Amazon Review Removal Policy: A Must Read for Sellers

Amazon negative reviews are like two-edged swords. 

On one hand, they provide a unique opportunity for sellers like you to use negative reviews as an invaluable source of information to improve your product quality, enhancing customer satisfaction. 

On the other hand, they can ruin shoppers’ trust in your products, especially when they read negative reviews written within the context of extreme product dissatisfaction. Most of the time these kinds of reviews are abusive and intend to destroy your reputation as a seller.

Overall, negative reviews can make or break your brand, and ultimately your business. For this reason, you need to keep an eye on the true nature of the negative reviews on your listings and be proactive in requesting Amazon for their removal, particularly those considered as non-compliant.  Because your online reputation as a seller is crucial to your business, removing negative reviews must be an ongoing initiative on your part.

If you’re looking to improve your customer reviews and ratings, understanding Amazon Review Removal Policy and Feedback Guidelines would be a good starting point. In this blog post, I’ll cover Amazon review removal policy, the kinds of reviews eligible for removal, and how negative reviews impact your seller account.

I’ll also tackle some tips you can take to manage customer reviews on Amazon to build trust among your potential buyers and boost your sales.

Understanding Amazon Removal Policy

Amazon needs to maintain the integrity of its marketplace to satisfy its shoppers. By having authentic customer reviews that reflect the buying experience on the platform, shoppers can more or less determine what to expect. That is why Amazon encourages shoppers to leave a review after buying a product because of its importance in its ecosystem. 

While some reviews are positive and reflect your product’s quality, some are not always pleasant, negatively affecting a buyer’s decision to purchase it. In cases where negative reviews become prominent in your listings, you may want to have them removed. 

However, Amazon only removes reviews that violate their Community Guidelines. Amazon is clear on the types of reviews they will only allow buyers to leave. The reviews would have to be about the product only and not their buying experience from the seller. Product-specific reviews are more helpful to shoppers in making informed buying decisions.

What Kinds of Buyer Reviews Does Amazon Remove

Based on Amazon Community Guidelines, the reviews considered as non-compliant include:

• Reviews that don’t focus on the product. If a review is not product-specific then they are not relevant to Amazon shoppers.
  These include anything about the seller’s service that they provide, problems encountered about ordering and returns, product damages or condition upon receipt, and shipping fee and delivery speed.
• Reviews written in unsupported languages. For now, Amazon.com only supports English and Spanish. But other Amazon sites support at least eight languages. When a single review contains mixed languages, Amazon will also remove it.
• Distracting content that takes away the review focus on the product. Repetitive text, unnecessary characters and symbols (emojis included), pictures made out of symbols and letters, and total nonsense are samples of these review content.
• Reviews that contain private information. Content that includes personal data, such as phone numbers, email addresses, mailing addresses, data source numbers, order numbers, and license plate numbers are a definite threat to data privacy.
• Reviews that contain foul language or threats. If the content indicates a threat to the seller, harassment, slander, or personal attack, then it will be removed. 
• Hate content. Reviews that display hatred for people against their culture, race, ethnicity, gender identity, religion and spirituality, and sexual orientation are just some examples of this content.
• Sexual content. Only reviews about the sexual and sensual context of sex-related products are allowed; profanity and obscene content aren’t.
• Reviews that direct other audiences on the platform to external links. Examples of these external links include phishing sites and URLs that contain affiliate codes.
• Reviews that show conflict of interest. A review by anyone within your network (family, friends, employees, and business associates) indicating obvious show of support or false claims about your product is an example of conflict of interest.

Reporting Non-compliant Reviews

Amazon is proactively looking for and removing non-compliant reviews; some will no longer appear public once they spot it from Amazon’s backend. 

But in most cases, non-compliant and negative reviews fail to pass the regular scrutiny of Amazon. It is where you step in and act ahead by monitoring your reviews and using the system to request their removal. 

By acting fast and using the platform features available to report non-compliant reviews, you are also proactively protecting your brand on Amazon. 

Once you’ve tracked the reviews that fall under Amazon standards, go ahead and report them. 

The steps are simple:

Option 1 – Through the product detail page

1. Take note of the review in question on the product detail page.
2. Find and click the “Report Abuse” link. You will find all the instructions to report the review.

Option 2 – Report via email

You may also report the review in question by sending an email to:

[email protected].

Option 3 – Through the seller forums

Submit a discussion thread in the Seller Forum so the support team can take another look at your case.

How Negative Reviews Affect your Amazon Business

As mentioned above, not all negative reviews are bad. If you approach negative reviews constructively, discovering your customers’ sentiments about your product gives you an opportunity to improve the experience of other prospective buyers. So in essence, it’s important to encourage honesty among your customers when you request them to leave a review. 

If you’ve got a negative review that you were able to remedy and a conversation about that is displayed in a feedback thread, then you show your other customers that you are keen on keeping your customers happy and satisfied. On that note, you might want to leave that type of negative review as is on the platform.

