Hello everyone,

I am posting today to share some guidance on our communication guidelines and related policies.

The first topic to discuss is our communication guidelines. This policy provides an outline of what “should not” be communicated. I would suggest reviewing this policy page, as it offers guidance and examples of permitted messaging.

As we continue to discuss communication, I would also like to bring up our customer product review policies. This specific policy surrounds communication prohibiting the request for or the removal of a review. This can also include the manipulation of your own product reviews or another seller’s reviews. Here are a few examples:

Violations to Customer Reviews policies include, but are not limited to, these actions:

• A seller posts a review of their own product or their competitor's product.
• A seller offers a third party a financial reward, discount, free products, or other compensation in exchange for a review on their product or their competitor’s product. This includes using services that sell customer reviews, websites, or social media groups.
• A seller offers to provide a refund or reimbursement after the buyer writes a review (including reimbursement via a non-Amazon payment method), and asks the buyer to change or remove the review, before or after the refund or reimbursement. This could be done via buyer-seller messaging on Amazon or directly contacting customers or using 3rd party services, websites, or social media groups.
• A seller uses a third-party service that offers free or discounted products tied to a review (for example, a review club that requires customers to register their Amazon public profile so that sellers can monitor their reviews).
• A family member or employee of the seller posts a review of the seller's product or a competitor's product.
• A seller asks a reviewer to change or remove their review. They might also offer a refund or other compensation to a reviewer in exchange for doing so.
• A seller diverts negative reviews to be sent to them or to a different feedback mechanism while positive reviews are sent to Amazon.
• A seller creates a variation relationship between products with the aim of manipulating reviews and boosting a product’s star rating via review aggregation.
• A seller inserts a request for a positive Amazon review or an incentive in exchange for a review into product packaging or shipping box.
• A seller uses a customer account to write or change a review on his or his competitor’s product.

A very important note mentioned in this policy page is the reference to “Seller’s”. This statement includes anyone associated with your account including employees, or third parties you may have hired or contracted.

If there is a violation of these guidelines it will result in a warning, and depending on repeat occurrences or the severity of the situation, can also lead to account deactivation. We ask that you review and monitor communication, along with the related policies to ensure compliance and avoid these violations.

I would also suggest reviewing our Q & A about product reviews, this provides more clarification on what types of communication can be used with examples.

If you receive a policy warning, or account deactivation, we do accept appeals and disputes depending on the severity of the situation. We typically suggest researching your account including any communication, inserts, or external communication conducted by yourself, an employee or a third party operating on your behalf.

If you have identified a valid scenario where something took place, you can attempt to appeal the situation. This acknowledges the violation and how it occurred, actions you took to resolve the violation, and how you plan to prevent these issues in the future. If there was any employee or third-party involvement in the violation, you will need to share proof of their involvement including proof of employment or contract for services. We may also request proof of payment for their services.

If you feel this has occurred in error, you will need to once again research your orders and communication to confirm there has been no communication that would violate these policies. You can share your review process and any proof evidence available that supports your compliance with these policies. Each violation may require different supporting evidence depending on your situation.

Since each situation can be unique, if you find yourself in need of additional support, please review our post on creating your own thread and share your concerns. This will allow us to offer further guidance or the next steps in your situation.

Emet.