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Originally published on May 31, 2018, updated October 4, 2023
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This article has been updated to reflect changes to Amazon review comments in 2020.
To comment, or not to comment?
For Amazon sellers, this became a moot point after the ability for sellers to comment on reviews was retired in December 2020.
Here at eComEngine, we’ve been advising sellers to publicly comment on reviews for years. We see it as a best practice for effectively managing your brand. While there were some flaws with the system, it is ultimately an important part of reputation management.
According to the message sellers received from Amazon, this feature was not widely used. Some sellers were reluctant to comment on reviews because they knew that it was very unlikely that a buyer would see that comment since there was no notification from Amazon to let the buyer know that a comment had been provided by the seller. However, comments on reviews, particularly negative reviews, can provide important context for other shoppers and even help protect your brand.
We’re sharing three reasons why we think the ability to comment on reviews is essential. But because commenting is no longer an option, we'll also explain what else you can do to manage your Amazon reviews.
Let’s say you sell a product in the Home & Kitchen category. Maybe it’s a set of small magnetic containers intended for holding spices or other small kitchen items. Your product meets all relevant standards and is getting great traction on Amazon.
One day you see a new positive review. Awesome! Except when you take a closer look, you realize that the buyer is saying how much her kids love playing with the containers and is seemingly recommending your product as a toy for young children. However, you know that kids are curious, tend to put things in their mouths, and may swallow the magnets that detach from the backs of your containers. You know that this can create a dangerous situation, and it is not the recommended use for your product.
As a brand or seller, being able to respond to reviews that provide false information is incredibly important. Correcting misleading reviews early on can prevent other buyers from getting incorrect information about how to safely use your product.
Brands and sellers know their products inside and out. By monitoring their reviews and providing useful responses, they could at least attempt to mitigate misleading reviews. This is particularly important when a buyer's suggestion in a review might result in a dangerous experience with the product.Jay Lagarde
I am hopeful that Amazon can find a way for brands, sellers, and manufacturers to respond to reviews in order to provide better customer support and improve the overall experience for buyers.
Amazon guards the customer review experience very closely to prevent fake reviews, review manipulation, and related issues. However, because sellers cannot communicate with buyers about their negative reviews, it can be very challenging and often impossible to resolve a negative customer experience.
Commenting on a negative review was the closest sellers could get to actually reaching out to the buyer. In some cases, negative Amazon comments alert sellers to issues such as a missing or broken part, which the seller could easily resolve if they could communicate with the buyer regarding the issue. Buyers often think that leaving a negative review will result in the resolution of their problem. Unfortunately, due to customer review policies, this is unlikely. The buyer would get better results by sending a message to the seller or contacting Amazon.
Although the ability to comment on reviews didn’t provide as much value as it might have, it did at least offer an avenue for buyers to attempt to resolve a negative product experience.
As a frequent Amazon shopper, I often look at negative reviews when evaluating a product. I notice whether the brand or seller responded, and if they did, I tend to look at the product more favorably. Shopping on Amazon can be overwhelming at times. Review comments show that the seller is paying attention to their customers and working hard to try to provide the best possible customer experience—which is exactly what Amazon has trained shoppers to expect.
Since Amazon acts primarily as an eCommerce platform, the ability for brands and sellers to have direct contact with customers is essential for building trust and enhancing the customer experience. Sellers' ability to comment on reviews was a great feature that allowed brands to share their feedback and provide the other side of the conversation.Shannon Roddy
The bigger issue is, and always has been, the widespread abuse by sellers who attempted to use customer contact for purposes that violate Amazon's terms of service. It is for this reason that Amazon continues to restrict the ability to communicate with customers, and as per usual, the majority face the consequences for the actions of the few.
As you can see, losing the ability to comment on reviews is detrimental to both buyers and sellers. However, there are still some actions you can take to monitor and manage your reviews.
Before you can properly respond to a negative review, you must first know that one exists. Monitoring Amazon reviews can be a time-intensive process without the right toolset. Some sellers allocate time each day to personally click through their listings and check for new ratings. Others hire administrative assistants or freelancers to do the work for them. Regardless of who does the work, one fact remains the same: someone has to do it.
Alternatively, integrated tools, such as our FeedbackFive platform, can streamline the review management process. With FeedbackFive's innovative tracking and alerting service, you'll be notified (via text and/or email) within moments of review publication.
By using FeedbackFive to automate the review monitoring workflow, you can free up more time to focus on what really matters: delighting Amazon shoppers.
There are times when it's best to let Amazon handle a negative review. We've created this in-depth guide for knowing if and when Amazon will remove negative reviews. In short, reviews that utilize obscene language, reveal private merchant details, have been incentivized, infringe on someone's intellectual property, or violate any other guidelines are fair game for removal.
I'm sure Amazon has its own way of flagging possible violations. However, if you spot a review that seems to violate the community guidelines policy, you can click the "Report abuse" link found at the bottom of each Amazon review.
Amazon has an Official Comment pilot program that is currently only available to vendors. This allows someone who is officially associated with the product to add a highlighted comment that will be displayed immediately next to the review. These comments can answer customer questions or provide clarity about the product.
The official commenter must be verified by Amazon and a badge displaying their relationship with the product will appear along with the comment.
Perhaps Amazon will introduce a similar feature for Brand Registered sellers. In the meantime, keep an eye on your reviews (both positive and negative) and continue to make any necessary changes to your listing or product to provide a good experience for buyers.
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