Amazon.com's Gamble

Although by now we are used to reading the product reviews on Amazon.com that are written by, well, regular people, you can imagine the reaction the company must have received when it decided to open up the review process.

"Are you crazy? Are you going to try to sell a product and then permit anyone with access to a computer to post a negative review of it?"

Obviously, the answer was "Yes."

I think Amazon.com's decision was and remains a huge vote of confidence in the intelligence of its customers. We all read reviews. We can spot the ones that closely match our own standards, the ones that make a few good points, the ones with political agendas, and the pure and simple cheap shots.

In my opinion, the decision to open up the review process was one of the smartest moves ever made in the history of business. It provides (usually) helpful information and a certain amount of drama while indirectly telling the customers one of the most important messages of all:

You are respected.