This is fairly humorous, unless you believe I am a scumbag for doing what I am doing, in which case STFU, lol.

This summer I received an invitation to join Amazon Vine. I probably have 50 or so product reviews beginning in 2011 of stuff I've bought and when I submitted a review this last July I got a screen telling me I was selected for Vine and asking if I wanted to join. This was at the end of July.

Heck, yeah, I clicked yes.

Vine is a service that, when you are a member, allows you to basically order from a subset of Amazon products - completely free of purchase price or shipping cost. You're supposed to use the product and write an Amazon review of the product.

There are some catches. Amazon wants your tax information because they will 1099 you for the estimated retail value of everything they send you, if it is over $600 in total by the end of the year. It probably falls under a hobby business classification which basically (according to what I have read) means that you only claim the income but aren't required to calculate and withhold FICA.

On the other hand you can do anything with the product received: use for target practice, give to a charity, or resell. Apparently reselling the stuff has no tax consequence, as long as it is not for more than the estimated retail value, because you have already been taxed on it as imputed income, so it became your personal property.

I've gotten a lot of crap (and good stuff, but really, a lot of crap) from the program so far.

Initially I wasn't thinking of the $600 limit on 1099 income that when exceeded makes Amazon send your income report to the IRS. So I got a few higher value items (as an entry level Vine user you can order up to $100 items and up to 3 items per day.)

So here's the better items in my haulage so far:

A tire air compressor/jump starter combo box.
An exterior motion light.
A 12 VAC transformer for Malibu style landscape lights
A really junky gimmicky assed "fitness monitor" smart watch that was incredibly annoying to use and which weighed a lot more and was a lot larger than any decent watch.
An extra laptop power supply for my laptop
A two burner propane stove
Latex palm work gloves (set in a box)
Solar panel mounting brackets
Fermenter lids for making sauerkraut, etc in mason jars
Solar panel power connectors
Glue for phone screen to replace battery, etc
Propane adapter hose from 20 lb tank to 1 lb tabletop appliance output port
A nice bluetooth headset
A lavalier microphone set for video blogging, etc
A lot of parts such as specialized screws and collections
A TON of health supplements

It turns out that certain items such as anything health related *and* wearable (example: sleep masks, blood pressure cuffs) have zero estimated taxable value. or anything consumable such as gummies, vitamin and mineral supplements, etc.

So right now I am up to 45 ordered items.

Why I am I keeping up this pace? because Amazon has a cycle where they re-evaluate Vine users every 6 months. At review time they will promote you to "Gold" Vine status, if you have ordered, received and reviewed 80 items *and* 90% of items that you have ordered.

Gold Vine means I can see and order free items of ANY value, well over $100. Cameras, computers, etc

Therefore I am now sprinting by ordering 2-3 health related items per day (zero estimated value where possible so I don't run up my tax report sum) and reviewing them like mad so I can meet the 1/25/25 review deadline for my account.

Here is where the grift comes in:

I am using AI bots to write the reviews. This is allowing me to churn reviews of products that I have no intention of using or consuming (examples: hemp gummies, vitamins, CBD drops, diabetes instruments such as lancing devices, etc)

It turns out that free publicly available AI engines are *incredibly* good at this point, scary good, to the extent that writing should soon become a non paying activity. I can whack out a really good review with the one I'm using in about 5 minutes.

Basically the work flow is like this:

Initially I Googled for AI review writer and got some hits.

I picked this one: https://toolbaz.com/writer/review-generator

(there are many)

I input a text description of the review I want. Example of the input:

(I wrote this) Write a review, limited to 120 words, using the following product description, as a user, in the first person, describing how the product is experienced. Don't sell the product with exclamations or superlatives, stay matter of fact.

(stuff from Amazon's product page for the stuff follows, several long paragraphs)

Why Choose Our Oil of Oregano with Black Seed Oil? Our unique blend combines the powerful benefits of black seed oil and oregano oil, both celebrated for their health-supporting properties. Black seed oil's anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects may aid in managing allergies, digestive issues, and heart health, while oregano oil's antifungal properties make it a potent natural remedy. This all-in-one complex is a cost-effective and convenient alternative to multiple supplements.

(etc etc etc)

So here is the output from submitting the material above:

(AI wrote this) I've been using the oil of oregano with black seed oil for a few weeks now. The drops have a pleasant berry flavor that makes them easy to take daily. I’ve noticed some improvement in my digestion and overall immune support, especially during seasonal changes. The liquid form feels more effective compared to pills, perhaps due to better absorption. I appreciate that it contains a range of beneficial ingredients without any artificial additives. The consistency is smooth, and the dropper allows for accurate dosing. Overall, this product has become a reliable part of my wellness routine, and I find it convenient to have multiple benefits in one supplement.

I did edit some of the text afterward because to me it read a little stiff.

Writing reviews for the health supplements in particular stymies me because there is no bloody way to assess whether they help you without long use and maybe clinical trials. That was my initial target for the AI, and I have written about 10 reviews with the AI engine of those and some other things. So I may as well make up some text artificially.

Here are some facts about Amazon in general, Amazon reviews, and Vine:

This is all cheap crap. (example, the propane stove was defective - I emailed the vendor - they sent me a $40 Amazon card *and* are shipping a replacement stove.)

Reviews themselves are approved by Amazon using AI. I've checked a forum for Vine users and many of them complain about detailed reviews they worked hard on being rejected. So I have a cavalier attitude about the review quality.

In some cases for high quality items I have actually used I put in full effort, even with pictures. A bottle of hemp gummy drops, no. Stuff that has a moderate dollar cost and which I really enjoyed, yes, I review manually.

I did get one review rejection of a supplement that read like hard sales copy. I regenerated the review and toned it down and it was approved.

I don't lie, and I do write many reviews w/o AI.

I'm finding quickly that AI is crazy good at this point. Scary good. So far I have not thrown the AI models off track with detailed specifications of the review I want to have it write. To me it's pretty phenomenal.

Interesting times we live in.