Amazon Negative Feedback Removal – How to Get it Removed

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Getting great user and product feedback on Amazon is vital for the success of your business. Seller feedback is one of the metrics that Amazon uses to ascertain your suitability to win a share of the Buy Box. Getting bad feedback can not only affect your conversion rates but it can also have a long-term impact by damaging your brand. If you receive too many poor feedback comments it can result in your seller account being terminated.

What happens though when the feedback left by a customer is inaccurate or invalid? In some certain circumstances Amazon will remove this feedback so that it won’t have a detrimental effect on your seller metrics.

What Type of Feedback Can a Customer Leave?

Seller Feedback

When a purchase has been made, Amazon allows the customer to review the seller. The customer has up to 90 days from the date of their order to leave a rating and comment.

If the product was purchased from a Fulfilment by Merchant (FBM) seller, Amazon will ask three yes/no questions about the service that they received:

1. Did the order arrive on time?
2. Did the product match the seller’s description?
3. Did they receive Prompt and courteous service if they contacted the seller?

If the purchase was made by a Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) seller, Amazon will ask the following yes/no question:

1. Did the product match the seller’s description?

Amazon will also allow the customer to leave a comment and score the seller on a 1 to 5 star rating (1 being the lowest rating and 5 being the highest rating). The customer’s comments and rating will appear alongside the seller’s profile.

Seller feedback is key to determining your success selling on Amazon. Not only is it used to determine your suitability for the all-important buy-box but it also affects conversion rates. Seller feedback is even more critical if you sell your products by FBM especially as you’re also fulfilling the order, customers are unlikely to trust a seller with poor feedback even if you are the cheapest.

Product Feedback

Customers are also able to leave product feedback. Users can provide an overall star rating for the product and leave a review comment. The product reviewer can also attach photos of the products that they’ve purchased.

If you’re selling a private label product, product feedback is critical especially if you’ve just launched it on Amazon. Good product feedback early on can determine how successful your product will likely be and therefore will influence conversion rates.

We’ve covered the importance of good user feedback but how do you avoid negative feedback in the first place?

Use accurate product descriptions and use clear photographs of the products

Provide as much information in your listings as possible, include information such as weight, size, colour and condition of the product. Ensure you include as many photos as possible and use close-up images as well.

Respond to customer emails promptly

Customer messages should be replied to within 24 hours. If their message/complaint is acknowledged promptly, buyers are less likely to raise an A-Z claim and leave poor feedback. If you’re investigating a customer complaint, keep them informed and provide regular updates so they are aware you’re looking into their concern.

Ensure you use adequate packaging material as well as providing tracking information

If you’re a FBM seller, when dispatching orders use appropriate packaging which adequately protects your products. If the item is fragile, use bubble wrap to ensure the items are not damaged in transit. Always make sure your items are sent tracked and the tracking number is updated for the order.

What Happens if a Customer Leaves Inaccurate/Invalid Feedback?

As mentioned earlier, in some circumstances Amazon will remove seller feedback which it deems untrue or invalid.

Amazon will remove seller feedback in the following circumstances:

• If the customer has left feedback that contains obscene or abusive language.
• If the feedback contains a product review instead of a seller specific one.
• If the feedback contains personal information such as names, email address, contact details etc
• If the feedback contains a complaint about the price of the product or the delivery costs.
• If it contains links to other merchants or websites or if it is of a promotional nature.

In some other circumstances Amazon won’t remove the seller feedback but they will strike-through the feedback. This occurs when:

• The feedback posted is regarding the fulfilment or customer service for an order that has been fulfilled by Amazon (FBA). When Amazon strikes through the comment they will include the following disclaimer “This item was fulfilled by Amazon, and we take responsibility for this fulfilment experience”.
• The feedback comment is related to delayed or not received deliveries, for orders shipped on time with tracking, using Buy Shipping.

Even though the comment is not removed, a strike-through won’t affect your seller metrics at all.

What Happens if a Customer Leaves Inaccurate/Invalid Product Feedback?

