Quick answer. No. Amazon prohibits paying for reviews in any form, including cash, gift cards, free or discounted products, refunds, rebates, review clubs, review swaps and services that sell reviews. It also prohibits reviews from family, employees and anyone with a financial interest in your business, asking only happy buyers for reviews, inserts that ask for positive reviews, and variation relationships built to pool star ratings. Amazon says violations by agencies and partners lead to enforcement even without your knowledge. In the United States, the FTC rule at 16 CFR Part 465 separately bans buying fake reviews and buying reviews conditioned on positive or negative sentiment. What you can do instead is use Request a Review, enroll eligible products in Amazon Vine, send one neutral request per order, use neutral inserts, and earn ratings through product quality.

Most sellers who search this question are not planning fraud. They are watching a new listing sit at four reviews while a competitor sits at four thousand, and somebody has offered a shortcut, such as a “launch package,” a rebate group, a “review club,” or a friend who will “just leave a few.” The pitch usually includes the word “compliant.” That word is why so many review cases begin with a seller who honestly believed the service they paid for was allowed.

Most of what follows covers what you can do, from legitimate ways to earn reviews to auditing your account and agencies and building an appeal. For the wider enforcement picture, see our article on faking reviews and how Amazon uses the evidence against you, and for the difference between reviews and seller feedback, our guide to customer product reviews and account suspensions.

Amazon’s rule on buying reviews

Amazon’s Customer product reviews policies page lists as a violation a seller offering a third party “a financial reward, discount, free products, or other compensation in exchange for a review,” and says this includes “using services that sell customer reviews, websites, or social media groups.” Its Answers to questions about reviews page says offering any incentive for product reviews or seller feedback is prohibited, naming money, gift cards, discounts, refunds, replacements and future benefits.

The Seller Code of Conduct says sellers must “not attempt to influence customers’ ratings, feedback, and reviews.” Sellers may request reviews from their own customers “in a neutral manner,” but may not pay for or incentivize providing or removing reviews, ask for only positive reviews, ask customers to remove or change a review, solicit reviews only from customers who had a positive experience, or review their own or competitors’ products.

“Buying” covers more than cash. A free unit given on the understanding the buyer will review it, a refund paid after the review (including through a non-Amazon payment method), a prize draw entry or a warranty that depends on a review are all forms of payment under Amazon’s pages. The federal rule defines purchasing a review as giving anything of value, including money, discounts, products, contest entries or another review. A review swap between two sellers is therefore a purchase, with one review paying for the other.

Who counts as “the seller”

Both of Amazon’s review policy pages say “seller” includes all of the seller’s employees and third-party partners. The Customer product reviews policies page adds that infractions by business partners, employees or third-party agencies “will result in enforcement actions, even if it happened without your knowledge or consent.” The Code of Conduct also lists allowing other people to act on your behalf in a way that violates Amazon’s policies as an unfair activity. As far as your account is concerned, an agency’s launch tactic is your tactic.

Every form of review manipulation Amazon lists

Amazon’s two review policy pages publish overlapping lists of examples, and neither list is complete. The examples fall into a few families, and knowing the family helps you spot a tactic a vendor has renamed. Inserts and off-Amazon contact are covered in the section on legitimate methods.

Paid and incentivized reviews

This covers any compensation in exchange for a review, including review clubs that ask buyers to register their Amazon public profile so sellers can monitor reviews. The Inappropriate product reviews page names websites or social media groups with “implicit or explicit agreements or expectations” that an incentive depends on a review. A rebate group that never says “review” but only pays people who post one falls inside that language.

Insider reviews

This means a seller reviewing their own product or a competitor’s, in their own name or posing as an unbiased buyer, or a family member or employee doing so. Amazon’s answers page widens the group to close friends and anyone with a financial interest in the business, and the policy also prohibits using a customer account to write or change a review.

Review gating and diverting complaints

Review gating means asking only buyers with a good experience for reviews and steering unhappy buyers elsewhere. Amazon describes a seller who “diverts negative reviews to be sent to them or to a different feedback mechanism while positive reviews are sent to Amazon,” and says this includes cases where the customer reached out first to say they were satisfied. Well-meaning sellers commit this most often, usually through an automated message flow or an insert.

