Customer Discussions

What are Customer Discussions?

Customer Discussions connect you with other customers to share your questions, insights, and views about products available on Amazon.com. Read what others are saying about hot products, get knowledgeable answers, check out product comparisons, and swap comments in our easy-to-use group discussions.

You can also let us know what you think of the Customer Discussions feature by contacting Amazon.com's Customer Discussions team directly. (This is for comments to the Discussions team only. For help with your order, see the Ordering Help page. For other issues, or to contact Customer Service, visit the Amazon.com Help department. And, of course, to ask the community of other customers a product-related question, start a discussion directly in Customer Discussions.)

Who can participate in discussions?

Customers! Anyone who has purchased items from Amazon and is in good standing in the Amazon.com community can reply to an existing discussion or start a new one. All visitors to Amazon.com can read any current discussion.

What should I post?

Please share thoughts that you think will add to the discussion and help other customers interested in the product area, or start a conversation to learn from other customers' experiences. For example:

• Ask questions about a product ("Is the Fellowship of the Ring suitable for my 8 year-old son?" "Do the Calvin Klein t-shirts run small?")
• Contribute product comparisons ("The Zen Micro wins on price and specs, while the iPod Nano wins on size and cachet." "I really recommend the Thompson guide over the more advanced reference if you're just getting started.")
• Look for guidance from other customers who have made similar purchases ("I love my new 'pod' coffee maker, but want to find a darker roast of coffee for it. What pod brands have you tried?" "Did anyone else have trouble setting up this toolbench?")
• Get advice when shopping ("If I want a pocket-sized digital camera, do I have to give up decent optical zoom?" "What should I look for in a travel guide when vacationing with kids?")
• Share your experience in a product area ("The 'fuzzy logic' feature makes perfect, fluffy rice, but what I most value in a rice cooker is flexibility." "The new multimedia Nokias with Series 60 software should really challenge the industry.")
• Debate plots, characters, lyrics, and more with other fans. Connect with aficionados to discuss authors, musicians, or directors.

What shouldn't I post?

Behave as if you were a guest at a friend's dinner party. Please treat the Amazon.com community with respect. Do not post:

• Profane or obscene, inflammatory or spiteful comments
• Messages that abuse, denigrate or threaten others
• Text or articles written by someone else, even with attribution for the author, except for brief quotations from a book, article or other product related to the discussion
• Any personal information about children under 13
• Descriptions that intrude on the privacy of another person, including revealing personally identifiable information such as their name or address
• Text that promotes illegal or immoral conduct
• Repeated posts that make the same point excessively
• Repeated unwelcome messages that harass or embarrass other customers or participants
• Repeated posts that promote an item in the Amazon.com catalog
• Any form of "spam," including advertisements, contests, or other solicitations for other websites or companies; or any URL link that includes a "referrer" tag or affiliate code.

Do not impersonate another person, including an Amazon.com employee.

We recommend that you do not post your phone number or e-mail address.

How do I find and read a discussion?

On product pages, under Customer Discussions, you will find a list of the most recently active discussions about a product. In most web browsers, you can "hover" your mouse pointer over the icon at the beginning of a discussion title to preview the first posts in the discussion. Click on a discussion title to read the whole discussion or make your own reply. To browse more discussion titles, click "See all discussions" at the bottom of the discussion list.

Some product pages also list relevant "General forums" to the right of the list of product-specific discussions. In these forums, customers discuss topics related to the product area, covering more general questions or interests.

You can also find conversations and feedback attached to individual customers' product reviews (or other features on Amazon.com). Click on the "Comments" link at the bottom of a review to see what other customers have said.

How do I reply to a discussion?

Click "Reply" at the end of a message to post a response. Your reply is placed at the end of the discussion. Anyone reading your post will also be able to click "In reply to an earlier post" to display the message to which you responded.

How do I start a new discussion?

On a product page or in a discussion forum, start a new discussion below the list of recently-active discussion titles. Once you click in the discussion topic text box, you'll also see a box to enter the initial post.

How do I edit or delete my post?

Click "Edit" on any message that you have posted. (You need to be signed in with the same account you used to write the post.) You can then change the text or delete the post.

What if I find an inappropriate post, or one that detracts from the discussion?

If you find a post that you feel is obscene, threatening, pornographic, another person's words, or otherwise violates Amazon.com's guidelines outlined here or in the Conditions of Use, please click "Report abuse" and submit the report.

If you think that a post just doesn't help further the discussion, vote "No" on the right edge of the post. On the other hand, if you believe that a post, whether you agree with it or not, contributes well to a constructive conversation, you can vote "Yes" on the right edge of the post. When the customers voting on a post collectively don't think it adds to the discussion, the post may be hidden by default. You can still view these posts by clicking "Show post anyway."

How do I get back to a specific post?

Each post has a "permalink" link, a direct pointer to an individual post in a discussion. You can click this link and add it to your favorite bookmarks, or copy it from your browser's address bar and send it in e-mail.

How can I keep track of new posts in an interesting discussion?

In most Amazon discussions, you can request email updates when new posts are made. Click the "Track this discussion" button in the right column of the discussion page. When you first request email updates, you may need to complete a one-time email verification.

To track comments about a customer review, click on the "Track comments" link, at the top of the comments. If you have submitted customer reviews, you can also request email updates when new comments are posted to any of your own reviews, by clicking "Track comments on my reviews."

If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to a discussion using the RSS Feed link near the tracking button.

What do I do if my message was deleted?

We regularly investigate messages that have been reported to Amazon.com as violating our guidelines. If you feel your message was removed inappropriately, contact us.

Do messages impact my Top Reviewer ranking?

Top Reviewer rankings are based on Customer Reviews only. Your messages, and the votes cast on them, do not impact your Top Reviewer ranking.