Exclusive | China-based tool giant Vevor, which sells $500M a year on Amazon, manipulates customer reviews while site turns a blind eye: sources

A China-based company that sells $500 million a year in tools and appliances on Amazon has been accused of manipulating its customer product reviews – and competitors gripe that Amazon has been turning a blind eye, The Post has learned.Shanghai-based Vevor, which sells everything from power tools and toys to camping gear and restaurant equipment, has been systematically creating multiple listings for identical products in a bid to sidestep negative reviews — flouting Amazon’s rules as well as US regulations for consumer protection and unfair competition, rival sellers claim.In one example, a Vevor slushy machine appears in two different listings.Both display a $743 price tag, but one shows a 2.9-star rating with 41 customer reviews, while the other displays a 2.6-star rating with 70 reviews.“Arrived in crate with gooey dried up residue,” a customer wrote in a review dated July 2, griping that Amazon’s customer service hadn’t responded to complaints.

“Was obviously used before but sold as new and never used.This vendor is a ripoff and Amazon should be shamed for allowing this vendor to sell through Amazon.”Vevor — which also faces lawsuits over copyright violations from established brands including Vitamix — racked up an estimated $450 million in revenue on Amazon alone from January through Sept.

15 — up 10.5% versus a year earlier, according to Jungle Scout.The real number is likely larger as the estimate is based on Vevor’s 15,000 top sellers – out of a total of 30,000 items, according to Jungle Scout. The fact that Amazon has failed to clamp down on Vevor is partly signals that the Seattle-based e-commerce giant is desperate to work more collaboratively with Chinese manufacturers — and tolerate violations of its seller rules — as it faces rising competition from e-commerce apps from China, experts told The Post.

Amazon “has gone soft on Chinese companies, because they are trying to be more engaging with Chinese sellers to comp...