How to Get Negative Feedback Removed on Amazon

*Click to read the affiliate disclaimer*

(Last Updated On: )

What is Negative Feedback?

Amazon customers have the ability to leave feedback after every transaction on the website. This rating is out of 5, with anything above 4 considered positive. That means those marked with 1, 2 and even 3 are seen as a mark of a poor exchange between a seller and the customer.

Dealing with negative feedback is by far one of the most stressful things an Amazon seller can go through. No one wants to take a hit on a 100% 5-star rating, so every 1 or 2-star rating is going to feel like a big blow. Bad feedback won’t just bruise your ego; it can actually impact your ability to win the Buy Box, so directly impact your ability to generate sales at the same rate.

Thankfully, a lot of the feedback is eligible for removal.

Amazon Reviews vs Feedback

Customers can leave both reviews and feedback. This is often confused and considered one and the same, but it’s important to know the difference to keep your account healthy.

Reviews

Strictly about products
Should be based on the quality and perhaps value for money
Detached from the business that sold the product

Feedback

About the customer service displayed by seller
Likely to be influenced by any communication received and convenience of delivery
Detached from the products being sold, unless the condition is substandard

Customers are usually emailed by Amazon post-transaction with a request to leave feedback and a review. Responses to these requests are shockingly low (for my first few months, I only got 1 feedback per £1,000 of revenue).

Only the feedback should be important to you, unless you’re selling private label products. Reviews aren’t associated with your account at all.

Customers have the ability to leave a public comment with their feedback, giving sellers an understanding of why they may be happy or dissatisfied with their services, and help other shoppers gauge how trustworthy the seller is. Sellers then have the ability to respond to the feedback, whether positive or negative.

What Feedback Can I Get Removed?

The most important thing to do when you get negative feedback is to identify whether or not it would qualify for removal. Some negative feedback may be rightful, in which case it’s up to you to discuss with the customer how you can resolve their issue, before you even consider asking them to remove their feedback.

Feedback eligible for removal:

Related to FBA
Including seller-specific personally identifiable information
Product reviews
Use of abusive or obscene language
Anything that violates laws

Overwhelming, the negative feedback I’ve received has been related to FBA. I only sell through their Fulfilment by Amazon programme. As a result, it means that any instances where Amazon’s fulfilment process falls short of expectations are their responsibility. I shouldn’t be punished for their shortcomings.

I’ve had feedback removed because customers have said that items haven’t been delivered on time, because they’ve had the wrong item delivered, and even because the customer didn’t like that the item had an FBA product label on it.

As the feedback rating is out of 5, a common question is: should I get 4-star Amazon feedback removed? It completely depends. If your account is a strong 5.0/5.0, a few 4 stars won’t hurt it. However, an account with a few negatives and 4s may take a while to recover back to the perfect 5.0 rating. A 4-star rating is likely to be mainly favourable, but if the comment includes any of the above, it may be worth trying to get it removed.

What are the Steps to Remove Negative Feedback?

I probably get 2-3 negative feedback per month, and have thankfully been able to keep my account clean by acting quickly to have them removed. While it’s possible to get lots of feedback removed without speaking to the customer, I prefer to have some communication with them to understand the issue and see if I can get things sorted without involving Amazon.

My process is as follows:

Respond to the feedback by sending a private message to the seller, addressing the issue and offering a solution

2a. If there is no response within 6 hours, put in a negative feedback removal request within Seller Central, and state that I have attempted to resolve the issue privately with the customer

2b. If there is a response, resolve the issue, then send the instructions on how they can remove the feedback

Await the response

4a. If Amazon approves the request (usually within 24 hours), throw up gunfingers.

4b. If Amazon doesn’t approve the request, reply to the negative feedback publicly, and then put in another request with adapted wording

Remember: Amazon does not alert you when you receive feedback, and you only have 90 days to get negative feedback removed. This means you need to check for bad feedback daily on Seller Central, and put in cases quickly.