There are several advantages of getting reviews of products on Amazon.
As an Amazon seller, having lots of positive feedback from clients about your products offers you the intuition that can be applied to improve the process of creating your product/service and your client’s experience.
Having a positive review of your product on Amazon also provides a yardstick for measuring the extent to which customers are satisfied. Keeping your clients happy is one of the most significant factors that should be placed into consideration as a seller on Amazon. Once you can keep them happy, you can always retain their loyalty.
Positive reviews will provide you with trusted and reliable information. It can be used to make informed decisions to move your brand forward. You need to keep in mind that a positive review is very crucial to the success of your business on Amazon.
On October 3rd, 2016, Amazon dropped a bomb on Amazon’s seller world and prohibited to send coupon codes and discounts in exchange for reviews. In the last few days and weeks, you can see that even reviews you got before the new update have deleted.
Basically, what Amazon doing is cleaning its website from reviews with the disclaimer “I got the product with a discount in exchange for my honest review”.
Moreover, until October 3rd, you could see a lot of reviews that said “GREAT PRODUCT” and that’s it. Also, those reviews are gone already. No one knows what will be the end of it, but one thing is sure that sellers need to be very careful now.
After Amazon already banned many sellers who manipulate its review system, including paying “under the table” to the reviewer – we will talk about it also in this guide. So, how can sellers get Amazon reviews after the new update? Here is what to do and what NOT to do.
What should you do in order to get Amazon reviews?
Sale much more
Now you probably say “but this is why we want reviews, to sell more”. So, let me explain myself. You can use sponsored products on Amazon, you can create promotions on our site, you can make a lightning deal or giveaway on Amazon. There are SO MANY WAYS to sell more, so just do it. The reviews will come with a good follow up job.
Automatic Email to Amazon Customers
Use our follow up tool in order to increase your seller feedback and reviews. The follow-up booster will send an automatic email to all of your Amazon customers.
Everyone who bought your product on Amazon will get an email with a personal note, to ask for their opinion on your product.
Do not ask them to leave a positive review/feedback or 5 stars product review, or any other exploitation on the buyer to leave a good review. Amazon can read the emails, and you don’t want to get suspended or banned from Amazon because of that.
In the follow-up section, you have a great guide on how to create a perfect single follow up email that you can use and send to your Amazon Customers.
Updated October 10, 2018
Amazon has changed their policy regarding contacting Amazon shoppers after purchase.
Now, you are allowed to send only ONE review request, and, you are not allowed to ask the shopper to change his reviews in any way through Amazon’s buyer-seller messaging system.
You can find the full policy here:
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/help.html?itemID=1701&
Use your outside customers
The buyer can leave 5 unverified reviews on Amazon. If you sell in other places: Shopify, eBay, AliExpress, E-commerce or even offline store, ask them to leave their opinion on Amazon.
It’s standing with Amazon TOS and this is exactly why the unverified reviews created for.
Those reviews don’t have any effect on your BSR (Best Seller Rank), but it will help you, as a beginner on Amazon, to create more sales with your sponsored products on Amazon, and to be honest, most of the customers on Amazon have no idea what is a VP review.
Create insert
Note, business card, or even on the product box, write your contact details and the request to leave their opinion about the product on Amazon, not in big, even at the bottom of the box, it’s working. Want to hear the 1,000,000$ idea of how to increase dramatically your review rate with those customers?
Add a QR code with the link to your reviews of your product. You can create one in 2 minutes and print it on your business card, insert, or on the box together with your contact details. Create one here.
Early Reviewer Program
Since June 1st, 2017, Amazon published its program to gain more reviews.
It is a paid service, yearly paid, with no way to cancel it.
You must have last than 5 Reviews on your listing, and you must be a registered brand on Amazon in order to participate in the program. You can read more about the program on seller central (US). Click HERE to check it on Amazon.
What not to do in order to get product reviews on Amazon?
1. DO NOT send the product with a discount in exchange to review on Amazon – It’s very clear, Amazon doesn’t allow doing that. Amazon knows who bought the product with a discount, and knows if he/she left the review after that. Do not be mistaken – an unverified review isn’t reviewing in exchange for a discount.
The review you got in exchange for a discount will be deleted and Amazon will penalize you for it. So there are no benefits to getting those reviews anymore, it will only impair you.
Right to 03/16/2018, Amazon doesn’t allow us to write unverified product reviews for new arrival products. Means codes and deep discounts will not help with new items.
2. DO NOT ask buyers to buy the product, and get a refund by PayPal or any other payment method. The major question after we said that to our clients is “how can Amazon know if I send money to my customer”.
Amazon knows. Don’t forget that we are talking about one of the biggest companies in the world. Moreover, before the new update, the VP (Verified Purchase) reviews, was about 0.5% of the sales amount.
After the new TOS, every new seller has 100% VP reviews.
Do not be mistaken – Amazon will delete those reviews and moreover, it can lock your store. The violation is not only regarding the reviews in exchange to discount, but it’s also much more than that, it’s regarding that you are buying products from yourself, and manipulating Amazon’s systems.
Updated September 11, 2017:
Almost past a year, and Amazon have even more fake reviews than before. You can check the last update on Forbes magazine regarding PayPal refunds and what Amazon’s spokesman had to say about it:
Update: April 23, 2018
Amazon declares war against PayPal refunds in exchange for Amazon reviews. Hundreds of Facebook groups have been deleted from Facebook, thousands of shoppers and sellers have been banned from Amazon.
You can see Amazon’s response in this Washington Post’s article (owned by Amazon’s owner, Jeff Bezos)
3. DO NOT ask for positive reviews in any way. Even if it’s not in exchange for a discount. The common way today is to send automatic email, asking for reviews. Amazon is scanning those emails and if there is a manipulation of the customer intellect: Amazon will know and might punish your store.
Updated October 04, 2018:
Amazon has updated its Customer product reviews policies, here are the highlights:
Violations to Customer Reviews policies include, but are not limited to, these actions:
- A seller posts a review of their own product or their competitor’s product.
- A seller offers a third party a financial reward, discount, free products, or other compensation in exchange for a review on their product or their competitor’s product. This includes using services that sell customer reviews, websites, or social media groups.
- A seller offers to provide a refund or reimbursement after the buyer writes a review (including reimbursement via a non-Amazon payment method). This could be done via buyer-seller messaging on Amazon or directly contacting customers or using 3rd party services, websites, or social media groups.
- A seller uses a third-party service that offers free or discounted products tied to a review (for example, a review club that requires customers to register their Amazon public profile so that sellers can monitor their reviews).
- A family member or employee of the seller posts a review of the seller’s product or a competitor’s product.
- A seller asks a reviewer to change or remove their review. They might also offer a refund or other compensation to a reviewer in exchange for doing so.
- A seller diverts negative reviews to be sent to them or to a different feedback mechanism while positive reviews are sent to Amazon.
- A seller creates a variation relationship between products with the aim of manipulating reviews and boosting a product’s star rating via review aggregation.
- A seller inserts a request for a positive Amazon review or an incentive in exchange for a review into product packaging or a shipping box.
- A seller uses a customer account to write or change a review on his or her competitor’s product.
You can find the full policy here:
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/help.html?itemID=GYRKB5RU3FS5TURN&
In summary, there are many legit ways to get reviews on Amazon. Do it carefully and slowly, you are building a business for the long term and not for product reviews, good luck!