Pressure on existing reviews

Amazon says you “cannot ask customers to change or remove their review, even after an issue is resolved,” and prohibits offering a refund or other compensation for doing so. The same list prohibits manipulating the Helpful, Not Helpful or Report Abuse buttons on any review.

Variation abuse

This is creating a variation relationship between unrelated products to boost a star rating through review aggregation. It has its own section below because listing managers rarely think of it as a review issue.

Five families of review manipulation Amazon lists. Open each one to see what it looks like, what Amazon treats as the violation and the approved route.

What the federal rule on fake reviews says

The Federal Trade Commission’s Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, codified at 16 CFR Part 465, took effect on October 21, 2024. The FTC’s business guidance says courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations. Amazon’s policies and the federal rule are separate. Amazon enforces its rules in its store, and the FTC enforces the rule under federal law. This section is educational information, not legal advice.

Section 465.2, fake reviews. A business may not write, create or sell a review that materially misrepresents that the reviewer exists, used the product, or what their experience was, and may not buy such reviews or obtain them from its officers, managers, employees, agents or their immediate relatives when it knew or should have known they were misleading.
Section 465.4, buying positive or negative reviews. A business may not offer compensation or an incentive conditioned, expressly or by implication, on a review expressing a particular sentiment.
Section 465.5, insider reviews. Officers and managers may not review their own business without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the relationship.
Section 465.7, review suppression. A business may not use unfounded legal threats, intimidation or knowingly false public accusations to stop or remove a review.
Section 465.8, fake social media indicators. A business may not buy or sell fake followers or views to misrepresent influence for a commercial purpose.

Where Amazon is stricter than the federal rule

The FTC’s guidance says generalized solicitations to all purchasers are exempt from several provisions. It also says an incentive offered to every reviewer is not, by itself, a violation of the rule if there is no express or implied requirement of a particular sentiment, though other FTC law, including disclosure requirements, may still apply. And it says insiders may post reviews if they clearly disclose the relationship. Amazon allows neither. “It is legal under the FTC rule” never answers “is it allowed on Amazon.”

Practice	Amazon policy	FTC rule, 16 CFR Part 465
Buying fake reviews	Prohibited	Prohibited (465.2)
Incentive conditioned on positive or negative sentiment	Prohibited	Prohibited (465.4)
Incentive offered to all reviewers, no sentiment condition	Prohibited	Not barred by the rule itself, though other FTC law may apply
Owner or employee review with clear disclosure	Prohibited	Allowed with clear and conspicuous disclosure (465.5)
Neutral request to every purchaser	Allowed through approved channels	Exempt as a generalized solicitation
Pressuring a reviewer to remove a review	Asking for removal is prohibited	Unfounded threats and intimidation prohibited (465.7)

Variation relationships and review sharing

Amazon’s policy lists “a variation relationship between products with the aim of manipulating reviews and boosting a product’s star rating via review aggregation” as a violation. The usual pattern is a new product with no reviews added as a child to an established parent, so it shows the parent’s rating on day one.

Amazon’s Guidelines for reviews shared across product variations page says reviews are only shared when variations have minor differences that do not affect core function, such as color, size, pack quantity, secondary scent or fitment. Reviews are not shared across differences in performance or power, model or generation, bundles, flavor or formulation, primary scent, fit, material or finish, or intended user. Amazon says it is rolling this out by category with email notice 30 days before changes affect your products, and that Seller Assistant can tell you whether your variations are eligible.

Worked example (hypothetical). A kitchen brand has a stainless steel pan with 900 reviews at 4.6 stars. It lists a new aluminum pan as a material child of the same parent, so the aluminum pan launches showing 900 reviews. Amazon’s own example table says aluminum and stainless steel cookware should not share reviews because material changes heating performance and durability. Whatever the intent, the structure gives the new pan a rating it did not earn. The fix is a standalone listing, plus a named person who checks variation changes before they go live.

