Top Amazon Reviewers Get Big Perks

07:53

November 29, 2013

Michael Erb gets thousands of dollars in free merchandise for being a top reviewer on Amazon. (Michael E Mobile Sound/Facebook)

Whether or not you read them, the customer reviews on retailers' websites have enormous value, mostly for the company.

The more a product is reviewed, the more likely it is that people will buy that product and the more money companies such as Amazon make.

So the benefits of online reviews are obvious for retailers, but what's in it for the most prolific reviewers? For Amazon's top reviewers, the benefits are tangible.

Lisa Chow of NPR's Planet Money team tracks down Amazon's No. 1 customer reviewer and learned that Amazon has a special program for its top reviewers.

Read the full story on NPR

Reporter

Lisa Chow, economics reporter at NPR's Planet Money. She tweets @lisaechow.

This segment aired on November 29, 2013.