But there are negative reviews that are unfair to you and your brand, intending to hurt or destroy your business on Amazon. These are the ones that you should keep an eye on.

Negative Reviews Affect Your Sales

Research by Dixa indicate the following statistics:

• 97% of customers rely on product reviews when making a purchase decision.
• Only about 47% will spread the word about a positive review.
• 95% of respondents will talk about a negative review.

With these statistics, it’s easy to imagine how your sales would spiral out of control when your listing displays a lot of negative reviews. Without buyers’ trust, it would be hard to get a positive review, let alone a sale. And with underperforming sales, you also risk your reputation on Amazon, and your seller account from being restricted or suspended.

Negative Reviews Affect Your Seller Account

As an Amazon seller your aim is to have a high seller rating to establish yourself as a trustworthy seller on the platform. When you achieve this performance metric, you keep your Order Defect Rate (ODR) low below 1%, giving you the opportunity to win the Buy Box, get your best products featured, and get a share of the wide chunk of Amazon sales that’s happening there. 

By not cleaning up your listings of negative reviews, it’s clear how they can cause a ripple effect of problems and jeopardize your business.

How to Eradicate Negative Reviews from Happening

In order to protect your brand on Amazon, you need to create a strategy to become customer-centric and avoid getting negative reviews at the onset. By doing so, you’ll definitely stay in Amazon’s good graces. 

Sell Quality Products

Selling quality products will definitely satisfy even your most discriminative buyers. Happy customers also feel a sense of pride in finding a product that they really like, and so they become your word-of-mouth advertisers. Giving positive reviews (without being asked) is also second nature to happy customers.

Be Prompt in Customer Service and Communication

A winning product with bad customer service equals a negative review. Stay consistent in providing the best customer experience to your shoppers by being quick to answer product inquiries. Being responsive to them gains their trust and encourages them to complete their transaction, earning you a sale!

In dealing with customer inquiries, it is essential to maintain a respectful and courteous demeanor. Acknowledge your customer’s concerns without getting into an argumentative back-and-forth exchange. 

It’s also helpful to use active listening techniques such as repeating what they said in your own words and asking clarifying questions if needed. Additionally, using phrases like “I understand how you feel” can help show empathy and make the customer feel heard and validated.

By actively listening to their needs upfront, you can also prevent future conflicts. An example would be outlining clear return policies/procedures before engaging in any transactions involving money or services rendered. Doing so not only helps build trust with existing customers but also attracts referrals from happy buyers who have had positive experiences interacting with your brand on Amazon Marketplace platforms such as Seller Central, Vendor Central, and FBA.

Address Negative Reviews As Quickly As Possible

By staying alert once you receive a negative review, you’ll have a chance to resolve the issue and possibly convince the customer to retract their review. 

It’s also beneficial to be clear about expectations when communicating with them regarding their complaints or feedback on your products or services. Let them know exactly what steps are necessary for the resolution of their issue, so there are no misunderstandings down the line that could lead to further conflict or dissatisfaction. 

Open communication between you and your customers is paramount in fostering trust and loyalty while creating a strong rapport.

Utilize Review Management Tools

There are certain tools that you can use to help you manage customer feedback while staying within Amazon’s regulations.

For example, ZonGuru’s Love-Hate feature enables you to tackle positive and negative customer feedback head-on, without the fear of it negatively impacting your ratings/reviews scorecards such as ODR. This innovative tool makes it simpler than ever for merchants like you to effectively manage customer relationships.

Another option is Amazon Customer Reviews Tools. You will definitely benefit from these tools if you’re a busy Amazon seller that doesn’t have the time to manually monitor reviews. Through review alerts, you can quickly scan your active orders, see the reviews, and respond to the customer. 

It also helps by facilitating streamlined communication between you and your shoppers by enabling automated responses based on specific triggers, such as order status updates and shipping notifications. You are rid of manual effort required when dealing with common inquiries from shoppers.

Open communication between merchants and shoppers is a critical component in maintaining a healthy business relationship. As a seller, you should encourage this among your shoppers to gain their trust. Without effective dialogue, misunderstandings happen more frequently leading to poor experiences that end up making customers feeling dissatisfied, negatively impacting your business altogether.

FAQs In Relation To Amazon Review Removal Policy

Final Thoughts

Understanding Amazon’s review removal policy and implementing best practices to avoid negative reviews are key components for a successful business on the platform. Being aware of the guidelines can help you protect your brand from damage caused by bad reviews. Likewise, keep in mind that any action you take against such reviews must also meet Amazon’s standards. 

By taking proactive steps to monitor customer feedback, addressing issues quickly, and staying up-to-date with changes in Amazon review removal policy, you can maintain a positive reputation while increasing sales opportunities on the world’s largest online marketplace.