How to Handle Negative Reviews on Amazon

Negative reviews on Amazon feel like a punch in the gut. They have a multifaceted effect– impacting conversion rates, sales, product visibility, and brand reputation. 

With 98% of people relying on reviews to make their purchase decisions, even a few can do the damage. And unfortunately, negative reviews on Amazon are unavoidable. 

But here’s the thing–how you respond to and handle the negative comments–makes all the difference. 

Today, we are exploring some practical and proven ways to handle Amazon negative reviews and help turn them into opportunities to develop your products and improve your processes.  

Let’s dive in! 

The Impact of Negative Reviews on Amazon Sellers

If you’re questioning whether a few inevitable negative reviews can really do much damage, read along. 

Effects on Sales and Conversion Rates

According to Spiegel Research Center, positive reviews increase the conversion rate by 190% for lower-priced products and 380% for higher-priced products. Conversely, negative reviews have the opposite effect, decreasing conversion rates and substantial financial losses. 

If you calculate the cost of negative reviews, it is nearly $51,600 per year. 

How do we know? Here’s some simple math.

About 86% hesitate to buy from businesses with negative reviews.

We can assume that negative reviews deter about 86% of viewers. Now, if 300 potential customers come across negative reviews on a store, that’s a loss of 258 customers, and if the average sale is $200, that's a $51600 loss straight away.

Now, calculate this number for your business. 

Influence on Product Visibility and Rankings

Besides customers, reviews also influence your product’s visibility on Amazon. Products with more positive reviews tend to rank higher in search results than others, as Amazon’s A9 algorithm views positive reviews as an indicator of a product’s quality and popularity. 

This eventually starts a chain action of increasing visibility, clicks, and purchases. With the boost in sales velocity, products get more visibility on Amazon's ‘Top Rated’ and ‘Most Wished For’ lists. 

Amazon's algorithm also considers factors like recency in ratings, helpfulness votes by customers and reviews from verified purchases to calculate product star ratings to ensure the most relevant and trustworthy reviews influence product rankings and visibility.  

When you have negative reviews, it works against you in a similar order, only in reverse.

Common Causes of Negative Reviews on Amazon

Amazon Negative reviews stem from product and service-driven issues. Understanding them helps you address the root issues and improve your ratings. So, let’s check them out:  

Product Quality Issues

Many negative reviews arise due to product-related complaints, including: 

• Defective or malfunctioning products
• Subpar or poor-quality of materials 
• Size and fitting issues with clothes and accessories 
• Performance issues with electronics or appliances  
• Missing parts of products
• Used or refurbished products 
• Authenticity concerns ingredients in the case of food items, cosmetics, or luxury items

Source

Misleading Product Descriptions

Overpromising in product descriptions frustrates buyers and thus invites negative reviews. Some of them include: 

• False claims about features and benefits that do not exist in the product 
• Inaccurate images that do not represent the actual product 
• Omitting or hiding important details like size variations or compatibility issues 

Source

Shipping and Fulfillment Problems

Issues during shipping and fulfillment often lead to negative reviews on Amazon due to delays, product damage, and incorrect deliveries. 

Source

Amazon’s fulfillment methods–Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) – can also contribute to this.

FBA may result in inventory mixup and packaging or labeling errors at fulfillment centers, while FBM comes with risks of inconsistent shipping times, lack of a dedicated customer service team, inventory mismanagement, and limited logistics infrastructure.

How to Respond to Negative Reviews on Amazon

A well-handled response can turn dissatisfied customers into loyal ones and demonstrate your brand’s commitment to excellent service. To ace this:

Provide Timely and Professional Responses

When Netflix increased its subscription prices, customers were furious. Instead of ignoring the backlash, CEO Reed Hastings issued a public apology, acknowledging their misstep and explaining why the change was necessary. This transparency helped restore customer trust over time.

What You Can Learn:

Own Your Mistakes Publicly: Acknowledge the issue in your review responses. For example:

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by [issue]. We value your feedback and are working to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Explain the Why: 

Briefly explain the reason behind any mishap, like supply chain delays or product issues, to help customers understand the situation.

✅ Action Tip: Include a link to your customer service or a direct email so the customer can reach out. For instance:

“Please contact us at support@yourstore.com, and we’ll make it right.”

Address Customer Concerns

When Apple admitted to slowing down older iPhones to preserve battery life, customers were upset. Instead of dismissing the backlash during the popular ‘Batterygate Scandal’, Apple released a public apology. They released a public letter acknowledging the issue, apologized, and offered heavily discounted battery replacements–no strings attached. This move helped regain customer trust.

What You Can Learn:

Acknowledge the Issue Publicly: Address customer concerns head-on to show transparency.
"We appreciate your feedback and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience."

Explain the Why: 

Give customers context to help them understand the situation.

"This was due to [issue], and we’re actively working on a solution."