The legitimate ways to earn reviews

Amazon’s answers page notes that Amazon sends automated review requests for most products. It names two recommended methods, Request a Review and Amazon Vine, and two approved alternatives, one Buyer-Seller Message per order and a neutral package insert. Anything that does not fit inside these four is not allowed.

Amazon’s approved review channels compared with the practices its policies prohibit.

The Request a Review button

Amazon recommends the Request a Review button in Seller Central, which sends a standardized review request email. Customers can unsubscribe from these emails. Amazon writes the message, so there is no wording to get wrong. Use it on every eligible order, not a chosen subset. Using it only on orders you think went well is review gating by another route.

Amazon Vine

In Vine, reviewers Amazon invites based on the insightfulness of their past reviews, called Vine Voices, receive free units of enrolled products. Amazon’s Vine page lists the prerequisites as a Professional selling account, a Brand Representative or Reseller role for a brand in Brand Registry, and an active FBA listing. Enrolled items must have fewer than 30 reviews, must not be adult or digital products, and must have an image and description. Amazon charges an enrollment fee once per parent ASIN depending on the tier, and says there is no charge if the product receives no reviews within 90 days of enrollment. Check the current fee in Seller Central, since it can change. Vine does not guarantee a lift. Vine Voices say what they think, so enroll products you have tested.

One neutral Buyer-Seller Message per order

Amazon allows a review request through Buyer-Seller Messaging only if you have not used Request a Review for that order. The Communication program policy says proactive messages must be sent within 30 days following completion of the order, include the 17-digit order number and be in the customer’s language of preference. Review or feedback requests are limited to once per customer per order, only if the customer has not already reviewed, and may not ask for a particular sentiment or rating. The policy also prohibits telling customers to reach out first if they had a poor experience but leave a review if everything went well.

The 30 days after an order completes, stage by stage. Tap each point to see whether a review request is allowed and what it must include.

Neutral package inserts

Amazon permits an insert that asks for a review neutrally, such as a thank-you note inviting honest feedback or one mentioning that you are a small family business. Its non-compliant examples include five-star imagery, gift card offers, “if you are happy, please leave a positive review” followed by a support email for unhappy buyers, and a QR code to an external site that conditions a warranty on a review. Inserts may not carry personal contact information, customer reviews, quotes or testimonials. Amazon also says you can ask customers who bought off Amazon for reviews, but the same policies apply.

The method that outlasts every launch tactic

Amazon encourages sellers to monitor reviews for product issues and trends. If reviews keep mentioning a loose lid, fixing the lid improves every future review at no account risk. Resolve problems through Buyer-Seller Messaging and never mention the review in the same message.

How to audit your own account for hidden review risk

Most review cases start with an old message template, a vendor-designed insert, a contractor’s variation merge or an agency launch nobody questioned. Run this audit now and whenever you hire a vendor or change a customer touchpoint.

Five screens of a self-audit for hidden review risk. Step through each one to see where to look and what counts as a finding.

Where to verify each part of the audit

Question	Where to check	What to look for
Has Amazon already flagged anything?	Seller Central, Account Health page	Any customer product reviews violation and its status, plus your Account Health Rating, which Amazon says runs 0 to 1,000 over the last 180 days
What have we sent buyers?	Buyer-Seller Messages history and connected tools	Gated, sentiment or repeat requests, external contact details, refunds next to review mentions
What is physically in the box?	A unit from current stock for each SKU	Stars, incentives, “contact us first” wording, contact details, external QR codes
Are variation families honest?	Manage All Inventory and Seller Assistant	Children that are different core products, and recent merges into established parents
Is message wording within the rules?	Communication program policy	Prohibited content, the 30-day proactive window, permitted purposes
Are we eligible for Vine?	Amazon Vine help page and Brand Registry	Professional plan, brand role, active FBA listing, fewer than 30 reviews, current fee
What does federal law say?	eCFR 16 CFR Part 465 and the FTC guidance page	Sections 465.2, 465.4, 465.5, 465.7 and the generalized solicitation exemption

Amazon’s answers page says it does not notify sellers when reviews are posted or removed, so monitoring falls to you. A sharp drop in review count, or a cluster of reviews over a few days with no sales spike to explain it, is a reason to look closer.

