Why do we need to Merge Reviews?
We need to merge reviews in order to support the low-rated variation within the parentage. In other words, if a certain variation receives great reviews from customers, it'll be shared with the other variations too. Thus, merging reviews will make the parentage look uniform and collective in the eyes of buyers.
Why are the reviews not merging within the parentage?
The main reason for reviews not merging is that the Product Type & Item Type categories don’t match within the parentage. Our goal is to make them similar throughout the parentage.
In order to find out about the Product Type & Item Type, you must download the Category Listing Report (CLR). Here's how you download a CLR, please follow this SOP. Once the CLR is downloaded, open it, collect the SKUs of the parentage, and look for the Product Type and Item Type Keyword located in row 2.
If they match in the CLR, that’s great but let's also check the parentage in Seller Central (SC) if the categories match. Sometimes, the categories don’t register with Amazon. You’ll identify it under Item Type, Product Type, or Product Category. Make sure that whatever shows inside the category box should also reflect on top of the category box. Go to Inventory > Manage All Inventory > Look for the ASIN > Click Edit > Vital Info Tab > Item Type Keyword and/or Item Type.
Check category/browse nodes online:
1. Open Google Chrome or any web browser.
2. In the URL box, type in amazon.com/dp/[Enter ASIN]
3. You can see the category/browse node above the Main Image. If there's no category/browse node showing, then the category isn't properly reflected on Amazon's end.
Check the Reviews/Ratings
1. Open Google Chrome or any web browser.
2. In the URL box, type in amazon.com/dp/[Enter ASIN]
3. Check the ratings of each variation. If all of them have the same ratings then the reviews of the variations are merged properly within the parentage. If the ratings are inconsistent, then you can proceed with the troubleshooting steps.
At A Glance Flowchart
Troubleshooting Steps
The goal here is to make sure that the Product Type and Item Type Keyword are the same throughout the parentage. To achieve that we can do the following:
A. Feed File Upload
1. Download a CLR. Here's how you download a CLR, follow this SOP.
2. Retain the parent and the variations' rows by checking their SKUs in the CLR. See Image 1.
3. Make sure that the Product Type and Item Type Keyword attributes are the same. See Image 1.
4. Save the feed file and upload it to your Seller Central catalog. Go to Catalog > Add Products via Upload > Upload your spreadsheet > Browse Files > Select the feed file you saved > Enter your email to get the feed file report through email > Upload File. Follow step 9 of this SOP. Take the BATCH ID for documentation.
5. If the feed file upload is successful, check the category/browse nodes online. See Check category/browse nodes online and Check the Reviews/Ratings above. If the category/browse nodes and the ratings are the same throughout the variations, the merging of reviews was successful. If the category/browse nodes and/or ratings aren't updated, go to the next troubleshooting step.
B. Change Category Through Help Ticket
1. Go to Help > Get Support > Selling on Amazon > Or, browse for your issue in the menu > Products, Listings, or Inventory > Change a product's category > Enter the ASIN > Click Next > Select the correct category/browse node.
The Brand Registry help ticketing is almost the same. Here's a Youtube Video walkthrough on how to change the category through SC Help and Brand Registry Help:
2. Get the ticket/case ID and dispute until the desired category gets reflected online.
3. If the SC Help or Brand Registry ticket is successful, check the category/browse nodes online. See Check category/browse nodes online and Check the Reviews/Ratings above. If the category/browse nodes and the ratings are the same throughout the variations, the merging of reviews was successful. If the category/browse nodes and/or ratings aren't updated, go to the next troubleshooting step.
C. Sending a Written Appeal
Go to Help > Get Support > Selling on Amazon > Or, browse for your issue in the menu > Products, Listings, or Inventory > Inventory file upload issue. Here's how to file a ticket.
Feel free to write your own requests. The following are just drafts. You can recreate or reassemble these drafts.
If the categories match all throughout the parentage:
“Greetings,
We’ve checked the variations of Parent ASIN B0** online and found out that the reviews aren’t shared with one another. We want to dispute that all of the ASINs share the same category:
[Insert browse node]
Please merge the reviews of the following ASINs:
[Insert Parent ASIN and children ASINs]"
If the categories have been fixed through a feed file but it didn’t merge the reviews:
“Greetings,
We’ve checked the variations of Parent ASIN B0** online and found out that the reviews aren’t shared with one another.
We’ve uploaded a feed file to fix the category within the parentage (batch ID: **)
Product Type: (paste here from CLR)
Item Type: (paste here from CLR)
We made sure that the category is the same from parent to its children.
[Insert browse node]
Please merge the reviews of the following ASINs:
[Insert Parent ASIN and children ASINs]"
REMEMBER:
Most of the cases won’t be fixed right away and you’ll need to check reviews online before you check the case status from day to day until the reviews are merged. Also, most of the replies are template replies (We place limitations on merging reviews).
If you receive a template reply, insist on the request. You can also call them to push things through.
FAQ:
What is General Ledge(GL) Code?
It’s the general category of products that can’t be checked in SC. You need to send a ticket to inquire what GL type is your product/listing. The GL type needs to be consistent throughout the parentage for the reviews to get merged. You can request to update the GL type of each ASIN for their category to be consistent throughout the parentage.