Offer a Resolution: 

Provide a clear path to fix the problem—whether it’s a refund, replacement, or other solution.

"We’d love to offer you a replacement or refund. Please contact us, and we’ll make it right!"

✅ Action Tip: Include a direct contact link so customers can reach out easily

Request Review Removal

Not all negative reviews can be removed from Amazon, especially true ones. However, Amazon allows the removal of reviews if it violates Amazon’s Community Guidelines.

The guidelines strictly prohibit: 

• Offensive or inappropriate language, hate speech 
• Reviews that serve as advertisements or include promotional materials 
• Comments unrelated to the product 
• Repetitive texts intended to spam 

How to request the removal of a review: 

1. Go to the product page and find the review in question.
2. Click the “Report abuse” link and follow the steps to report the review.
3. You can also email community-help@amazon.com and report the review there 

Proactive Tactics to Prevent Negative Reviews

While some negative feedback is inevitable, proactively improving products and processes can enhance customer’s experience with your brand. 

Ensure Product Quality and Consistency

Customers expect the product as described in the listing. They expect a functioning product that is durable over time. If your product is of poor quality, it leads to breakage, defect, and inconsistency in maintaining the quality, resulting in negative reviews. 

How do we ensure product quality and stay consistent?

Source from reliable manufacturers 

• Vet suppliers use platforms like Supplier Blacklist and request references from other Amazon sellers.
• Use platforms like Alibaba's Verified Supplier Program and Global Sources to check manufacturers’ credentials. 
• Request samples from multiple suppliers and test against your standards—don’t just settle on the first one
• Look at the supplier’s history and customer reviews on B2B platforms like Trustpilot or Better Business Bureau.

Implement quality control measures

• Set up a quality control timeline with specific checkpoints from production to shipment and use tools like Trade Assurance for early issue resolution
• Develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for every stage of your manufacturing process, including specific metrics for defect rates (e.g., 2% acceptable limit)
• Set up a third-party inspection before shipment with services like SinoInspect or AsiaInspection and get reports on key quality metrics

Rely on data to identify and fix quality flaws early

• Use Amazon’s Brand Analytics to identify high-complaint keywords and negative sentiment around certain product features
• Set up daily sales and return reports to track patterns that indicate quality issues, using Sellerboard or ManageByStats for enhanced insights
• Offer extended warranties or free upgrades for the first 30 days post-purchase to reassure customers that defects will be resolved quickly

Proactively monitor customer feedback for Issues 

• Track reviews and returns to identify quality problems
• Implement a corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) system to identify root causes of defects, resolve them, and prevent recurrence by creating a follow-up action plan
• Set up an automated system to flag high-priority complaints related to defective products, offering immediate refunds or replacements to keep customers happy
• Use your CRM software (e.g., Zoho Desk or Freshdesk) to track and prioritize customer feedback about product defects
• Make use of technology like AI and ML to gauge customer sentiments to find issues quickly and solve them faster

Crafting Accurate and Detailed Product Listings

Misleading or exaggerated product descriptions create unrealistic expectations. When those expectations go undelivered, it is obvious to cause frustration among customers, and you get negative reviews. A well-structured and accurate listing of your product not only helps buyers make an informed purchase decision but also saves you from looking like a fraud. 

To write the perfect product descriptions: 

Be transparent about product features

• Clearly mention product dimensions, weight, materials, and functionality. Tools like Helium 10 can help ensure that your product details align with customer search terms and expectations
• Highlight limitations like size restrictions, compatibility issues, or included accessories to avoid post-purchase dissatisfaction e.g., "not compatible with iPhone models older than X"

Use high-quality and original images and videos

• Include multiple images showing different angles of your product 
• Provide lifestyle images to showcase real-world use and videos to demonstrate how to use
• Enable Amazon AR view for customers to visualize your product in their space

Write in a customer-friendly tone

• Avoid jargon, use bullet points, and make key details easy to scan for better readability 
• Highlight benefits, not only the features 
• Anticipate customer questions and address them in the listing
• Include a detailed FAQ section to prevent misunderstandings about the product

Read in detail: The Complete Guide to Amazon Listing Optimization in 2025

Optimizing Shipping and Fulfillment Processes

We have already discussed how shipping and fulfillment-related issues cause product damage that gets you negative reviews. Let’s focus on the best practices to improve fulfillment efficiency and minimize customer complaints.

Choose the right fulfillment model

• Decide between FBA and FBM based on your business needs
• FBA offers convenience but comes with high fees, while FBM gives you control but requires logistics infrastructure and expertise

FBA–Amazon-managed service

Offers Prime-eligible shipping, ensuring faster deliveries. You have a lesser workload and don’t have to worry about logistics. It is ideal for high-volume sellers for scalable and reliable delivery to keep up with customer expectations of faster delivery. 

