Amazon’s Vine program allows sellers to get customer reviews in exchange for a free product. Only customers with a history of regularly posting detailed and helpful reviews are invited to join the program. Sellers can enroll as many as 30 product units for a relatively small fee, resulting in up to 30 reviews. There is even an option to enroll 1-2 units free, a good option for new sellers on a tight budget.
Who Can Use the Program?
Sellers must have a Professional seller account and either a product listing enrolled in Amazon’s Brand Registry or a generic (no-brand) product listing.
Only listings with less than thirty reviews are eligible
On the surface, Vine sounds like the perfect way to get quality reviews on a new listing. But there are downsides, so let’s examine the program’s pros and cons.
The Pros of Using Amazon Vine
A guaranteed way to get reviews on a new listing.
Easy to use. The seller enrolls in the program and pays the associated fee, and Amazon does the rest.
Relatively inexpensive. When writing this post, it costs $75 to enroll 10 units and $200 to enroll 30 units. And there is an option to enroll two units for free.
Reviews are always detailed and well-written. The algorithm favors detailed reviews over one-liner type reviews, meaning they stay visible for longer instead of being pushed off the page by newer reviews.
The Cons
The seller is giving away free products, which may not be suitable for new sellers starting with only a few units.
Vine customers (known as Vine Voices) are not compelled to post a review for every free product they receive. However, they are expected to review most of the products or lose their eligibility for the program. In general, the seller can expect to receive around six to nine reviews for 10 units enrolled in the program.
Vine customers must write unbiased reviews. If all goes well, the seller will get several good or even glowing reviews. If not, the seller might get mediocre or even poor reviews. This is the main disadvantage of the program. Of course, if the product is good, most reviews will be good, but even with a good product, there’s always the chance of getting the odd poor review.
Conclusion
The Vine program can be a great way to virtually guarantee high-quality reviews on a new listing. It’s easy to use and inexpensive, but it may not be the best option for every seller. Sellers with a very limited number of units may not want to give any away for free. And it’s always important to be aware that Vine reviews are not always positive reviews. A scathing one-star review from a Vine Voice can potentially damage a listing’s sales. However, if the majority of the reviews received are good, they will counteract any damage caused by the occasional poor one.
