Reported to Amazon and nothing happened: what helps now

Why reports often go nowhere

Every review has a “Report abuse” option below it. This route is quick but has its limits: it leaves hardly any room for an explanation, and you usually do not find out how Amazon decided. If the review stays up, Amazon did not find a violation of the Community Guidelines when it checked.

The most common reasons:

• The wrong channel. “Report abuse” is meant for guideline violations, such as a review that only rates the shipping. If a review claims something false, Amazon can hardly verify that through this channel. That is what the separate channel for reporting illegal content is for.
• No explanation, no evidence. “This review is unfair” is not enough. Amazon has to be able to see which statement breaks which rule, and why.
• The review is permissible. Harsh criticism of a real defect is allowed, even if it hurts sales. In that case, even a better report will not help.

Check first: can the review be challenged?

Before you try again, it is worth taking a sober look at the review. It can be challenged above all if it

• only rates shipping, packaging or service (read more),
• states facts that are untrue, such as “used” or “counterfeit” (read more),
• insults instead of criticizing (read more),
• is clearly not based on the reviewer’s own experience (read more),
• contains advertising or links (read more) or reveals personal data (read more).

If none of this applies, the review is probably a permissible opinion. In that case, your time is better spent responding to the underlying problem, for example with a clearer product description.

The next steps

1. Report it as illegal content. If the review does not just break the rules but is actually unlawful, the Digital Services Act (DSA) has introduced a separate reporting channel for this. Amazon must examine such a notice promptly and carefully and inform you of its decision. The key elements are the link to the individual review, a word-for-word quote and an explanation. Read more in our guide Notice under the DSA.
2. Challenge the decision. If Amazon rejects your notice, you can ask for the decision to be reconsidered through Amazon’s internal complaint system. You have at least six months after the decision to do so. There are also certified out-of-court dispute settlement bodies.
3. Have a law firm request removal. A law firm can submit a removal request to Amazon with a quote, legal reasoning, evidence and a deadline. If Amazon has been notified this specifically of unlawful content and does not act, Amazon itself may be held liable for it.
4. Court action. As a last step, there is the option of going to court. This takes more effort and is mainly worthwhile for serious accusations. Whether it has a chance of success is something the law firm assesses case by case.

Brand owners enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry also have their own tools for reporting violations. The same standards apply there to individual reviews.

What does not help

• Sending the same report again and again. Repeated reports without a new reason or new evidence do not change Amazon’s assessment.
• Collecting lots of reports. Reports from friends or employees are no substitute for a proper explanation. Purchased accounts or mass reporting violate Amazon’s rules.
• Putting pressure on the reviewer. Amazon prohibits offering anything in return for changing or deleting a review.
• Buying reviews to offset it. This violates the guidelines and can put your seller account at risk.

How AMZDelete helps

AMZDelete checks your 1-star and 2-star reviews and flags, for each one, any signs of a violation. Our partner law firm legally assesses the reviews you include in your order and reports them through the appropriate channel: guideline violations through Amazon’s reporting channels, violations of the law with a substantiated removal request that includes a quote, evidence and a deadline. AMZDelete then checks every day whether a review is still online. You only pay if it is removed.

Frequently asked questions

This guide gives a general overview and does not replace a legal review of your individual case. At AMZDelete, our partner law firm checks whether a review can be challenged.