable to leave a review. I got a message instead
"Sorry, we are unable to accept your review of this product for either one or both of the following reasons: Your previous review of this product did not comply with our Customer Reviews Guidelines. Amazon does not permit reviews from customers whose relationship to the product or seller may be perceived as biased."
I have not been able to review a product since, and to add insult to injury, they deleted all my previous reviews! I also have discovered that I can not even ask a product question that can be seen by anyone including the sellers,
I have written several emails to request reinstatement of my ability to review. And that I be given some kind of explanation as to why this is happening. However, I have not gotten ANY response whatsoever.
In reading through the terms of the customer review guidelines, I find absolutely NO violation at all, I have not posted more "non verified" reviews than is listed in the rules, (you can not do that anyway)
In researching this issue, I find that thousands of people are experiencing the same treatment and issue. All of whom are paying prime members!

The failure to even answer my emails (or anyone else with this issue) Shows bad business practices by amazon, also to arbitrarily single out the people who have limited funds and need to use coupons and promo codes to purchase items, is reprehensible at best.

So, as I have yet to get any response, And I have since found that Amazon over charges for most items. (many are way cheaper on ebay, walmart.com etc. (do a search on the item you need you will see) I am hereby warning all you thrifty shoppers who use promo codes that your privilege to write reviews will be curtailed. You will be treated like a pariah. You will be disrespected and ignored. If you want to take that treatment and PAY FOR IT, that is okay. I have moved on to greener pastures but want the world to know how LOW AMAZON WILL GO