Can You Remove Negative Amazon Reviews? Here’s What You Can (and Can’t) Do
Jun 9, 2025
Tips
Amazon
by Troy Velie
Negative reviews sting especially when they feel unfair, unrelated, or just plain wrong. But can you actually remove them? The short answer: Sometimes but only under very specific circumstances.
In this guide, we’ll break down the real rules around removing reviews on Amazon, what tools and tactics can help, and how sellers can build a smarter review strategy that goes beyond playing defense.
The Reality: Most Negative Reviews Can’t Be Removed
Amazon’s review system is designed to protect buyers, not sellers. You can’t remove a review just because:
It’s overly harsh or subjective
The buyer misunderstood the product
The complaint is about shipping or packaging
Instead, Amazon only allows removal of reviews that violate their Community Guidelines. That includes reviews that:
Contain profanity, slurs, or hate speech
Include personally identifying information
Reference external websites or promotions
Clearly misrepresent the product’s core function
Are meant as seller feedback (e.g., “Arrived late!” on an FBA product)
If the review doesn’t fall into one of these categories, Amazon will almost always reject your removal request.
How to Request Review Removal the Right Way
If you spot a review that clearly violates Amazon’s policies, you can report it directly from the product detail page:
Click the “Report abuse” button near the review
Select the reason it violates community guidelines
If you're brand registered, open a support case under “Customer Reviews”
In your message, be specific—quote the review text and cite the exact guideline it's violating
Example:
“This review includes a URL to an external site, which violates Amazon’s community guidelines under the section 'Promotional content'. Please see the following excerpt: [insert offending sentence].”
The Role of AI Tools (and Why They’re Not Magic)
In recent years, a new class of tools has emerged to help sellers scan their entire review catalog for removable reviews. These tools use machine learning to flag patterns of guideline violations.
Pros:
Fast scanning across large ASIN catalogs
Template-based removal request suggestions
Helpful for sellers managing 100+ SKUs
Cons:
Often expensive
Still rely on Amazon support’s discretion
Even with automation, success rates are low
Estimated removal success rate: ~10% based on claims from several review software providers.
Following Up (Yes, You’ll Probably Need To)
Submitting one request often isn’t enough. Many successful removals happen after 2–3 follow-ups with Seller Support or Brand Registry reps.
What we recommend:
Track flagged reviews in a spreadsheet with dates, quotes, and claim categories
Reword requests if the first one is denied
Include screenshots and reference ASINs if the violation is technical (e.g., mismatched product description)
Persistence matters but results are never guaranteed.
What You Can Do: Customer Outreach
If the review is legitimate but based on a bad experience (e.g., damaged product, misunderstanding, etc.), you’re allowed to reach out to the customer via Amazon’s messaging system or through the “Request a Review” feature.
Here’s what’s compliant:
Resolve their issue with great customer service
Ask (politely) if they’d consider updating or removing their review
What’s not allowed:
Offering refunds, discounts, or gifts in exchange for changing a review
You won’t win everyone over, but many customers are happy to revise a review if their problem is genuinely addressed.
Long-Term Strategy: Focus on Review Health, Not Just Removal
Instead of chasing down every 2-star review, shift your focus to:
Driving more positive reviews through excellent post-purchase experiences
Using Amazon’s Request a Review button within 5–30 days of delivery
Analyzing negative review trends to identify product, packaging, or listing issues
Making your product listings crystal clear to avoid misunderstandings
If 1 out of 10 reviews is negative but you have 200 positive ones it barely registers. That’s the goal.
Summary: What Sellers Need to Know
Action | Allowed? | Notes |
Remove review because it’s negative | ❌ | Not allowed unless it violates policy |
Report review for profanity, links, personal info | ✅ | Must cite the specific violation |
Ask customer to revise a review after resolving issue | ✅ | Must be polite and non-incentivized |
Offer incentives for review removal | ❌ | Violates Amazon’s policy |
Use AI to flag reviews for removal | ✅ | Helpful, but not guaranteed |
Final Thoughts
Negative reviews are frustrating but they’re part of selling on Amazon. The best approach isn’t to fight every 3-star comment, but to build systems that improve customer satisfaction, encourage more positive reviews, and only escalate the reviews that truly violate Amazon’s rules.
Need help managing your reviews or improving your overall product feedback strategy? Step by Step FBA builds custom review health systems that are scalable, compliant, and proven to help brands grow.
Let’s talk.
Click here to learn more about working with us
About Troy Velie
I started my own Private Label Amazon Business 6 years ago and immediately witnessed the impact that having an effective ranking strategy can have in driving traffic. To that end I’ve devoted my time to understanding, improving, and optimizing strategies that deliver exceptional results in improving visibility and reach for any online business.
