Amazon Book Reviewing Policy.

Not long ago I wrote an article called something like Amazon Book Reviewing is Dead. That isn’t actually true. The content was based on information garnered from other posts and from parts of the Amazon Reviewing policy. The posts were based on some fact and some personal experiences of the authors of those posts with the process. Each experience may be different.

As a result of that post there were several comments leading me to decide to remove the post and do more research. So read on and you will find links to the actual Amazon Review Policies, which are actually pretty reasonable. And please, don’t link back to this article if you are going to use it as a way of saying I am claiming Amazon Book Reviewing is Dead or trying to scare people away from it. This article sis about giving everyone the correct information from Amazon.

If you are an Author, check out Jo Robinson’s article Amazon’s Logical TOC and Author Review Rules.

Make sure to visit the policies for yourself, just so you know what is what. They even have links on the pages to how to write a helpful review.

What did I find?

Amazon allows reviews of free products as long as you clearly note in the review that you received the product free for a review. Or if you received it as a present, note as such. It doesn’t say that last one in their policies but FULL DISCLOSURE would imply you should simply disclose how you received the item. Below you will find links to various pages on Amazon about their policies.

Here is a link to the FAQ page of the Customer Review Guidelines.

It does not mention specifics about not being able to review free copies of books, but as noted in a comment on the aforementioned article, if you do receive a free Kindle copy through Amazon you do get the Verified Purchase distinction. That is not mentioned on the page but I do know this from personal experience.

But in order for your Reviews not to be removed you must have made a true purchase of some type on Amazon.

Here is what Amazon says about Verified Purchase.

If a review isn’t marked Amazon Verified Purchase, it doesn’t mean that the reviewer has no experience with the product – just that we couldn’t verify it had been purchased at Amazon.

When you write a new review for an item purchased through Amazon, your review will automatically be marked as an Amazon Verified Purchase.

Customer Review Creation Guidelines can be found on Amazon here.

Here is the Help for General Review Creations Guidelines.

Full disclosure: If you received a free product in exchange for your review, please clearly and conspicuously disclose that that you received the product free of charge. Reviews from the Amazon Vine™ program are already labeled, so additional disclosure is not necessary.

Help and Customer Service–About Customer Reviews gives reiteration of policies of what is not allowed in a dedicated view. In other words, separate from the longer list of information.

Much Respect

Ronovan

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Author: Ronovan

Ronovan Hester is an author/poet/blogger, with a debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. "5.0 out of 5 stars: Now, I want to warn you… this is not your typical pirate tale! It’s BETTER!" "5.0 out of 5 stars: Totally unpredictable and a real gem of a discovery - Highly Recommended" "5.0 out of 5 stars: An action packed journey to piracy and revenge – all in the name of the crown, queen and county – set in 1705." He shares his life of problems, triumphs, and writing through his blog RonovanWrites.com. His love of writing, authors and community through his online world has led to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews and interviews known as LitWorldInterviews.com.

21 thoughts on “Amazon Book Reviewing Policy.”

  1. Reblogged this on newauthoronline and commented:
    The information in this post accords with my understanding of Amazon’s Review Policy, namely that readers may post a review of a book or other product they received free provided this fact is clearly noted in the review. Authors may therefore provide free copies of their books in exchange for an honest review on Amazon. However reviews of books not purchased through Amazon will not show as “verified purchases”. Kevin

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  4. Yes, that was my understanding and I do that. Of course that is not the same as getting a free book because the book was being offered as a free download in Amazon itself. That counts as a purchase. Thanks Ronovan.

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  7. I hear a lot of complaints about Amazon’s review policy and understand some of the frustrations. I would like to say something positive about Amazon’s policies. I’m a writer and do check the reviews of my works. On some rare occasions I get, usually bad, reviews that make no sense. It’s obvious the reviewer never read my book. I assume they are garnering points to raise their rank in the reviewer category. What I have found upon checking is some people will use the same, exact, wording on multiple book reviews. When I write Amazon and they check the facts the reviews are pulled. I have no problem if someone reads my book and doesn’t like it. I learn from them, but to put a review on a book that they have not read only hurts to writer.

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    2. It’s good to know that Amazon do respond when faced with proof like the exact same wording on several reviews. I’m guessing they do the best the can considering the challenges. Personally, I’m trying to actually buy more books or at least download when they’re free so that I get the verified purchase on mine. My little book hasn’t garnered enough reviews to have incurred the wrath of the trolls yet but I’ll be armed with all of this great info if I ever write one that does. 😀

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  9. Reblogged this on Our Darkest Fears and commented:
    I thought I’d share a bit about book reviews on Amazon I found after Armand Rosamilia reblogged it. It sheds some light on how the Amazon review process works as well as links for further reading. Reviews are something each author needs. If you read a book, please go and take a few moments to rate and comment on the book. Let us know what you liked or what you didn’t like. Please, just let us know. Writing is something I’m constantly learning and is something I’ll never stop learning and honing and most authors will tell you the same thing.
    So, thanks for stopping in and make sure to help your favorite authors out with some honest reviews.
    Thanks and good day,
    Brent

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  10. Reblogged this on C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m and commented:
    Maybe it’s just that it’s June and people are playing outside more, but it seems to me reviews are slowing down generally. Or life is speeding up. Anyway, here’s a post that gets into the nitty and the gritty so, if you do review a free advanced reading copy, for instance, the review won’t get pulled by Amazon.

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  12. Pingback: New Guidelines for Reviewers | It's All a Matter of Perspective: A Fresh Perspective

    1. I personally think ratings without reviews is a waste of time. A potential purchaser/reader doesn’t know why a book is good or bad. I also am not a fan of Five Star Ratings that say things like Great Book, or a one sentence blurb. If I am looking at a book to purchase I pass over those reviews.

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