Amazon rejected your seller feedback removal request. Here’s how to appeal.

Seller feedback vs. product reviews: why the rules differ

Seller feedback and product reviews are two separate systems on Amazon.

• Product reviews rate the product and appear on the product detail page. They are governed by Amazon’s Community Guidelines.
• Seller feedback rates you as a seller: shipping speed, packaging, communication and customer service. It is managed in the Feedback Manager in Seller Central and shapes your seller rating.

Negative seller feedback (1 or 2 stars) also counts toward your Order Defect Rate (ODR), together with A-to-z Guarantee claims and chargebacks. Amazon expects the ODR to stay below 1%. A handful of negative feedback ratings on a low-volume account can push you close to that limit, which is why removing unjustified feedback is about more than cosmetics.

For a full overview of the removal rules, read our guide on negative Amazon seller feedback.

The four criteria Amazon actually applies

When you click “Request review” in the Feedback Manager, the decision comes down to these questions:

1. Does the feedback contain profanity, obscene language or hate speech?
2. Does it contain personal information, such as an email address, full name or phone number?
3. Is the entire comment a product review rather than a comment on your service?
4. Does the entire comment concern shipping or customer service for an order fulfilled by Amazon (FBA)?

Two further situations are handled in practice:

• The feedback refers to a product sold by a different seller, or to a product for which you are the brand owner or authorized reseller.
• The comment is entirely about a late or undelivered order that you shipped on time using Amazon’s Buy Shipping service.

The word that decides it: entire. That word is behind most rejections.

Why your removal request was rejected

1. The feedback is mixed

The most common case. A buyer writes something like: “The colour is uneven, and I had to pay 53 euros to return the second item. Very disappointing.”

The first sentence is a product review. The second is about the returns process. Because the comment is not entirely a product review, the first-level check rejects it. Many sellers then resend the same argument and receive the same template answer.

2. Amazon reads it as condition or description

Amazon’s rejection letters often include this note: comments about the accuracy of the product description or the condition of the product are not removed, because sellers must deliver an item that matches its detail page.

This is the grey zone. “I don’t like the colour” is a product review. “The item arrived damaged” or “it doesn’t match the description” is treated as your responsibility and stays up. How the buyer phrased it decides which side of the line the feedback falls on.

3. Amazon can’t verify the delivery

For delivery complaints on merchant-fulfilled (FBM) orders, Amazon checks tracking data. If the tracking number is missing, invalid or wasn’t bought through Buy Shipping, the reply usually says the delivery status could not be verified, and the feedback stays.

FBA vs. FBM: who is responsible for delivery feedback?

If you sell FBM, buying labels through Buy Shipping is one of the cheapest forms of seller feedback protection available.

How to write an appeal that gets a second look

Amazon’s own rejection letters tell you what they want: reopen the case and state which part of the feedback should be removed. A strong appeal has five parts.

1. Order ID and feedback date in the first sentence.
2. The relevant criterion, named explicitly. If the first reply left out the criterion that applies to you, point that out.
3. Every sentence of the feedback, quoted and assigned. Show that each sentence falls under a removal criterion. If you skip one, the reviewer will focus on it.
4. New evidence: tracking number, carrier, ship date, Brand Registry details, or proof the order was FBA.
5. A clear request to remove the feedback, without deadlines or threats.

What to avoid:

• Resending the identical text. A new argument or new evidence is what changes the outcome.
• Describing the feedback as unfair. Fairness is not a removal criterion; the policy is.
• Asking the buyer to remove the feedback. Amazon prohibits sellers from requesting feedback removal or offering incentives for it. You may contact the buyer about their actual issue, such as a missing parcel or a return, without mentioning the feedback.

The same principle applies on the product-review side, where a first rejection is also rarely the end of the case — see Amazon rejected your review report.

When removal isn’t possible

Some feedback is legitimate under Amazon’s rules, even if it hurts. In those cases:

• Resolve the buyer’s issue. Send the replacement, refund the return cost, answer quickly. Buyers can remove their own feedback, and many do after a good resolution.
• Post a public reply in the Feedback Manager. Keep it factual and short: what happened and how you solved it. Future buyers read it.
• Fix the root cause. Repeated feedback about the same issue, such as return costs for bulky items or missing tracking, is a process problem, not a feedback problem.

Frequently asked questions