What is Amazon Vine?
How Amazon's own review programme works, what it costs per parent ASIN, the conditions a listing has to meet, and why a paid Vine review can still be negative.
By Alex Tkach, CEO & Co-Founder
Check before you act. Amazon programme rules, fees, and thresholds in this article were last verified on 24 December 2021. Amazon changes them without notice. Confirm current figures in Seller Central.
Clients new to Amazon ask about Vine more than almost any other programme. Here is what it actually is and what it costs.
What Vine is
Amazon Vine is an internal Amazon service that lets manufacturers and publishers get reviews on their products. Companies pay Amazon a fee and supply the product; Amazon sends it to its own reviewers, who are then required to publish a review.
Almost any product category available for purchase can be enrolled. In exchange for receiving the product, participants must post a review within 30 days of delivery, and they are not permitted to sell or give away what they received.
What it costs
There is a $200 enrolment fee per parent ASIN, charged after the first Vine review is published. If the enrolled product receives no reviews within 90 days of registration, no fee applies.
Vine operates independently on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, and Amazon.ca. The fee is charged separately in each country.
Eligibility
- The listing must have fewer than 30 reviews.
- Stock must be in FBA, in "New" condition.
- The product must not be in an adult category.
- The listing must already have a description and a photo.
You enrol through Seller Central, under Advertising → Amazon Vine.
Timing
According to Amazon's own data, 25% of reviews arrive within five days of the order, and 99% arrive within 35 days.
The part sellers underestimate
A review you paid for can be negative, and often is. Vine reviewers receive the product free, and they understand their role as giving an unbiased assessment. They are looking for reasons to like the product, but they are equally looking for reasons not to.
That makes Vine a poor rescue plan for a product with real quality or listing problems. It works best when the product is genuinely good and simply has no review history yet.