Trying to get product feedback removed can prove more challenging especially as the feedback can be more subjective. Amazon will however remove product feedback in the following situations:

• If the review contains inappropriate or offensive content.
• If it tries to promote other merchant listings/websites or is of a promotional nature.
• If a customer posts multiple negative reviews for the product by using multiple accounts.
• If a competitor posing as a customer tries to post spurious reviews to discredit your product.
• If the review is a seller specific comment such as about shipping or customer support.

Request Seller Feedback Removal from Amazon

If you believe the seller feedback left by a customer is unjust or unwarranted you should definitely attempt to get Amazon to remove it so that it won’t affect your selling metrics. Amazon gives you up to 90 days from the date the feedback comment was posted to get it removed.

In order to this, follow these simple steps:

1. Login to Amazon Seller Central.
2. Click on ‘Help’ from top toolbar and then click on ‘Contact Us’.
3. Next click on ‘Customers and orders’.
4. Enter the order number relating to the feedback and click on ‘Next’.

Providing the feedback matches any of the circumstances mentioned earlier, Amazon will automatically remove the feedback or they will strike-through the comment.

Request Product Feedback Removal from Amazon

If your customer has posted an abusive product review you can report this to Amazon by going to the product, locating the relevant abusive comment and clicking on the ‘Report abuse’ link. Once reported Amazon will look into the matter and decide whether to remove the comment or not.

If the product review is not abusive but you believe it is unjust, you can get this removed by performing the following steps:

1. Login to Amazon Seller Central.
2. Click on ‘Help’ from top toolbar and then click on ‘Contact Us’.
3. Next click on ‘Products and inventory’.
4. Enter your comments why you believe the relevant product feedback comment should be removed and finally click on the ‘Submit’ button.

Request Product Feedback Removal from Buyer

If Amazon does not remove the offending feedback comment, you can always try resolving the matter by contacting the buyer directly. A customer can remove feedback comments up to 60 calendar days after the date the comment was posted.

When you first contact the buyer, try to understand what the problem is and apologise for any inconvenience caused. Your aim it to resolve any issues or misunderstandings with the buyer. If a customer’s order was damaged in transit, send the customer a replacement or offer them a full refund. If the order was received late, refund the customer for the shipping.

Providing you have managed to resolve the issue, you can ask politely whether they would consider modifying their comments. Remember, it’s against Amazon’s rules to force someone to remove their comments. You’re also not allowed to offer a full refund in exchange for them to remove their feedback otherwise you risk having your seller account suspended.

In order to contact a customer about negative feedback follow these steps:

1. Login to Amazon Seller Central.
2. Click on ‘Help’ from top toolbar and then click on ‘Contact Us’.
3. Next click on ‘Customers & orders.
4. Enter the relevant order number and click on the ‘Next’ button.
5. Select the ‘Contacting the Buyer about an order’ option and click on the ‘Next’ button.
6. In the message area, type your message and attach any supporting documents.
7. Once complete, click on the ‘Send’ button.

When all Fails Comment Publically

If all fails and Amazon has failed to remove the customer’s feedback and you’ve had no luck dealing with the buyer, the last resort will be to publically comment on the feedback. The aim is give your opinion on the customer’s issue and explain the measures that you’ve taken to avoid this happening in future. This way a potential customer may not be put off with negative feedback if they feel it was a genuine mistake or a one-off issue.

In order to respond to seller feedback comment, follow these steps:

1. Login to Amazon Seller Central.
2. From the top toolbar select ‘Performance’ and then select ‘Feedback’.
3. Find the relevant feedback comment and click on the ‘Actions’ link on the far right.
4. Next click on the ‘post a public reply’.
5. Enter your response in the text box. Once complete click on the ‘Submit’ button.

Monitor Customer Feedback

However good your product is and however great the service you provide, from time to time you’re going to get bad customer feedback even if it’s not your fault. In order to keep up with your feedback it is important to monitor it on a regular basis. If bad feedback is left, your aim is to contact the buyer as quickly as possible in order to resolve their issue.

Keeping track of seller and product feedback can be a time consuming process, thankfully there are a number of tools available which can help you with this.

One of which is Feedback Genuis. The tool not only automatically notifies you when a negative review is left but also you to automatically solicit for feedback on your orders. Very few customers leave feedback so using a tool like Feedback Genuis can be great way of receiving this and therefore improving your seller metrics.