Why it matters
Reviews affect what a business can charge and how easily it wins customers, so they are part of what you pay for. If the ratings were manufactured, the goodwill behind the price is overstated, and it can vanish when a platform removes reviews, adds a warning to the listing or suspends the account.
The legal exposure has grown too. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission's final rule on consumer reviews, announced in August 2024, bans fake reviews, offering payment or other incentives for reviews that must express a particular view, and reviews by company insiders that do not disclose the connection, and allows the FTC to seek civil penalties from knowing violators. In the UK, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews, and since April 2025 the Competition and Markets Authority can fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover for breaking consumer protection law. Other countries have their own rules, so take advice from a qualified lawyer where the business trades.
Buying the business does not always leave the history behind. In a share sale (stock sale in the US), the company's past conduct comes with it. In an asset sale, legal liability may stay with the seller, but a platform's response will still land on the listings and accounts you bought.
Systematic manipulation also tells you how the seller presents information generally. A few old reviews gathered with an undisclosed discount may be fixable. A pattern of fabricated reviews is usually a reason to walk away.
Goodwill is the part of a purchase price above the value of a business's identifiable assets, less its liabilities. It reflects things like reputation, customer relationships and trained staff.
In an asset sale you buy selected assets of a business; in a share sale (a stock sale in the US) you buy the company itself, with its full history. The choice shapes risk, tax and what needs consent.
How to spot it
- The rating is well above competitors with similar products, prices and complaint levels.
- Five-star reviews arrive in bursts, often after a launch or a run of poor reviews.
- Reviews share generic wording, repeated phrases or details that do not match the product or service.
- Reviewer profiles are new, have few other reviews, or review unrelated businesses in distant places.
- Public ratings do not match private signals such as refund rates, complaints, support tickets and repeat purchases.
- Inserts, emails or follow-up messages offer refunds, gift cards, free products or prize draw entries in return for a review.
- The accounts show payments to review services, reputation agencies or product testing groups.
- A platform has removed reviews or placed a consumer alert on a listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- How does the business ask customers for reviews, and has that process changed over time?
- Have you ever offered anything in return for a review, including discounts, refunds, free products or prize draws?
- Have staff, family, friends or agencies written reviews of the business or its competitors?
- Has any platform removed reviews, labelled the business or restricted a listing because of review activity?
- Which review or reputation agencies have you paid, and what did they do?
- Has a regulator ever contacted the business about reviews or endorsements?
Documents to request
- Review request templates, email sequences and product inserts used in the last three years
- Invoices and contracts for any review, reputation, influencer or product testing services
- Platform notices, warnings and correspondence about reviews
- A dated export of reviews from each platform, so volume and timing can be analysed
- Refund, complaint and support ticket data for the same period
- The written review policy, if the business publishes reviews on its own site