Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2486445,00.asp
Amazon is changing its ratings system, but you probably won’t notice a difference right away.
Amazon will start assigning more weight to recent reviews, as well as reviews that have been written from verified purchasers of a particular product. Amazon will also weigh reviews that have been deemed helpful by other Amazon users. So, be sure to put a bit of thought into your prose on Amazon if you want to meaningfully contribute to a product’s overall score.
The new system, which went live on Friday, will tweak a product’s overall rating using the same criteria. In other words, product rankings are probably going to vary a bit more over time. Previously, scores were an average of all the stars a product’s reviewers had given it.
“It’s just meant to make things that much more useful so people see things and know it reflects the current product experience,” Amazon told CNET.
Rest of the article at: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2486445,00.asp