Account health, ads, inventory and fulfilment · What is allowed, what gets removed
Review policy
Incentives, review swaps and family reviews are prohibited. The compliant ways to ask, and what to do when a competitor cheats.
Key facts
| Prohibited | Paying for reviews, discounts in exchange for reviews, review swaps, family and employee reviews, multiple accounts |
|---|---|
| Permitted | The Request a Review button, neutral post-purchase messages that do not ask for a positive rating |
| Vine | A programme for enrolled brand owners that supplies products to reviewers; reviews are independent |
| Reporting | Report policy violations with the ASIN, screenshot and order context; do not retaliate |
| Why it matters | Review manipulation can remove listings and suspend accounts, and the removal often happens after the spend is sunk |
| Official source | Amazon customer review creation guidelines and the Vine help page |
What counts as manipulation
Any incentive tied to a review is prohibited, including a refund, a gift card, a free product or a discount code offered after the review. Asking friends and family is also prohibited even when no money changes hands. The policy follows the effect, not the wording.
Review swaps and groups that trade reviews are treated as manipulation. A seller who buys a batch of reviews is not just risking removal of those reviews; the account can be suspended and the inventory stranded.
A compliant review engine
The durable approach is to improve the product and ask every buyer once, neutrally, through the marketplace's own request tool. Timing matters: a request sent after delivery has a better chance than one sent at purchase, and one request is enough.
For brand-registered products, Vine can generate early reviews in exchange for free units, with no control over the content. It is slow and not free, but it is compliant. If a competitor is manipulating reviews, report it with evidence and keep your own record clean.
Frequently asked questions
Can I email buyers to ask for a review?
You can send a neutral request through the marketplace tools. You cannot offer an incentive, ask only happy customers, or pressure the buyer.
Is Vine worth the cost?
It can be for a new ASIN that needs initial social proof. It does not guarantee positive reviews and it does not replace product quality.
What happens to fake reviews?
They can be removed, and repeated manipulation can lead to listing or account action. Purchased reviews also distort your data, which makes later decisions worse.
Can I ask a customer to change a negative review?
You can contact the customer to resolve the issue, but you cannot offer compensation conditioned on changing or removing the review.
Ask a compliance question
Free first answer by email. Tell us the destination, the product and the channel — we will point you to the rule and the official source. No obligation, no sales sequence.