Can I pay a customer to remove a negative review on Amazon?

No. Offering refunds, gifts or money in exchange for removing or changing a review breaks Amazon policy and can lead to account suspension. In the United States it can also break the FTC's rule on fake reviews and review suppression, which took effect in October 2024.

How long does Amazon take to remove a reported review?

Amazon does not publish a fixed timeline. Some clear violations are removed within days, while others are reviewed and left in place. Keep a record of each report, and if the violation is obvious and nothing changes, raise it again with specific evidence through Seller Support or Brand Registry.

Will Amazon remove a review about shipping?

A review that is only about shipping, delivery speed, packaging or seller service breaks the product review guidelines, because that content belongs in seller feedback. Report it with the Report link and choose the matching reason. Mixed reviews that also discuss the product are usually kept.

How do I delete my own review on Amazon?

Go to your Amazon profile, open the reviews you have written, and choose to edit or delete the review. Changes usually appear on the product page after a short delay. Sellers can explain where this option is, but cannot ask you to use it.

Do negative reviews affect my seller account health?

Product reviews do not count toward seller performance metrics such as order defect rate. Negative seller feedback does. Product reviews still matter commercially, because star rating and review content strongly influence click-through and conversion on the detail page.

How to Remove Reviews From Amazon: What Sellers Can Do

What changed: Reviews are removed only for guideline violations, reviewer deletion or unusual activity
When: Updated October 2026
Who it affects: Brand owners, sellers and shoppers on Amazon.com
What to do: Report clear violations with Report abuse; never pay or pressure buyers

Key takeaways

Sellers cannot delete reviews; Amazon removes only reviews that break its guidelines.
Report clear violations with the Report link and keep records.
Paying, pressuring or bribing buyers to remove reviews risks suspension and FTC penalties.

	Removable	Stays up
Only about shipping or seller service
Contains phone number or email
Profanity or hate speech
Honest complaint about the product
Old issue you have since fixed

Amazon removes reviews only for guideline violations.

Can sellers remove reviews from Amazon?

No. There is no button in Seller Central that deletes a product review. Reviews belong to the customer and to Amazon, not to the seller. Amazon's own forum guidance lists the only reasons reviews disappear: the review broke the Community Guidelines, the reviewer removed it, two different products were wrongly merged and their reviews were separated, or Amazon detected unusual review behavior and limited or stopped reviews on the item.

A negative review that honestly describes the product is not a violation, however painful it is. Amazon will not remove it because it is unfair, outdated or based on one bad unit.

Product reviews vs seller feedback

Sellers often mix the two up. Product reviews sit on the detail page and describe the product. Seller feedback rates the seller's service, such as shipping and customer support, and counts toward account health metrics. Each has its own rules and its own removal process, covered in our guide to Amazon seller feedback.

One overlap is useful: a product review that only talks about shipping, packaging or seller service breaks the review guidelines and can be reported, because that content belongs in seller feedback instead.

Which reviews break Amazon's Community Guidelines?

These are the most common grounds Amazon lists for review violations. The list is not exhaustive, so read the current guidelines before reporting.

Reviews about seller service, ordering, returns, shipping cost or speed
Comments about price or availability
Private information such as emails or phone numbers
Profanity, hate speech or sexual content
External links or promotional content
Repetitive text, spam or symbol art
Content in unsupported languages
Reviews written by competitors, paid reviewers or people with a conflict of interest

How to report a review on Amazon, step by step

Reporting is the only legitimate way for a seller to ask Amazon to look at a review. Report only reviews that clearly break a rule, and keep a record of each report.

Open the product detail page and find the review
Click Report next to the review (labeled Report abuse on some pages)
Choose the reason that matches the violation
Submit and note the date and review details
If you are a registered brand owner, use the Report a Violation tool in Brand Registry for policy concerns tied to your brand
If nothing changes and the violation is clear, raise it again with Seller Support with specific evidence

1Find the review
On the product detail page
2Click Report
Pick the matching reason
3Log it
Date, reviewer, reason
4Escalate
Brand Registry or Seller Support

How shoppers delete or edit their own reviews

Customers can edit or delete their own reviews at any time from the reviews section of their Amazon profile. If a customer contacts you to say a problem was solved and asks how to update a review, you can explain where the option is. You cannot ask them to change or remove it, and you cannot offer anything in return.

What never works, and what gets accounts suspended

Some tactics promise fast removal and end with suspended accounts. Amazon prohibits sellers from asking buyers to change or remove reviews, offering refunds or gifts in exchange, or using services that sell or suppress reviews. In the United States, the FTC's rule on fake reviews and testimonials took effect on October 21, 2024. It bans buying or selling fake reviews and suppressing honest negative reviews through threats or intimidation, and it allows civil penalties for violations. Amazon itself reported blocking more than 275 million suspected fake reviews in 2024, so review manipulation is watched closely.

Paying or refunding customers to delete negative reviews
Asking for removal in buyer messages or package inserts
Buying positive reviews to bury negative ones
Mass reporting honest reviews
Hiring removal services that use fake accounts

How to reduce the damage from negative reviews

A legitimate one-star review can still be turned into an advantage. Shoppers read how brands respond, and the review often points to a fix that will lift conversion.

Reply publicly and professionally where the option is available
Fix the root cause: update images, sizing, instructions or packaging
Add clarity to bullets and A+ Content so expectations match the product
Use the Request a Review button on eligible orders to grow honest review volume
Enroll new products in Amazon Vine to get early, unbiased reviews
Track review themes by ASIN every month

Protecting your brand from review attacks

Sudden waves of negative reviews from accounts with no purchase history can be part of a competitor attack. Enrolling in Amazon Brand Registry gives you access to Report a Violation, where you can send evidence about abuse connected to your brand. Our Amazon brand protection service monitors listings and reviews and builds the evidence file Amazon needs.

How PPC Spider helps

PPC Spider tracks review rating and review themes per ASIN in SpiderOS, flags drops that affect conversion, and adjusts ad bids so poor-rated variations do not waste budget while the listing is fixed. If you want a second opinion on a review problem, a free Amazon audit covers listing quality and review health.

Sources

Amazon Seller Forums: So you want to remove a customer review? (sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/8a04c583-85e7-4971-a147-002722bfefa0)
Amazon: Brand Registry overview (sell.amazon.com/brand-registry)
SalesDuo: Amazon's crackdown on fake reviews in 2026 (salesduo.com/blog/amazon-crackdown-fake-reviews/)

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