Key points
- Product reviews are meant to rate the product. Complaints about shipping, packaging or the seller belong in seller feedback.
- Reviews that are only about shipping or service violate the Community Guidelines and can be reported.
- If the review also criticizes the product itself, it gets harder.
What Amazon’s guidelines say
Amazon separates two kinds of feedback. Product reviews describe experiences with the product. Experiences with the seller, the order, shipping or returns belong in seller feedback. Under the guidelines, reviews that deal only with shipping or the seller are not allowed.
There is also a rule on price: comments on value for money are allowed in a review, but price comparisons and tips on where to buy the product cheaper are not. Read more in our guide Ads and links in reviews.
Typical cases
- late delivery, package left with a neighbor, rude delivery driver,
- box arrived damaged or wet,
- wrong item or wrong color delivered,
- returns, refunds or customer service,
- “Cheaper at another store.”
When the product is criticized too
Many reviews mix both: “Arrived late and broke after a week.” In that case the review contains a permissible statement about the product and usually stays up. It is different when the criticism of the product is only a result of shipping, for example a dent caused by a damaged box. Such cases are worth a close look.
How to report these reviews
Guideline violations are reported using “Report abuse” below the review. State the reason clearly, for example: “This review only rates the delivery, not the product.”
How AMZDelete helps
AMZDelete detects reviews that are about shipping, packaging, service or price and flags them, for example with “Rates delivery or packaging.” Our partner law firm checks whether a case holds up and reports it to Amazon through the right channel, without an attorney’s letter if none is needed. Here too, you only pay if the review is actually removed afterward.
Frequently asked questions
Where does criticism of shipping belong?
In seller feedback. Buyers leave it through their orders, separately from the product review.
What if Amazon shipped the order itself?
Then the criticism of shipping concerns neither you nor your product. The usual rule applies to the product review: it should rate the product.
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.