To review a product on Amazon, open the product page or your orders, choose Write a product review, give a star rating, add a headline and written review, attach photos or video if you have them, and submit. Amazon checks reviews against its Community Guidelines before they appear, and you need an account that meets its eligibility rules.
Leaving an Amazon review takes a couple of minutes. Writing one that other shoppers find useful takes a little more thought. Here are both: the steps, then the rules that decide whether your review goes live.
How to write a review on Amazon, step by step
- Sign in to the Amazon account you bought from.
- Go to Your Orders, find the item and choose Write a product review. You can also scroll to the reviews section on the product page and choose Write a customer review.
- Pick a star rating.
- Add a short headline that sums up your verdict.
- Write your review: what you bought it for, how you used it and how it held up.
- Add photos or a short video if they show something words can't.
- Submit. Amazon checks it before it appears, so it won't show straight away.
On the mobile app the path is the same: Orders, the item, then the review option.
Who can post a review on Amazon
Not every account can review. Amazon's Community Guidelines set an eligibility rule for creating reviews: the account must have spent a minimum amount on Amazon using a valid credit or debit card in the past 12 months, and promotional discounts don't count towards it. Amazon states the amount for each country on its Community Guidelines page, so check there if your review option is missing.
You also can't review a product you have a stake in. Amazon doesn't allow reviews from the seller, their family or employees, or anyone offered something in exchange for a review outside its own Vine program.
What gets an Amazon review removed
- Reviews written in exchange for free or discounted products, refunds or other rewards, except through Amazon Vine
- Reviews by people connected to the seller or brand
- Reviews about the seller, delivery or customer service rather than the product itself (seller feedback is a separate form)
- Personal information, links to other sites, or offensive content
- Several near-identical reviews of the same product
In the US the rules don't stop at Amazon either. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews bans fake reviews and rewards for reviews that must say something positive or negative, and the FTC says reviewers who get a product free should disclose it.
How to write an Amazon review people find helpful
Helpful votes are what lift a review up the page, and they're one of the signals behind Amazon's Vine invitations. The reviews that earn them share a pattern:
- They say who the reviewer is in relation to the product: first-time buyer, upgrading from an older model, buying for a child.
- They describe real use over real time, not first impressions out of the box.
- They name one or two specific downsides.
- They answer the questions shoppers ask in the Q and A section.
- They add a photo of the product in use.
If you want a structure to follow, my product review templates give you fill-in outlines, and writing a good product review goes deeper on tone.
How to edit or delete your Amazon review
Go to your Amazon profile, open your reviews, and choose edit or delete next to the review. Edited reviews go back through Amazon's checks before the new version shows.
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Reviews matter beyond Amazon too. My explainer on what a product review means and the different types covers how shoppers weigh them, and if reviewing has turned into writing, there are shopping sites that take guest posts.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I write a review on Amazon?
Usually because the account hasn't met Amazon's eligibility rule: a minimum spend with a valid credit or debit card in the past 12 months, not counting promotional discounts. Check the Community Guidelines page for your country.
Do I have to buy a product on Amazon to review it?
Amazon marks reviews from people who bought the item on Amazon as Verified Purchase. Your account still has to meet the eligibility rule to post any review.
How long does an Amazon review take to appear?
Amazon checks reviews before publishing them, so there's a delay. Amazon doesn't publish a fixed time.
Can I review a product I got for free?
Only through Amazon Vine. Reviews in exchange for free or discounted products outside Vine break Amazon's rules.
Can I edit my Amazon review later?
Yes. Open your reviews from your Amazon profile and choose edit. The new version is checked before it appears.
