Verified Purchase
A Verified Purchase review is any Amazon review written by a customer who bought the product directly through Amazon at full or near-full price. Amazon flags these reviews with a green “Verified Purchase” badge, and weighs them more heavily in the star-rating average and in ranking signals than unverified reviews.
Why It Matters for Sellers
Verified Purchase reviews are the currency of trust on Amazon. Shoppers filter and read them first, they carry disproportionate weight in the visible star average, and they are far harder for competitors to fake or attack. A listing that suddenly gains many unverified reviews often triggers Amazon’s fraud detection, so honest sellers should focus almost entirely on generating organic Verified Purchase reviews through great product experience, follow-up via Amazon’s Request a Review button, and programs like Vine.
How It Works
- Customer discovers the product on Amazon and adds it to cart.
- Customer pays full price (or close to it — deep discounts above roughly 50% strip the verified status).
- Amazon fulfills the order and records the purchase against the customer account.
- After delivery, the customer can write a review; if the account is in good standing and the purchase is on file, Amazon tags it Verified Purchase.
- The review counts toward the ASIN’s star average with extra algorithmic weight, and shows the green badge to all future shoppers.
Key Facts and Best Practices
| Fact / Best Practice | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Never offer a discount above ~50% in exchange for a review | Amazon strips verified status and may treat the transaction as incentivized |
| Use the “Request a Review” button in Seller Central | It is the only Amazon-sanctioned outreach that reliably produces verified reviews |
| Never send products for free in exchange for reviews outside of Vine | Violates Community Guidelines and can result in suspension |
| Monitor for sudden bursts of unverified reviews | Often indicates a competitor attack designed to trigger a review purge |
| Respond to critical Verified Purchase reviews publicly | Shows future buyers you take feedback seriously and often lifts conversion |
| Verified reviews on variations roll up to the parent | A well-reviewed variation lifts the whole product family |
FAQ
Do Verified Purchase reviews count more than unverified?
Yes. Amazon has confirmed that Verified Purchase reviews are weighted more heavily in the calculated star average and are prioritized in the default review sort order.
Why is my review not showing as Verified Purchase?
The most common reasons are: the item was bought at a deep discount (above ~50% off), it was purchased through a third-party site, or the customer account has too little purchase history for Amazon to trust the transaction.
Can Amazon remove Verified Purchase reviews?
Yes. Amazon regularly removes reviews it suspects of being incentivized, coming from related accounts, or violating Community Guidelines — even if the purchase itself was verified.
How do I get more Verified Purchase reviews?
Ship a great product, use the Request a Review button in Seller Central 5-30 days after delivery, and enroll new launches in Vine. Avoid any outreach that could be interpreted as review manipulation.
How SellerSonar Helps
- Review Alerts notify you the moment any new review — verified or not — goes live on your listings.
- Review Monitoring tracks star-rating movement and flags suspicious velocity that could indicate competitor attacks or Amazon review purges.
- Historical review data helps you correlate Verified Purchase review growth with ranking and conversion changes.
Start a free 14-day trial and see every new Verified Purchase review across your catalog in under 5 minutes.
Related Terms
- Amazon Vine Program — Vine reviews are technically incentivized but count as Verified Purchase
- A9 Algorithm — the ranking system that gives Verified Purchase reviews extra weight
- Brand Analytics — pairs well with review data to understand shopper behavior