Amazon insert card rules: what sellers can and can't put in the box

Where the rules actually live

Amazon has no single "insert card policy" page. A card is judged against policies that cover all seller-to-buyer communication, and as the seller you answer for everything in the box, including what a manufacturer or marketing agency put there.

Amazon staff summarized these for inserts in two forum posts: a do's and don'ts guide (login required) and a QR code explainer (login required). The second says plainly that it does not replace the policies themselves.

What you can put on a card

Amazon's own guidance encourages inserts that help the customer use the product or get to know the brand.

• A thank-you note.
• Your brand story and values.
• Care instructions, an assembly guide, or tips for getting more out of the product.
• Warranty details.
• Links to your social media accounts.
• A neutral request for a review, worded so it applies equally to a happy and an unhappy buyer.

On that last point: a neutral ask is permitted, but it is the line most cards cross by accident. Amazon already sends its own review request, and the "Request a Review" button in Seller Central does the same job with no wording risk. Leaving the review ask off the card entirely is the safest choice.

What gets sellers in trouble

Every prohibited tactic falls into one of three groups: steering reviews, paying for reviews, or moving the buyer off Amazon.

Keep discounts and reviews apart as well. An Amazon-only coupon on the same card as a review ask reads as an incentive, whatever you intended.

Enforcement ranges from a policy warning to review removal, listing removal and loss of selling privileges. Amazon rarely tells a seller which card or sentence triggered it.

QR codes and links: the gray area

No Amazon policy bans QR codes on a card, and none approves them. What matters is where the code leads and what happens there, and Amazon staff have not answered that the same way twice.

The most recent and most detailed statement is the permissive one, and it names warranty and support pages as acceptable. It is still a forum post, not policy, and the seller code of conduct's rule against diverting customers to another website has not changed.

A QR code is lowest risk when all of these are true

• It opens a page about the product the buyer already owns: care, setup, warranty, support.
• The page sells nothing and links to no store, yours or anyone's.
• The page does not mention reviews or ratings at all.
• The page does not ask the buyer to bring order problems to you instead of Amazon.
• The card says plainly what the code does, for example "Scan for care instructions."

If the page behind the code changes later, your risk changes with it. A card is printed once; the page it points to is judged every time someone scans.

Warranty registration and collecting an email

A warranty page is one of the QR destinations Amazon staff have called acceptable, but Amazon has never said in writing that collecting a buyer's email there is fine. Treat it as permitted in practice and unconfirmed in policy.

Sellers have asked Amazon directly how a warranty can be registered without collecting contact details. That question sits unanswered in the same forum thread. Many brands run warranty registration from insert cards today, and some agencies advise against any email capture. Both facts are true at once.

What keeps a registration page defensible

• The warranty is real. The buyer gets the coverage whether or not they join a mailing list.
• Marketing consent is separate. An unticked checkbox, confirmed by a second email, with the consent time stored. Registering a warranty is not permission to send promotions.
• You collect the minimum. Name, email, order ID and product are enough. Skip phone numbers and addresses.
• Nothing is traded. No gift, discount or bonus for registering that could be read as tied to a review.
• Support stays honest. For returns, refunds and delivery problems, the page points the buyer back to Amazon.

Email law applies on top of Amazon's rules. In the US that means CAN-SPAM: identify yourself, include a postal address, and honor unsubscribes. For buyers in the EU or UK, you need clear opt-in consent before sending marketing.

Wording: safe and risky

The test for any sentence on a card: would it read the same to a buyer who loves the product and one who is about to return it?

Watch the small words too. "Happy", "satisfied", "love" and "5-star" next to any mention of feedback turn a neutral card into a biased one.

Pre-print checklist

Run every card and every page it links to through this list before you order a print run.

• The card does not mention reviews, ratings or stars. If it does, the ask is fully neutral.
• Nothing is offered in exchange for anything: no gift, coupon, refund or entry.
• No sentence asks the buyer to contact you instead of Amazon about their order.
• No link, code or URL leads to a place where the buyer can purchase off Amazon.
• The QR code says what it does, and the page behind it does only that.
• The landing page has no review prompt, no store link and no pop-up offer.
• Any email sign-up is optional, unticked by default and confirmed by email.
• You have seen the final printed card yourself, including anything your manufacturer adds.
• You have watched Amazon's Product insert compliance video this year.

If a card you already ship breaks the rules

Amazon's instruction is to act immediately, not at the next reorder.

1. FBA inventory: remove any units that contain the insert from Amazon's fulfillment centers.
2. Self-fulfilled orders: pull the insert before anything else ships.
3. Suppliers and agencies: tell your manufacturer, prep center and any marketing company what is and is not allowed. You are responsible for what they put in the box.
4. The landing page: fix or take down the page a printed code points to. This is the one part you can correct the same day.
5. Records: keep the old and new card files and the dates you made the change, in case you need them for an appeal.

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