A hypothetical insert, message and variation family read the way a reviewer would. Switch tabs to see which details are findings.

How to audit an agency before and after you hire it

Agencies are where most review risk enters a clean account, because the seller sees results and invoices but not methods. If a proposal mentions a “review launch,” “rebate,” “full refund after purchase,” “tester community,” “search find buy,” “ranking boost” or a guaranteed number of reviews, demand the full method in writing. The Code of Conduct also prohibits manipulating sales rank through orders you paid for or refunded externally, and incentivizing searches to look organic.

Before signing, get five things in writing. Every method that touches reviews, ratings, rankings or buyer contact. Confirmation that the agency will not pay, rebate or reward any buyer in connection with a review or use insiders or networks. Your sign-off on any message, insert or external page. A duty to stop any practice you or Amazon identify as non-compliant and hand over records. And itemized invoices.

Worked example (hypothetical). A home goods seller hires a launch agency promising “50 verified reviews in 30 days,” with an invoice line for “unit cost reimbursement, 60 units.” The seller assumes these are influencer samples. In fact the agency recruits buyers in a social media group and refunds them through an off-Amazon payment app after they post a review. Under Amazon’s published definitions that is a third-party service offering reimbursement tied to a review, and the seller is responsible. One question would have caught it. Who receives the 60 refunds, and what must they do to get them?

Flagged for review manipulation?

Talk to us before you contact Amazon, and we will tell you plainly which situation the records show.

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What happens when Amazon finds review manipulation

Amazon describes a zero-tolerance policy. Its Customer product reviews policies page says actions can include, but are not limited to, permanent withdrawal of selling privileges and withholding of funds, removal of a product’s reviews and blocking of future reviews, permanent delisting, legal action including referral to civil and criminal enforcement authorities, and public disclosure of the seller’s name. Outcomes depend on the facts.

Violations appear on the Account Health page. The Account Health Rating program policy says repeat violations of the same policy reduce the rating faster, and that an account can face immediate deactivation risk after a maximum number of repeat violations of one policy in 180 days, which can be as low as two for higher-severity violations. Amazon may also deactivate an account immediately, regardless of rating, if it suspects fraudulent or deceptive activity.

Amazon does not publish its detection methods, and sellers rarely see what triggered a flag. Your response has to rest on what happened in your business, not a guess about what Amazon saw.

Which situation you are in

Before anyone writes an appeal, establish what happened and who did it. There are three situations, each needing a different response. Choosing the wrong one, by apologizing for manipulation you never committed or denying manipulation your records show, is the most damaging mistake in this case type.

One notice, three possible situations. Tap each station to follow the path from the review violation notice to the appeal it calls for.

Establish what actually happened, then choose the response that matches it.

How the appeal has to address review manipulation

A review appeal is an integrity case. The reviewer is judging whether your account can be trusted, so the appeal itself is evidence. It needs the same three parts as any plan of action. Our guide to the right way to appeal an Amazon suspension covers how to submit it.

Root cause, including the third parties you hired

Name the specific practice (the gated flow, the insert wording, the rebate service, the variation merge), who did it, including any agency, and why your business allowed it, such as no written review policy, no sign-off on vendor methods, or no check of inserts before printing. “We did not understand the policy” is not a root cause. If a vendor did it, the root cause still includes your failure to vet and supervise them. Do not blame buyers, competitors or Amazon’s systems.

Corrective actions already taken, with proof

List what is done, with dates. The flow disabled, the insert pulled and replaced, the variation family corrected, the agency terminated in writing, staff instructed, and suspect reviews reported to Amazon. Attach the old and new message text and inserts, the agreement, the invoices and the termination letter.

