Amazon Vine is a powerful tool for earning early product reviews that are authentic and convincing enough to build customer trust. A 2021 report by PowerReviews finds that over 99.9% of customers read reviews when shopping online. Consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family members. This underscores the importance of product reviews.

So, sellers want as many positive reviews as possible to establish trust with social proof, making their products more appealing to potential buyers. The Amazon Vine program offers a great opportunity to receive authentic, high-quality reviews and build product credibility.

If you’re an Amazon seller and want to know how the Amazon Vine program works, you’re in the right place. In this article, you'll learn everything about the Amazon Vine program, how it works, its pros and cons, how to enroll, Vine enrollment fees, and more.

What is the Amazon Vine Program?

The Amazon Vine Program is an invite-only product review program to provide honest and unbiased product reviews. As per this initiative, sellers or vendors send the products they want to be reviewed on Amazon.

The e-commerce giant sends these products to trusted and top-rated reviewers, also known as Vine Voices, to share their honest reviews. These reviewers are selected based on factors such as reviewer rank, helpfulness votes, quality of reviews, frequency of reviews, preferences, reputation, and several other factors. In exchange for their reviews, Vine Voices receive Vine items for free.

The goal of the Amazon Vine program is to help sellers generate authentic product reviews, increase product discoverability, boost sales, and improve customer satisfaction. Amazon closely monitors the program to ensure fair and unbiased reviews.

How does the Amazon Vine program work?

The Amazon Vine program is mutually beneficial for reviewers and sellers. Here is how it works:

• Sellers apply for the Vine program through their seller dashboard.
• Once approved, sellers submit eligible products for Vine reviews.
• Amazon invites reviewers to become Vine Voices for the product based on their past engagement.
• Vine reviewers receive the product and are marked with a Vine Voice badge. This badge signals that the reviewer has received the product through the Vine program.

Amazon monitors the entire process to ensure every party involved complies with the guidelines. In addition, sellers are not allowed to contact reviewers. So, Amazon and sellers have zero influence on the content of the reviews, which means no guarantee that you'll receive positive reviews.

So, you should enroll in Amazon Vine only if you're confident in the quality and functionality of your product.

Pros and cons of Amazon Vine

After the Early Review Program, which was canceled in April 2021, Amazon Vine became the fastest, most legal, and most authentic way to generate early reviews for products. But it also has pros and cons. Sellers should be aware of these pros and cons when deciding whether Amazon Vine program is suitable for their products.

Pros:

• The fastest way to get early reviews for a new product. Receive up to 30 authentic reviews within a few months.
• Unbiased reviews from real product users. Vine reviews are well-thought-out and detail-oriented, carrying more value than average customer reviews.
• A higher number of Vine reviews helps establish your brand credibility and reputation. This increases the potential for increased sales.
• Valuable and real feedback from experienced Vine reviewers can be used to make product improvements, leading to improved customer satisfaction.

Cons:

• Negative Vine reviews can destroy your brand-new listing and brand reputation. Vine Voices can openly discuss the shortcomings of your products.
• Giving away free products for review can be expensive, especially if you sell pricey items.
• Reviews are capped at 30. If your product already has 29 reviews, you'll get only one additional Vine review, no matter how many units are given away.
• High enrollment costs can range between $75-$200 for each parent ASIN enrolled.

Amazon Vine Program Requirements

Initially available only to first-party sellers on Amazon Vendor Central, the Vine program is now open to all brand-registered sellers. Sellers must meet certain criteria to enroll in the Amazon Vine program.

First of all, sellers must ensure that their products are eligible for Vine Voices, which involves agreeing to give away free products to reviewers. Sellers and their products must comply with Amazon's quality standards and other specific guidelines to participate in the Vine program.

In addition, sellers must have an active Amazon seller account that is clean of policy violations or performance issues. Sellers should improve their reputation on Amazon by offering high-quality products, which can increase their chances of inclusion in the Vine program.

Here are the exact requirements to enroll on the Vine program:

• You must be registered with the Amazon Brand Registry.
• You must give away each product (up to a total of 30 products) for free.
• You must have fewer than 30 reviews on your product listing.

