How to Delete an Amazon Review That Makes You Look Bad

You worked so hard to write your book. You edited it, formatted it, created the cover design, and published it on Amazon. Congratulations! You're part of the 3% of the planet who ever publishes a book. You are awesome. Stop right now and pat yourself on the back. Literally, pat yourself on the back and say, "great job" to yourself.

What's next? The reviews start coming in from your friends and family and they give you 5 stars (OF COURSE). Two weeks go by and you're basking in the glory of not only being a published author and having amazing 5 Star reviews, but you're ranking as a bestselling author. It's so much fun and you're on top of the world.

Then something happens. You get your first bad review. It's not just a bad review; it's 1 star.

What's an author to do?

How could someone be so mean as to rate your hard work 1 star? What kind of person does that?

Do you wish you could remove that bad review? Don't worry. There's hope.

That said, there is a caveat. Amazon doesn't just remove bad reviews because you want them removed. You must follow a set of criteria to get a bad review removed.

Below are the steps you can take to effectively remove a review from your Amazon product listing. But be aware that it's not a guarantee that Amazon will remove the bad review. But it's worth a try.

Understanding Amazon's Review Policy

Before diving into the process of removing a review, it's crucial to understand Amazon's review policy. Amazon values authenticity and transparency in reviews, aiming to provide customers with genuine feedback. However, they do have guidelines in place to address situations where a review may violate their policies.

Steps to Remove a Review

1. Before doing anything, we highly recommend you try to remedy the situation with the reviewer before reaching out to Amazon. How do you do this? YOU comment on their review (not by attacking the reviewer, but by trying to solve their problem). It's possible it's simply a misunderstanding and they were having a bad day when they rated you poorly. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt first. If that doesn't work, go to the next steps.

2. Review Amazon's Community Guidelines: Familiarize yourself with Amazon's community guidelines to identify if the review in question actually violates any policies. While you may not be happy with the review, it might follow Amazon's guidelines. If that's the case, they're highly unlikely to remove it. The chances of Amazon removing a product review are extremely low. Yeah, we know that's a hard pill to swallow. To increase your chances of prevailing, make sure to include how the review violates Amazon’s review guidelines.

3. Contact Amazon Support: Reach out to Amazon's support team and explain the situation regarding the review. Provide any evidence or details that support your case for the review's removal.:

Send an email to community-help@amazon.com detailing the nature of the product review (date/time, name of reviewer, product ASIN, link to review).

4. Request Feedback Removal: If the review contains inappropriate content or is factually incorrect, you can request Amazon to remove it. Be polite and clear in your communication to increase the chances of a favorable outcome.

5. Monitor the Review: Keep an eye on the review to see if Amazon takes any action. It's essential to follow up if necessary and provide additional information if requested by Amazon.

6. Focus on Positive Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews to outweigh any negative feedback on your product listing.

Just because you don’t like a customer’s bad review doesn’t give you the right to resort to feedback removal. The customer review must be breaking the rules Amazon laid out for shoppers. When wondering how to delete a review on Amazon, you should take a look at Amazon’s guidelines so you can provide strong reasoning as to why the review should be removed.

Some of Amazon’s guidelines include:

• The bad review cannot be from a direct competitor

• Reviews or URLs attempting to promote something else

• Obscene, lewd, or sexually explicit content

• Reviews that disclose personal information (email addresses or phone numbers)

• Inflammatory or threatening speech (this includes hate speech)

• Fake reviews or reviews for a different product entirely

It's important to handle negative reviews on Amazon product listings with professionalism and grace. By following the steps outlined above and staying true to Amazon's guidelines, you can increase the likelihood of having a review removed. Remember that each review, whether positive or negative, is an opportunity for growth and improvement. Let's continue to support each other in our entrepreneurial endeavors and strive for excellence in all aspects of our online presence. Stay empowered, stay positive, and keep making a difference in the digital marketplace.

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