Can I Remove Negative Reviews On Amazon?

Like any other seller on Amazon, even your best products can get bad reviews. Since customers cannot touch or feel the products before making a purchase, they determine the quality of your product by relying on ratings and reviews. So, an item with a negative review on Amazon, even if it has about a hundred good ratings, can significantly affect your sales.

Recent surveys show that star ratings in reviews are also an important factor that assures customers of your product’s authenticity, originality, sentiment, and quality. If there are too many negative reviews, customers lose trust in the product, and sales will likely decline.

For a seller on Amazon, knowing how to remove poor or negative reviews can greatly increase their chances of growing their business.

This guide explains how negative reviews on Amazon can impact your sales and business and how you should deal with them. You will learn step-by-step instructions for removing negative reviews and tips for managing them.

What are Negative, Bad, Or Poor Reviews On Amazon?

Negative, bad, or poor reviews on Amazon are customer feedback that expresses dissatisfaction or disappointment with a product. These reviews typically highlight issues such as:

• Product defects or malfunctions.
• Poor performance or functionality.
• Inaccurate product descriptions or deceptive marketing.
• Poor customer service or support.
• Bad experiences with the brand.
• Delivery issues.

The bad reviews can harm a seller’s reputation and sales. Sellers should address these issues to improve customer satisfaction.

Can Negative Reviews Be Removed?

Yes, there are cases in which a negative review can be removed. However, it is important to note that every review cannot be removed. Amazon will only remove negative reviews if they violate any of their Community Guidelines regarding the following types of reviews:

• Abusive: A review containing threats, offensive language, or personal attacks against something can be reported for removal.
• Obscene: Feedback containing sexually implied issues or foul language can be removed.
• Violation of platform policies: A negative review containing hate speeches or that harasses or performs personal attacks, among other contents that violate the terms and conditions of the platform, may be removed.
• False or misleading: Any negative review that contains false or misleading information about your business can be reported for removal from the platform.
• Non-review or irrelevant content: Information not linked to an item or seller, including political opinions, can be requested for removal.

How Do Negative Reviews Impact Your Business on Amazon?

Negative reviews on Amazon can significantly impact your business, like shaping customer perception, affecting sales, and reducing product visibility in search results. Poor reviews can damage your brand’s reputation, discourage potential buyers, and reduce trust in your brand. Understanding the impact of bad reviews on Amazon is crucial to maintaining customer satisfaction and staying competitive in the marketplace.

The negative reviews on Amazon can significantly impact your business in the following ways.

1. Low Sales and Conversion Rates

Negative feedback can create a significant mark when it comes to sales and conversion rates on Amazon. This negative influence can significantly affect the entire conversion since most consumers depend on these reviews for a better view of an incoming purchase.

If your product ends up with a few stars or some visible negative feedback, it can discourage thousands. One reason this might happen is due to the little trust left in your product; it might cause a drop in conversion rates, where customers abandon their purchases or prefer a competitor’s product with better reviews.

2. Lower Product Visibility

These reviews also affect the visibility of your products. Amazon’s algorithm gives priority to those products that throw out rich stars with ratings and reviews. Thus, if there is negative feedback, it would decrease the star ratings of your product and consequently degrade its visibility in search results.

This would have a noticeable effect on limiting one’s chances for cataloging under “Best Seller” or “Amazon’s Choice.” Then, of course, negative reviews would also reduce the efficiency of your campaigns—the negative reviews put off potential buyers and deal a blow to ad returns.

3. Decline in sales

Negative reviews affect your sales and revenue on Amazon. Customers are less willing to buy your product when they receive bad reviews, which reduces your conversion rate. A drop in sales can cause significant financial damage to your business.

4. Decreasing Seller Performance

Negative reviews affect seller performance directly concerning the seller’s account on Amazon. Amazon keeps a close watch over the feedback patterns pulled in from customers. An excessive flow of negative feedback can lead to a warning or even temporary suspension, if not an outright deactivation of the account in thorough-going cases.

