Happy Thursday sellers!
We see a lot of discussion here on the Seller Forums focused on product reviews from customers, and how to request their removal.
First, it's important to understand the distinction between reviews and feedback.
These two words can often be conflated. Even I find it confusing, as a review provides you with feedback, right? But when we’re talking about Amazon jargon, the difference is:
- Customer review is a customer-generated product review. Reviews refers to the stars you receive for a product.
- Seller feedback is customer-generated feedback about the seller and purchase experience. Feedback refers to the stars you receive as a seller. If you are seeking the removal of a seller feedback comment, see: Can Amazon remove buyer feedback?
To quote the Answers to Questions about Product Reviews help page:
"Customer reviews are about the product, and seller feedback is about the seller and the purchase experience. Customer reviews do not affect your seller performance metrics, but seller feedback can have an impact on your seller performance metrics."
Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s answer some questions about customer reviews...
Why are customer reviews important?
Customer reviews are an integral part of the Amazon buying experience, helping customers feel more confident with their buying decisions. In order for customer reviews to continue to provide these benefits to customers and sellers, they have to remain a true and authentic reflection of customers’ experiences with the products.
I just got a negative customer review. What should I do?
First of all, don’t panic. While a negative review is not ideal, it won’t impact your seller performance metrics.
As a general rule, Amazon doesn’t remove customer reviews, unless they violate Community Guidelines. If you see a review that does violate our Community Guidelines, you should report it.
Here’s how:
- From the product detail page, find the review in question.
- Click the “Report abuse” link and follow the steps to report the review.
- You can also email community-help@amazon.com and report the review there (but know you’re not likely to get a reply from this alias, even if they take action).
Why do some customer reviews disappear?
Reviews are removed from the Amazon website for these reasons only:
- The review conflicted with our Community Guidelines.
- The review was removed by the reviewer.
- We discovered that multiple products were incorrectly listed as the same product. Reviews that were posted for those products are separated when the products are separated.
- We detected unusual review behavior and are not accepting or displaying reviews for this item at this time, or we are only accepting or displaying Amazon Verified Purchase reviews.
What’s not allowed in a customer review per the Community Guidelines?
We don’t allow reviews that focus on seller, order, or shipping feedback, including:
- Sellers and the Customer Service they provide
- Ordering issues and returns
- Shipping packaging
- Product condition and damage
- Shipping cost and speed
Other content that falls outside the guidelines for customer reviews includes (but is not limited to):
- Repetitive text, spam, or pictures created with symbols
- Comments about pricing or availability
- Content written in unsupported languages
- Private information (such as email or phone numbers)
- Profanity, hate speech, or sexual content
- External links
- Promotional content
These lists aren’t exhaustive, so please visit the Community Guidelines or Customer Reviews page to learn more.
Can a buyer review a product not purchased on Amazon—or from me?
Yes, a buyer can review any product on Amazon, regardless of where they purchased that product, provided they meet the eligibility criteria in our Community Guidelines. Items purchased on Amazon and reviewed will be flagged with badging "Verified Purchase."
What if I work with a buyer to resolve a product issue. Does the buyer have to change or remove the bad review?
No. That is entirely up to the buyer to decide. You’re not allowed to ask buyers to change or remove reviews. For additional information, visit the Inappropriate product reviews help article.
Can I encourage buyers to submit reviews of my products?
Absolutely. While Amazon systems automatically request reviews on your behalf, you’re also welcome to proactively request a review for a specific order. If you elect to do this, we recommend you use the Request a review feature on the Order Details page (versus asking the customer via email or Buyer-Seller Messaging).
Additional resources
If you have additional question or just want to learn more, here are links to some additional helpful resources on Seller Central and Amazon.com:
Policy pages on Seller Central:
Guidelines pages on Amazon:
Let us know what questions you might have around customer reviews, and if you'd like to highlight a specific review, please do create a new discussion thread so our team can take a closer look with you!
Best,
Danny
