How to Deal with Bad Reviews on Amazon like a Professional

You log into your Amazon seller page, eager to see updates on your product listings, and your stomach drops as you take it in: a new, dreaded one- or two-star review. 

When your products get bad reviews, it’s natural to feel a bit panicked – you might rush to defend your product or worry that the bad review might affect your chances of selling more in the future.

But poor Amazon product reviews can actually benefit your business overall, at least if you handle them the right way. Below are some tips for dealing with bad reviews on Amazon like a pro so that you can turn any negatives into something useful. 

Don’t Take it Personally

First things first: stay calm. It’s okay to be upset, sad, or even a little frightened. Selling on Amazon, especially if it’s a product you care deeply about or really believe in, takes a lot of personal and financial investment. When it seems like those things aren’t paying off the way you hoped, it’s easy to have a strong reaction.

What’s most important is that you don’t react based on this emotional impulse. Firing back can make things much worse in the long run, and it doesn’t do anyone any favors.

Always keep a professional tone with your customers and Amazon, if you end up contacting them, to show that you’re here to help. Take some time to cool off before responding if you need to.

Keep an Eye on Your Reviews

To properly handle negative reviews, you’ll need to be aware they exist in the first place. It’s a good idea to regularly monitor your reviews or hire someone else to do so. This can help you look out for hijackers and respond quickly to anything that does come your way. 

Don’t avoid or hide from bad reviews; think of them as opportunities to improve and grow, not a sign you’ve failed. 

Respond With a Solution

The best way to deal with a bad review may be to fix the problem that caused it in the first place. You can do this by responding to your customer with compassion and a desire to make things right.

Offer up a solution that will help resolve the situation, whether that be a refund, a product replacement, a discount, or whatever else makes sense for your business. Take care of the complaint and make sure to record it for your own reference.

Failing to respond to a poor review can actually further harm your business, too. Other customers who see a business that’s responsive and striving to make things better may be more likely to overlook your reviews or chalk them up to a single bad experience rather than a bad product.

Report Fraudulent or Unrelated Reviews

Sometimes, bad reviews are simply there for the wrong reasons. Maybe a customer is upset that their product was damaged during shipping, which is outside of your control. Perhaps a spam comment pops up in your reviews and contains nothing that’s actually relevant to your product.

When cases like these arise, it’s usually best to contact Amazon to point out the review. You can likely get it removed if you can argue that it’s irrelevant or fraudulent.

Remember, you can’t do this for every bad review, and it’s not the move to make just because you don’t agree with someone’s complaints. Instead, reserve this step for times when the review is truly unfair or doesn’t add anything productive to the conversation. 

View Bad Reviews as Feedback

Just like any other review, a bad review is a chance to improve. Pay attention to what customers do and don’t like about your products so you can find ways to make them better and, ultimately, sell more.

If someone thinks your product is too cheaply made, for instance, you may want to consider whether your price point is fair. Find ways to solve problems instead of stewing over them to transform a harsh review into room to flourish.

Final Thoughts

No matter what you do, it’s likely you’ll encounter a bad review on Amazon at some point. But you can mitigate the risk of doing so by purchasing only the best quality products that you can sell at a good price. Check out NexDeal’s daily wholesale deals or download a complete list of our inventory to find hot product deals that won’t disappoint you or your customers.