Bad reviews further diminish a seller’s chances of winning or keeping the coveted Buy Box, an invaluable element for sales and visibility. Therefore, it is worthwhile for a seller to maintain the highest performance standards to give the platform the very best competition.

How Does a 1-Star Rating Affect Your Seller Feedback Score?

A 1-star rating can have a huge impact on your seller feedback score, especially if you have many reviews. Here’s a brief overview of how it affects your score.

1. Calculating Feedback Score

In most online marketplaces like Amazon, calculating 1-star ratings hurts a seller’s feedback score. Most of the time, the average is calculated on a weighted basis, which means that ratings with lower ratings, such as 1 star, carry more weight. Thus, even a single 1-star rating can significantly lower the overall score and harm visibility and customer trust.

2. Example Effect

1-star ratings can destroy a seller’s average rating, especially if the seller has few reviews. Suppose, for example, a seller has ten 5-star ratings and gets one 1-star rating; then the average rating will drop to 4.64. If the seller has only two 5-star ratings, the 1-star rating will push the average to 3.67. The effect diminishes as the rating increases; however, a bad rating can ruin a seller’s reputation with customers.

3. Customer Perception

Most of the time, consumers look at the general feedback score before deciding to purchase. If the score is low, the buying decision may go against purchasing as it indicates a shopping experience that does not seem very reliable or satisfactory.

4. Seller Performance Metrics

Most platforms use feedback scores to evaluate seller performance. Accordingly, a low feedback score results in consequences such as accounts being warned for not meeting standards, reduced visibility in search results, or, in more severe cases, suspension or removal from the platform.

In particular, even a single rating of 1 star can ruin Amazon sellers’ feedback scores and hinder their efforts to maintain an ideal seller status. Poor scores reduce visibility in search results, affect the chances of becoming an exclusive offer, and ultimately lead to fewer sales. Even if there are many positive reviews, recent negative feedback will adversely affect your rankings because Amazon prioritizes more recent reviews.

For example, a 1-star rating can greatly impact your score on Seller Feedback, especially for small merchants. Regular quality and timely resolution of issues can minimize the damage and maintain a healthy reputation.

How to Remove Negative Reviews on Amazon?

Over time, Amazon has placed restrictions on the ways sellers can get negative or poor reviews removed. Since the platform doesn’t allow them to respond to negative reviews, they have to contact Amazon about having the review removed. This is easier said than done.

For Amazon to consider removing a bad review, the content of the review must violate at least one of its many Community Guidelines policies. Mass reporting of unfounded allegations of bad reviews will not only tarnish your reputation with Amazon but also make Amazon less inclined to listen to your complaints.

The only consolation is that these guidelines are not just for sellers. Indeed, Amazon has also made it clear that buyers and sellers should also be protected from harassment, intimidation, or underhanded tactics. These are good grounds for removing reviews.

• The review may contain obscene or profane language and directly attack the seller.
• The review contains personal information such as names, email addresses, or telephones.
• The reviewer confuses seller feedback as a product review.
• The same customer left multiple negative reviews for the same product.
• A review submitted by a competitor.
• The review contains external links or promotional comments about other sellers;
• It contains sexual, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate images.

For FBA sellers, since reviews are related to the shipping, condition, or delivery of the product, it can be relatively easy to remove such reviews since all three of these things are within Amazon’s jurisdiction.

Appealing Negative Review Removal on Amazon (7 Steps)

Step 1: Log in to Seller Central: Go to sellercentral.amazon.com and log in to your seller account.

Step 2: Go to Feedback Manager: There are two ways to get here:

• Option 1 (if you view feedback on your homepage): Sometimes, negative feedback appears directly on your Seller Central homepage. If you found it there, there may be a direct link to “Request removal” next to the feedback.
• Option 2 (through performance): Go to “Performance” in the main menu, then select “Feedback.”

