Reviews are vital to the success of any Amazon seller. They represent customer satisfaction and provide important information for potential new customers. Best of all, positive reviews help your listings’ rankings, leading to more impressions and more conversions. 

That is why today we’re going to discuss some of the major questions surrounding reviews.

How Do I Delete an Amazon Review?

Let’s start with the main reason everyone here.

Negative reviews are a fact of life when you sell on Amazon. However, they still sting and potentially hurt your product listings and your business. Enough of them will eventually become problematic. 

So, is there a way to remove them? In short, it’s possible, but only under specific circumstances. When asking Amazon to remove a negative review, the chances are close to none. 

What Kind of Review is Amazon Willing to Remove?

Before we tackle the how, let’s discuss what reviews Amazon is willing to remove per their guidelines. 

• Negative Reviews from Competiton – Amazon does not allow direct competitors to leave negative reviews on each others’ listings. This is specifically to prevent underhanded tactics among sellers.
  
• Promotional Reviews – Any review that is arguably promoting other goods and services rather than giving an honest review on a listing is eligible for removal. Once again, Amazon does this to prevent questionable sales tactics as well as maintain the integrity of the review system.
  
• Explicit Content – The reasoning behind this one is self-explanatory, but includes obscene, lewd, or explicit content in a review.
  
• Reviews That Include Personal Information – No matter who the information belongs to, Amazon will remove reviews that share personal information such as email addresses, phone numbers, and more.
  
• Inflammatory Speech – Any review that includes hate speech or threatening speech towards any person or group of people is eligible for removal.
  
• Fake Reviews – Amazon recently cracked down on the fake reviews on their platform. These are reviews from individuals that have not purchased the product, or perhaps made multiple accounts to leave fake positive or negative reviews on a product. Regardless, these reviews are eligible for removal.
  
  This also includes reviews that seemingly review a different product entirely.  

How to Have a Review Removed

Now, as for the how. There are a variety of options available to sellers interested in removing these reviews from their listings. 

• “Report Abuse” – Simply go to the product details page in Seller Central and select “report abuse” under the review in question. Then fill in your reasoning for wanting the review removed.
  
• Email – Send an email to [email protected]. In the email, detail your concerns with the review including the date, time, name of review, product ASIN, link to review in question, and anything else that would help locate and understand the nature of the review.
  
  Any information you provide can help Amazon identify problematic reviewers.
  
• Under the Performance Tab – In Sell Central, select Feedback. From there it will list your recent reviews, and allow you to request removal there. You can also opt to post a public reply from this tab as well.
  
• Get Support – Selecting the “Get Support” link at the bottom of any given Seller Central page will allow you to open a case and discuss the review you’re wanting to remove.
  

Regardless of how you file your complaint, ensuring you include exactly how the review in question violates Amazon’s guidelines for reviews will increase your chances of having it removed. 

Other Important Review Questions

You can say that reviews are the lifeblood of a successful Amazon listing. No matter how well curated your listing’s copy, images and titles are, reviews will hold serious sway on whether a customer commits to purchase or not.

So, let’s take a look at some of the important questions surrounding reviews.

What’s the Big Deal With Getting Reviews?

Amazon reviews hold serious sway with consumers. Research has found that customers that don’t even intend to purchase a product via Amazon will consult listing reviews before making a purchase.

This is in part because e-Commerce sellers are in a unique position where customers are unable to “kick the tires” of a product. Therefore, reviews are the best alternative source for this information on a product for online shoppers. 

How Do Reviews Give Products Credibility? 

Positive reviews build a reputation. Customers are hesitant to buy from unproven Amazon Sellers. Therefore, feedback shows potential customers the level of satisfaction they can expect from a product. A good review can even convert cautious buyers via additional information missing from your listing. 

What’s more, positive reviews improve conversion rates that in turn increase your product’s ranking on Amazon. 

What are the Best Ways to Get Reviews on New Products?

 There are several effective ways for sellers to get reviews on new products. Any one of the following tactics can help you get reviews on a new listing. For even better results, sellers should consider a combinational approach. 

• Amazon Vine – Some reviewers are part of Amazon’s Vine program. These are reviewers that Amazon considers prolific in their quality reviews based on the opinions of other Amazon customers.
  
  Sellers can leverage this program to invite these reviewers to give their feedback on your new product.
  
  Simply enroll in the Amazon Vine program which can ve found in the Advertising menu of Seller Central. You in turn give your product to a reviewer at no cost for them to give it an in-depth review.
  
  Note: This option is only available to Brand Registered sellers.
  
• Product Inserts –  Product inserts may sound old school, but they’ve stood the test of time for a reason. Including post-card-sized messages to your customers in the packaging allows you to directly engage them and request honest feedback.
  
• Discounts – Offering sales and discounts on new products allow sellers to organically build up their newest listings. This will in turn generate reviews over time.
  
• Follow-Up Emails – These emails are not only an effective way to engage customers beyond their purchases but offer you the opportunity to request reviews in a similar way to product inserts. 

Can You Request Positive Reviews from Customers?

The short answer is no. Amazon does not look favorably upon sellers soliciting positive reviews. Doing so can cause serious penalties for a seller such as removal from the platform. 

Therefore, when requesting reviews, sellers should always remember to request honest reviews from their customers. Sellers requesting feedback should rather endeavor to provide quality products and customer service that will receive positive customer feedback.

Is It Worth Taking Losses to Get Initial Reviews? 

As we discussed before, discounts help drive reviews organically by encouraging sales. Sellers may be hesitant to take this route as it may lead to losses early. However, e-Commerce is always about the long game. 

Positive reviews improve your ranking on amazon. Therefore, well-reviewed products rise in relevant search results. This means these products inevitably gain more and more impressions, improving the chance of a conversion.

So, losses taken towards this end are not losses at all, but rather investments in advertising.

Successful Sellers are More Than Good Reviews

Positive reviews are only a small part of making a successful Amazon seller. It takes persistence and an in-depth understanding of the platform. Which can be intimidating between a complex array of fees and policies.

Anata is here to help. Contact us today for help managing your Amazon Marketplace and getting the edge you need. The services we provide range from education to the total handling of your Amazon profile. This frees you to work on what’s important. 

Are reviews proving a challenge for your Amazon Marketplace?