Preventive controls with an owner and a date

Each control names the person responsible, its start date and how you prove it runs. Typical controls are a written review policy barring incentives, insider reviews, review services and selective solicitation, signed by staff and vendors, a named approver for every message, insert and label, written vendor methods before any launch or ranking work, a monthly variation check, and restricted account access.

Map the full extent, and never fabricate

If involvement was real, find every affected listing, period and method before you appeal. A partial admission that your records later contradict shows the appeal is unreliable. Never create, edit or backdate a document. In a manipulation case a fabricated record confirms the very dishonesty under investigation. If a record does not exist, say so and explain what you do have. Our article on forged or manipulated documentation suspensions explains why.

Toggle the parts of your review appeal that are in place to see how a reviewer would read the file and what to finish before submitting.

Mistakes that make review cases worse

Answering before investigating. A fast appeal from memory usually confesses to the wrong thing or denies what the records show.
Protecting the agency. Amazon already treats the vendor’s conduct as yours. Leaving it out makes the root cause incomplete.
Contacting reviewers to “clean up.” Asking for removals or edits is itself a violation. Report suspect reviews to Amazon instead.
Treating the federal rule as permission. Something not barred by 16 CFR Part 465 can still be prohibited on Amazon.
Opening another account. The Code of Conduct requires a legitimate business need for a second account and says Amazon may deactivate all accounts if any is not in good standing. See Code of Conduct suspensions.

A repeatable routine that keeps reviews clean

Every order. Request a Review on all eligible orders on a consistent schedule, with no second request by message on the same order.
Every new message, insert or label. A named person checks it against the Communication program policy and Amazon’s review examples before use, and files the approved version.
Every new vendor. Written methods, itemized invoices and a signed review policy before work starts.
Monthly. Check Account Health, read new reviews for product problems, check variation families, and look for unusual review clusters.
Every new product. Choose a standalone listing or a genuine variation using Amazon’s review sharing examples, and consider Vine if eligible.
Yearly. Rerun the full audit and have staff and vendors re-sign the policy.

For risky practices beyond reviews, see our guide to black hat tactics on Amazon. If your account has been actioned, our Amazon suspension service explains how we handle review cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy Amazon product reviews?

No. Amazon prohibits any compensation for a review, including money, free or discounted products, refunds, rebates and review services, and holds you responsible if an agency does it for you.

Is it legal to buy reviews in the United States?

The FTC rule at 16 CFR Part 465, in effect since October 21, 2024, prohibits buying fake reviews and buying reviews conditioned on positive or negative sentiment. Amazon’s rules are stricter and ban incentives regardless of sentiment.

Can I give a free product for an honest review?

Not on Amazon, outside Amazon Vine, which is Amazon’s own program where Amazon selects the reviewers.

Can family or employees review my products if they disclose it?

No. Amazon prohibits reviews from family, close friends, employees and anyone with a financial interest, disclosed or not.

How can I legitimately get more Amazon reviews?

Use Request a Review on every eligible order, enroll eligible products in Vine, send one neutral message per order if you did not use Request a Review, use a neutral insert, and improve the product.

What is review gating?

Review gating is asking only satisfied customers for reviews and steering unhappy ones elsewhere. Amazon lists it as a violation even when every review is genuine.

Am I responsible if my agency bought reviews without telling me?

Yes. Amazon says infractions by partners and third-party agencies result in enforcement even without your knowledge or consent, so your appeal must address the vendor in the root cause.

Can I ask a customer to change a negative review after a refund?

No. Amazon says you cannot ask customers to change or remove a review, even after an issue is resolved.

Get Help With an Amazon Review Manipulation Case

If Amazon has flagged your account for review manipulation, or your audit turned up something you are unsure how to handle, talk to us before you contact Amazon. You can submit your case or book a consultation.

This article is educational information about Amazon’s published policies and a federal rule, not legal advice. Amazon updates its policies, so confirm current requirements in Seller Central. Got Suspended? does not guarantee any outcome, timeline or reinstatement.

You can also see all our marketplace suspension services.

Can I Buy Amazon Product Reviews? No, and Here Is What You Can Do Instead