Step 3: Locate the Feedback: Find the specific feedback you want to address.

Step 4: Request Removal (If Available):

• If Amazon detects that the feedback may violate its policies (for example, it’s a review of a product or mentions fulfillment issues for an FBA order). In that case, you may see a “Request Removal” button or option right next to the feedback.
• Click “Request Removal.” Amazon will ask you to confirm that the feedback meets one of their removal criteria. If so, confirm and submit the request.

Step 5: If “Request Removal” Is Not Available, Open a Case:

• If you don’t see the “Request Removal” option in the feedback manager, you’ll need to open a case with Amazon Seller Support.
• In the Feedback Manager, there may be a link to “Contact Us” or “Help.” Alternatively, you can usually find a “Help” link at the bottom of most Seller Central pages.
• In the Support section, you’ll need to find the appropriate contact path. This may involve selecting categories like “Account Settings,” “Orders,” or “Customer Feedback Problems.” Sometimes, the exact path may change, so look for options related to Feedback or Customer Issues.

Step 6: Provide Information in Your Case: When creating the case, provide the following:

• Order ID: The specific order ID associated with the feedback.
• Exact Wording of the Feedback: Copy and paste the feedback (exactly similar).
• Reason for Removal: Clearly explain why you believe the feedback should be removed. Use one of the valid reasons (obscene language, personal information, product review, FBA issue). Be concise and professional.

Step 7: Submit Your Case: Once you’ve provided all the necessary information, submit your case to Amazon Seller Support.

Step 8: Monitor the Case: Keep monitoring your case log for any updates from support. Amazon will review your request and make a decision.

What to Do If Amazon Rejects Your Removal Request?

Fighting Amazon’s rejection of a removal request can be stressful. This guide walks you through all the important things to do, from assessing the reason for the rejection to appealing the decision and exploring other options.

1. Understand the Reason for the Rejection

Read the reason very carefully. This will help you understand why Amazon rejected your review removal request. And whether your request meets its criteria.

2. Re-evaluate your request

Depending on the reason for the rejection, check if there is any new information available or a different strategy to apply to strengthen your takedown request.

3. Seek professional help

If you are unable to understand the takedown request processes on Amazon, consider hiring Amazon FBA consultants with expertise in selling on Amazon. They can help you navigate the situation and help you craft a meaningful takedown request.

Understand Amazon Review Policy

Amazon has strict guidelines about customer reviews that help ensure honesty and integrity in product reviews. Amazon encourages honest opinions about a user’s experience with a particular product, not promotional reviews, paid reviews, or reviews with a conflict of interest. So keep these in mind, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a good contributor to the Amazon community.

What Amazon Allows:

• Honest Opinion: This allows you to get genuine reviews based on your experience with the product.
• Positive and Negative Feedback: You can share both positive and negative experiences.
• Constructive Feedback: Describing the product’s advantages and disadvantages helps a person make the right decision.

What Amazon Prohibits:

• Promotional reviews: You are not allowed to write a review for a product given away for free to promote that product.
• Reviews in Exchange for Compensation: Reviews cannot be negotiated or paid for at any price.
• Reviews from People with a Conflict of Interest: Reviews from family, friends, or people with a stake in the product will be rejected.
• False or misleading reviews: Reviews containing false information or attempting to manipulate ratings or rankings are not allowed.
• Multiple negative reviews: Multiple negative reviews for one product using the same account are a violation. 
• Reviews Violating Legal or Ethical Standards: We will remove reviews that are abusive, defamatory, or infringe on copyright.

Consequences Of Violating Policies

Such violations have far-reaching consequences. This may include the removal of reviews, account banning, and, in severe cases, legal action. These guidelines must be followed to maintain a good experience on this platform. Amazon takes policy violations based on reviews very strictly and may have some of the following consequences:

• Removal of reviews: Any reviews that have been removed will no longer appear on the site.
• Account restrictions: Repeated violations may result in restrictions on your Amazon account, preventing you from posting reviews or making purchases.
• Legal action: In extreme cases, people or businesses who manipulate reviews may be subject to legal action by Amazon.

