Who can participate in Early Reviewer Program?

Only the sellers who have passed Brand Registry (both 2.0 and its previous version) can participate. Also, there are requirements for the listing:

1. Less than 5 reviews on the listing
2. SKU should be parent (if you insert child SKU, it will automatically switch to parent one)
3. The price on Amazon should be higher than $15

Cost

You pay $60 for every product. After confirming the participation in the program you can’t cancel it or get your money back. The amount is charged right after getting the 1st review through the program.

How does the program work?

1. Download CSV template, fill out the list of SKU which will take part in the program (remember, that every product costs $60), and download the template.

Attention: Amazon forbids to advertise the fact that you participate in the program.

2. If Amazon proves the participation of your SKU in the program, the buyers will randomly receive letters with the request to leave reviews for a small reward — $1-3 Amazon gift card.
3. Amazon will ask buyers to leave a review for one year since the moment of proving the participation in the program, or till there are 5 reviews on the listing left due to the program. If the buyers leave the reviews in less than a year, Amazon will stop asking them to share feedback about the purchased item.
4. The reviews, left after Amazon invitation, will be marked with a tag “Early Reviewer Rewards”. A buyer can put any mark (1-5 stars) and you can’t influence it.

Conclusion

Early Reviewer Program is an optimal way to get the first three reviews if there are sales. If you have no sales, there’s nobody to ask for a feedback. Plus, all of your actions are legal and there’s no danger to get banned by Amazon.

The reviews, gained with the help of the program will cost you minimum $12 per one. The conditions of the program are profitable for the clients and the probability to gather 5 reviews in a year is quite high. But there’s no 100% guarantee that you’ll get them, as well as you can’t predict, how many stars the buyer will put.

So if the product isn’t of the highest quality and there’s a risk to get a bad review, it’s better not to participate in the program and contact friends who live abroad instead.