How to Post Amazon-Compliant Reviews
Disclaimer: We are not legal professionals. This content is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice. For any legal concerns or questions, please consult a qualified attorney.
đ¤ The Spirit of Amazonâs Review System
The primary thing to remember is that Amazon's review system is designed to be a trustworthy resource for shoppers. As such, adhering to its Community Guidelines is essential for both authors and reviewers.
- For authors, this means avoiding any form of manipulation, such as incentivizing reviews, reviewing your own book, or asking friends and family to leave reviews. Your focus should be on encouraging honest, unbiased feedback.
- For reviewers, this means sharing your genuine opinion based on a fair reading of the book and avoiding reviews that are misleading, incomplete, or generated by AI.
How BookMonty Helps You Stay Compliant
At BookMonty, weâve built our system with compliance in mind:
- We do not have any facility for authors to monetize or incentivize reviews. Youâll never be asked to offer âbonus pointsâ or âextra tokensâ to push your book to the top of the review queue. We firmly believe that this violates Amazon's policies.
- We manually random-check reviews. Unlike other services, we have a dedicated Customer Support team, and within that team, we've designated specific individuals to randomly read reviews posted by our members. This ensures they're not fake, AI-generated, copied from elsewhere, or in violation of Amazonâs review guidelines.
- There is zero risk of review swaps. We apply a strict "Chinese wall" between authors and reviewers, meaning that if you review someoneâs book, they will never see your books in their dashboard. This prevents even the possibility of intentional or accidental review exchanges.
What YOU Should Do to Stay Compliant
đ Only Publish Honest, Informed Reviews
Amazon tracks how much of a book you've readâso do not post a review within an hour of purchasing an eBook or after skimming only a few pages.
Instead, write reviews based on your real experience. Focus on what stood out to you: the character development, plot structure, writing style, or themes. Let your feedback reflect your authentic reader journey.
âď¸ Avoid Any Conflicts of Interest
You should never review books written by friends, family, business partners, or anyone with whom you have a personal or financial relationship.
Amazon prohibits reviews that are promotional in nature or written by someone connected to the author or publisher.
đ Make Your Amazon Profile "Private"
Amazon's Community Guidelines discourage authors from knowing which readers leave reviews because reviews must remain impartial and free from undue influence or pressure. If authors track or identify reviewers, this may compromise the integrity of the review system, as readers may feel hesitant to leave honest feedbackâespecially if it's criticalâout of fear of retaliation or unwanted contact. As such, we highly encourage you to set your Amazon profile to "private." (Click here for instructions on how to do this.)
đ Consequences of Violations
Failing to comply with Amazonâs Community Guidelines can result in serious consequences for both authors and reviewers:
â Content Removal: Your review (or the book itself) may be taken down.
â Feature Limitations: You may lose the ability to post reviews or use other community features.
â Product Removal: The book in question may be removed from Amazon entirely.
â Account Suspension or Termination: Your Amazon account may be suspended or closed.
â Payment Withholding: Amazon may withhold payments to authors or sellers.
â Legal Action: Violations of the FTC Act and other applicable laws may result in civil or criminal penalties.
đĄď¸ Why This Matters to You as a BookMonty Member
Following these best practices doesnât just protect your Amazon accountâit helps keep BookMonty as a trustworthy, policy-compliant platform where both authors and readers benefit from honest, fair reviews.
When everyone plays by the rules, everyone winsâand when itâs your turn to receive reviews, youâll know theyâre earned, ethical, and authentic.