How to Deal with Bad or Poor Reviews Effectively?

Effectively handling bad or poor reviews on Amazon is crucial to maintaining a positive brand image and increasing sales. Here’s how to deal with them:

1. Track Your Reviews

You should keep a close eye on all new reviews for each of your products, but what if you are like all other big sellers and you receive thousands of reviews every day? Well, instead of checking them individually, just take the help of our Amazon seller experts. They can simplify the process of monitoring and requesting reviews while enhancing your feedback management.

Moreover, you can contact us for comprehensive seller account management services. This will not only help you grow your business but also give you more time to focus on other key areas.

2. Report The Policy Violation To Amazon Seller Support

When looking at your reviews on Amazon, if you find a review that violates their policy, don’t delay taking action. Visit Amazon Seller Support and report the specific reviews or reviews with someone else’s name. You must provide full evidence and examples of why it violates their policies. Also, include the order ID where possible.

3. Contact The Customer And Try To Resolve The Issue

Negative reviews by Amazon customers tend to be products that are heavily influenced by customers who may not have liked them. Instead, we recommend contacting Amazon customers about the products they didn’t like so that the issue or complaints can be resolved. When responding to them, you should be professional and polite and try to resolve the issue through refunds, replacements, etc.

4. Request The Review To Be Removed

While this may indicate that the review is misleading or abusive – a common violation of Amazon policy – ​​doing so openly brings a negative review of one of your products to Amazon’s attention. To do this, go to the negative review you want removed, click the Report button, and complete the process to submit a review removal request formally. With this appeal, you must provide an explanation and evidence as to why you want it removed.

5. Send the Case to Amazon if necessary

In case Amazon, for any reason, does not remove the abusive or negative review, you can still carry on with escalation. You will have to provide further additional evidence, examples, and details to justify your claim that the review violates Amazon’s policy to build a stronger case for this review. Use different channels of Amazon Seller Support until getting a final answer on the review.

Tips for Managing Negative Reviews on Amazon

Negative reviews on Amazon are a tough reality of doing business, but they don’t have to ruin your reputation. If you approach things the right way, you can very quickly turn such things into growth opportunities. Here’s how you do it:

• Respond quickly and with utmost sincerity: Respond immediately to the customer’s concern and apologize for the bad experience. Be empathetic and understand everything and then resolve it promptly.
• Solution-oriented: Offer practical solutions to every customer complaint, whether in the form of a refund, replacement, discount, or other relevant customer remedy.
• Be professional: Never get defensive, and don’t argue with the customer. Even if you completely disagree with the review, keep the dialogue respectful and constructive.
• Learn and improve: Take a closer look at the bad reviews and see which aspects of the product need further improvement.
• Spread good reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to come forward with their good experiences. Also, look for good customer reviews on your site as well as on your social media platforms.
• Monitor online mentions: Check review sites and social media regularly to counter negative feedback immediately.
• Call the professionals in-house: If you are not able to manage negative reviews on Amazon, you can seek the help of reputation management professionals.

With these measures, you can handle negative Amazon reviews and ratings without causing any harm to your business reputation and become a renowned brand.

Conclusion

Amazon does have some processes by which negative reviews can be removed, but this is certainly not a guarantee. Negative feedback that revolves around Amazon’s content guidelines, for example, those that contain personal attacks, obscenity, or simply irrelevant information, may be removed, but not always.

In addition, there are also some reviews in which the customer describes their experience using your products; a seller must know that they cannot be removed.

It is better to deal with negative reviews in a professional manner, as well as make them productive. Once you address the customer’s complaint with proof of improvement, you can not only overcome the effects of the negative review but also strengthen your customers’ trust.

Just note that Amazon pays attention to the removal of reviews subjected to changes; stay tuned for the latest policies.