The short answer
On Amazon, sellers can't post public replies to product reviews; Amazon staff have confirmed that option is no longer available. You can post a public reply to seller feedback from Seller Central (Performance, then Feedback). Brand-registered sellers can use the Customer Reviews tool to contact customers who left a rating under three stars, offering a refund or support. Never ask anyone to change or remove a review.
- Product reviews are about the item and belong to the listing; seller feedback is about your service on one order. They're handled differently.
- Public replies are possible for seller feedback, not for product reviews.
- Brand Registry unlocks Contact Customer for critical reviews, limited to offering a refund or support.
- Asking for a review change, offering incentives or getting friends to review can cost you your selling privileges.
Product reviews vs seller feedback
Most confusion about responding on Amazon comes from mixing up two different systems. Product reviews are written about the item itself and show on the product detail page, shared by every seller of that product. Seller feedback rates your performance as a seller on a specific order: shipping speed, packaging, communication. It appears on your seller profile and in Seller Central's Feedback Manager.
| Product reviews | Seller feedback | |
|---|---|---|
| What it rates | The product | Your service on one order |
| Where it shows | Product detail page | Your seller profile |
| Public reply by seller? | No longer available | Yes, from Performance > Feedback |
| Private contact? | Brand Registry: Contact Customer for ratings under 3 stars | Buyer-Seller Messaging about the order |
| Can you ask for removal? | No | No (you can ask Amazon to review policy breaches) |
| Report route | Report link on the review | Request removal in Feedback Manager for policy breaches |
If your customers are mainly local shoppers rather than marketplace buyers, Amazon is probably not where your reputation is decided. Google is. Our Google review guide covers that side.
How to reply to Amazon seller feedback
Open Feedback Manager
In Seller Central, go to Performance, then Feedback. Recent feedback is listed with ratings and order IDs.
Find the order
Locate the feedback in the Recent Feedback table. Check the order details first so your reply is accurate.
Choose the public reply action
In the Actions column next to the order ID, choose the option to post a public reply.
Write a short, factual reply
Explain what happened and what you did about it, without the buyer's personal details. Buyers can't respond to your reply, so don't end with a question.
Fix the order separately
Use Buyer-Seller Messaging to sort out the refund or replacement. The public reply is for future shoppers; the message is for the customer.
What you can do about product reviews
Since public replies on product reviews aren't available, your options are more limited and more indirect. For brands enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry, with a Professional selling account and the Brand Representative role, the Customer Reviews tool lists reviews of your brand. When a customer leaves less than three stars, you can click Contact Customer to offer a full courtesy refund or customer support to clarify product issues. Amazon suggests checking critical reviews at least every 30 days.
What you can't do is turn that contact into a negotiation. Amazon's policies say not to ask customers to update or remove a review, and not to offer to fix their problem only if they change it. The message is about solving the problem; whether the customer revises the review is entirely up to them.
The other lever is the product itself. If several reviews mention the same fault, the most effective "response" is fixing the listing (clearer sizing, better photos, a corrected spec) or the product. Reviews that say "runs small" stop arriving when the size chart tells the truth.
Example Amazon replies and messages
These cover public seller-feedback replies and private Contact Customer messages. Amazon buyers want facts: what went wrong with the order and what's been done.
Seller feedback, public reply: late delivery
Arrived 6 days after the estimated date. No communication.
We're sorry this order arrived late. A carrier delay affected shipments from our warehouse that week, and we should have messaged buyers as soon as we knew. We've since set up automatic delay notices for every order.
Seller feedback, public reply: wrong item
Sent the blue version instead of black. Had to return it.
Apologies for the mix-up. The wrong color was picked from a mislabeled shelf, which we've corrected. A refund was issued as soon as the return was scanned.
Contact Customer message: product review under 3 stars
Product review: The handle snapped after two weeks. Disappointed.
Hello, I'm sorry the handle failed so soon. That shouldn't happen with normal use. We'd like to offer you a full refund, or answer any questions about the product if that's more helpful. Just let us know which you'd prefer.
Seller feedback, public reply: positive
Fast shipping, well packed, exactly as described.
Thank you! We pack every order by hand and it's great to know it arrived in perfect condition.
- Seller feedback, public reply: late delivery: Factual, no personal details, no question at the end (the buyer can't reply), and it shows future buyers what changed.
- Seller feedback, public reply: wrong item: Short, explains the root cause and confirms the refund, which is what other shoppers care about.
- Contact Customer message: product review under 3 stars: Offers only a refund or support, exactly as the tool is intended, and makes no mention of the review rating.
- Seller feedback, public reply: positive: Positive feedback replies are optional, but a brief thank-you adds a human note to your seller profile.
Amazon's review rules sellers must not break
Amazon describes its approach to review abuse as zero tolerance, and the penalties are serious: removal of reviews, delisting, suspension of selling privileges, withheld funds and, for organized fake-review schemes, lawsuits. Most of the rules are about how reviews are collected, but they bleed into how you respond.
Do
- Use Amazon's own Request a Review button on the order details page if you want to ask for reviews.
- Resolve problems with refunds or replacements without conditions.
- Report reviews that break the Community Guidelines using the report link.
- Treat recurring complaints as product or listing fixes.
Don't
- Ask a customer to change, update or remove a review, even after a refund.
- Offer money, discounts, free products or gift cards in exchange for a review.
- Ask friends, family or employees to review your products, or review competitors.
- Insert cards in packaging asking for positive reviews.
These rules are close to the FTC's rule on fake reviews and testimonials in spirit: reviews must reflect genuine, uninfluenced experiences. The same thinking applies to any platform, including Google.
How to report an Amazon review
For product reviews, use the report option shown with the review on the product detail page. Amazon says it removes reviews that violate its Community Guidelines, for example reviews with offensive content, promotional content or reviews written by someone with a financial interest. A review that is simply negative but honest stays up.
For seller feedback, Feedback Manager lets you ask Amazon to look at feedback that breaks the rules, such as feedback containing obscene language, personal information, or comments that are entirely a product review rather than about your service. Amazon doesn't remove feedback just because the issue was later resolved.
If you also run a local shop or showroom, the bigger reputation lever is usually Google. Responsly drafts Google review replies in your brand voice; it doesn't connect to Amazon. Compare plans on the pricing page.
Sources
- Amazon: Customer Reviews tool (Sell on Amazon) — Contact Customer for ratings under 3 stars, eligibility, Request a Review, rules on influencing reviews
- Amazon Seller Forums: Answering Amazon Reviews (Amazon staff reply) — No direct responses to product reviews; public replies to seller feedback via Performance > Feedback
- Amazon: Community Guidelines — Compensated reviews and conflicts of interest
- Amazon: Anti-Manipulation Policy for Customer Reviews — Prohibited review manipulation and penalties
- FTC: Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials — US rule on fake and incentivized reviews