Can sellers privately give free products or refunds for Amazon reviews? Which review practices break the rules?
Sellers may not privately trade free products, discounts or refunds for reviews or positive reviews; Amazon's own programmes such as Vine follow their own rules. Amazon's Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions Policy says any attempt to manipulate ratings, feedback or reviews is prohibited; you cannot provide compensation for a review (including free or discounted products); review requests that ask only for positive reviews or offer compensation are prohibited; and you cannot ask buyers to modify or remove reviews. Amazon's Community Guidelines also say reviews may not be created, edited or removed in exchange for compensation, which includes cash, discounts, free products, gift cards and refunds. Amazon's official Vine programme lets invited reviewers receive free products through Amazon's mechanism to write independent reviews, with no guarantee of positive reviews (Amazon Vine official page).
- Applies to
- Chinese sellers on Amazon (US store as the example) who want to build reviews.
What the official texts say
| Rule | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Manipulation | Any attempt to manipulate ratings, feedback or reviews is prohibited | Amazon Prohibited Seller Activities policy (PDF, undated) |
| Compensation | No compensation for a review, including free or discounted products | Same |
| Requests | Requests that ask only for positive reviews or offer compensation are prohibited | Same |
| Edits and removals | You cannot ask buyers to modify or remove reviews | Same |
| Buyer side | No reviews created, edited or removed for compensation; compensation includes cash, discounts, free products, gift cards and refunds | Amazon Community Guidelines |
| Official programme | Vine: free products to invited reviewers through Amazon's mechanism, for independent reviews | Amazon Vine official page |
What you can do yourself
- Use Amazon's built-in "Request a Review" feature, or send neutral requests with no conditions and no "positive only" wording.
- No "cashback for a 5-star review" inserts, no off-Amazon review-for-product groups, and do not arrange sham purchases or reviews by friends or family to manipulate ratings or sales rank.
- Handle genuine problems behind negative reviews through the after-sales channels Amazon currently allows; never offer refunds or compensation in exchange for changing or removing a review.
- Check Account Health for policy warnings and appeal through official channels.
When to use a licensed professional
- If your account is deactivated over reviews and appeals keep failing, talk to a lawyer who knows Amazon policy (check their credentials).
- For US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) action on fake reviews, talk to a US lawyer.
Check before you pay, and warning signs
- Services that trade cash, refunds or free products for Amazon reviews, specific positive reviews or rating manipulation (often sold as "review services", "free product then refund" or "guaranteed positive reviews") break the policy above. Independent lab testing or normal product research is not in this category.
- People selling "aged accounts" or "listings with reviews": we have not checked Amazon's wording on account transfers, but buying someone else's account is very high risk. Don't.
Unknowns
- Amazon's specific terms on transferring or selling accounts: the Seller Central help page needs a login and was not checked.
- Vine fees and eligibility: not checked here; see the official page.
- The seller policy PDF is undated, and the Community Guidelines page did not open during re-review; the earlier check stands.
- Other stores (Europe, Japan and so on): this page follows the US store's pages.
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