Product eligibility criteria for the Vine program

For a product to be eligible for the Amazon Vine program, it must have:

• A live and active product detail page
• Less than 30 reviews on its product page
• A buyable FBA offer in "New" condition
• A professional image and complete description
• Available inventory
• Have not previously enrolled in Amazon Vine.
• Already launched at the time of enrollment

Product restriction for the Amazon Vine program

Products that are NOT eligible for Vine include:

• Adult: Mainly restricted to ensure customer privacy, adult products require special handling, and this product category doesn’t align with the Amazon Vine's audience.
• Bundles of multiple products: Bundled products confuse buyers and reviewers. They often have quality and logistics issues.
• Digital: Digital products like digital subscriptions and e-books are intangible, while Vine focuses on tangible products.
• Heavy products: Heavy items often have higher logistics and shipping costs, making the Vine program expensive and difficult to handle for sellers.
• Bulky products: These products have shipping and storage challenges, deterring reviewers from choosing them.

In addition, products that require reviewers to order a separate product to complete the review are also not eligible for the Vine program.

How to enroll in Amazon Vine?

If your brand and product fulfill all the requirements above, follow these steps to enroll in Amazon Vine:

Step 1: Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account.

Step 2: Go to the Advertising tab > Vine.

Step 3: If your brand is brand registered, you'll see a 'Get started with Amazon Vine' button. Press this button to start the enrollment process.

Step 4: Enter the ASIN in the search box and select the number of units (up to 30) you want to offer for Vine Voices.

Step 5: Click ‘Enroll’ to begin enrollment.

Once the ASIN is approved, you can track the progress through your seller dashboard. You can see the number of products claimed by Vine reviewers and track incoming reviews.

For the first 28 days of enrollment, Amazon shows your product detail page to limited Vine Voices, who typically buy and review similar products. If there is still pending inventory after 28 days, Amazon will show it to all Vine Voice reviewers.

Amazon Vine enrollment fees

On October 19, 2023, Amazon revised the fee structure for its Vine Program. The new pricing model introduced a more nuanced enrollment cost depending on the number of units enrolled, catering to accommodate sellers with varying product volumes.

The following table shows the Vine enrollment fees structure:

Units Enrolled	Vine Enrollment Fee
1-2	$0 (No charge)
3-10	$75
11-30	$200

You've to pay this one-time enrollment fee for each parent ASIN, depending on the number of units enrolled. Amazon charges you seven days after the first review is published.

You can also track your Vine enrollment fees:

• Click on Report.
• Click on Payments.
• See the fees under the Transaction View on the Payment Dashboard.

Is the Amazon Vine program worth it?

Compared to other review strategies, Amazon Vine reviews can be beneficial if your brand and product meet all requirements. It's an excellent opportunity to get early reviews for pre-released or newly-launched products.

But if you're not confident in your product, it's better to hold off on enrolling on the Vine program because your products may receive negative reviews. So, you should thoroughly vet your product before enrolling on the Vine program, and that means more than just a good product. You also need a well-curated product page detailing the product's qualifications with impressive graphics.

Once you're confident with your product and product page, you can leverage Vine Voices. The program helps sellers and their brands gain solid social proof for the quality and performance of their products, build trust in their brand on Amazon, increase visibility, and boost sales.

Combine this with other useful programs and tools to make your Amazon business profitable. Profit Cyclops is one such tool that does many things to help manage your Amazon business. It's an excellent tool for Amazon sellers featuring a global dashboard that shows all marketplaces in one place. It shows your daily and monthly sales, profits, and fees. You can also monitor your inventory levels and get alerts for low inventory. There are many more features that help Amazon Sellers manage and monitor their e-commerce business to maximize sales and profits.

Try Profit Cyclops today to see the difference

FAQs: The Amazon Vine program

How many ASINs can a brand enroll in the Amazon Vine program?

Amazon has increased the current enrollment cap for Vine from 60 to 200, allowing sellers to enroll up to 200 ASINS at a time.

How many reviews can I receive with Amazon Vine?

A product can get up to 30 high-quality and authentic reviews with Amazon Vine.

How to get a brand registered on Amazon?

To get your brand registered on Amazon, you've to register your brand through the Amazon Brand Registry program. This program provides you with complete ownership of the products you're selling on Amazon. So, you get full control of your product listings and ensure that they are correct and well-maintained.

In which countries is the Amazon Vine program available?

Currently, the Amazon Vine program is accessible in select markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Japan.

Can I remove an Amazon Vine review?

Unfortunately, you cannot remove an Amazon Vine review once it's published. The review can be removed only if it violates Amazon's terms of service.