FBM–Seller managed service

You get more control over product handling and branding here. There is no high FBA fee involved and is better for brands that need more control over costs and customer experience. 

There’s another way–using a hybrid of FBA and FBM. Use FBA for your bestsellers and FBM for low-margin items to optimize your cost and process. 

Read in detail: Amazon FBM vs FBA: Which One is Better

Streamline Inventory Management

• Use real-time tracking tools to monitor stock levels 
• Use demand forecasting to avoid stockouts or excess inventory

Ensure Fast and Reliable Shipping

• Partner with reputable carriers to guarantee timely deliveries
• Offer expedited shipping options for customers who need quick delivery

Improve Packaging Standards

• Use sturdy, protective packaging to prevent damage during transit.
• Follow Amazon’s packaging guidelines to meet customer expectations.

Automate Order Processing

• Use order management software to speed up fulfillment and reduce errors
• Automate shipping label generation and tracking updates

Provide Transparent Communication

• Send customers tracking information and delivery updates
• Offer proactive customer support for shipping-related concerns

Read more: 7 Effective Ways to Get Reviews on Amazon for Sellers

Leveraging Negative Feedback for Business Improvement

You need a systematic, structured approach to use negative feedback to improve your products. Let’s begin by:

Analyzing Feedback for Product Development

Follow these steps to gather the right feedback and review data for your products: 

Step 1: Gather feedback from various sources– your Amazon reviews, other app reviews, customer satisfaction surveys, NPS, user interviews, social media messages, and customer advisory boards (CABs).

Step 2: Employ data analytics tools to identify common sentiments, themes, and correlations in reviews and feedback. Analytics help find deeper insights into customer preferences and pain points that might go unnoticed in plain sight. 

Step 3: Analyze the insights to identify recurring issues and identify feedback that significantly impact customer satisfaction. At this point, check if the feedback aligns with your business goals or not. This ensures that changes drive financial growth and competitive advantage, too.

Step 4: Develop an action plan, keeping the underlying issue in mind.

Dell is the perfect example of how listening to customers benefits your brand. They launched a program, ‘Voice of Customers,’ to gather insights from customer feedback, including negative reviews. 

They incorporated the feedback directly into their product development which improved their day-to-day experience for customers and enterprise customers. Not only did listening to customer feedback help them achieve an increase in customer score by 50%, but their product PowerStore was rated number one in ‘Ease of Use’ compared to Pure, NetApp, and HPE. 

Implementing Changes and Communicating Updates

Once you have the improvements laid out in an action plan, implementing them ensures reviews and feedback translate into product improvement. To make implementation smooth: 

• Adopt an iterative approach to product development
• Engage all departments– R&D, product, customer support, and marketing for all-rounded execution of changes 
• Use predictive analytics and AI-driven insights to prioritize the most impactful improvement

After you have implemented the changes, communicate them to your customers to show that their concerns are valued. 

For effective communication:

• Clearly articulate the changes made in response to customer reviews
• Highlight the changes through in-product notifications, newsletters, and social media 

How SalesDuo Can Assist in Managing Negative Reviews

Managing negative reviews requires more than just damage control–it needs improving overall customer experience and protecting brand reputation while navigating the complex Amazon guidelines. 

This is where SalesDuo comes in. Along with your listing optimization, Amazon Vendor and Seller Central Operations management, SEO, and advertising management, we actively manage your reviews as part of our comprehensive Amazon account management services. 

• If a bad review qualifies for removal, our Account Management and Operations teams work with Amazon to get it taken down
• We analyze reviews to help you identify recurring issues and improve products
• If a specific lot has defects, we flag it for manufacturers to prevent future complaints
• In cases of FBA-related damages, we conduct bin checks and request review removal from Amazon
• If reviews mention size, color, or material discrepancies, we update product listings for accuracy
• If a customer claims a mismatch between advertised and received products, we request images to assess and address the issue effectively

For TNG Worldwide,  SalesDuo reduced negative reviews by 30% and increased customer satisfaction by 20%. TNG faced challenges with Amazon Vendor Central, specifically Availability/Buyability concerns, purchase order inconsistency from Amazon’s end, no Amazon Prime tag due to Seller Central/FBM offers and blocked ASINs. 

SalesDuo addressed the issues by implementing strategies that included ensuring item availability through TNG's automated systems, leveraging Amazon Advertising to promote high-demand products, and reinstating blocked items. SalesDuo also used the Vine Program for new launches and focused AMS strategies to boost top revenue-generating products.

If you want such a comprehensive approach, schedule a call with our Amazon experts today!

About the Author

Meet Arjun Narayan, a Business Dynamo with two decades of conquering boardrooms and founding two companies that didn't just survive but thrived. When he's not navigating business strategies and delivery teams, you'll find him immersed in his love for cars and exploring new models, geeking out over tech trends, globe-trotting for new adventures, and occasionally pondering the mysteries of the universe over a good cup of coffee.