🚀 Why Your Packaging (and Instructions) Can Make or Break Your Sales

Here’s a wild truth most Amazon sellers don’t realize until it’s too late…

Your product’s packaging and instructions matter WAY more than you think. And not just for branding or aesthetics—they can literally make or break your reviews.

I recently worked with a seller who had a great product—a bread maker. It looked good. It worked well. We optimized their listing with A+ content, better images, and even dialed in their ads.

But then… the reviews came in.

🔥 3 stars.
🔥 Vine reviewers weren’t impressed.
🔥 Sales were stalling.

What went wrong? 🤔

📦 The Hidden Sales Killer: Bad Instructions

I ordered the product myself to see what was up.

It didn’t take long to find the problem.

The directions were terrible.

❌ Written in broken English (probably by someone in the factory).
❌ The measurements were all in metric instead of cups/teaspoons.
❌ Clunky wording that left customers confused.

Sure, most people could Google "how many cups in a third of a liter"… but they won’t.

They’ll just leave a bad review and move on.

Amazon customers expect things to be easy. If they have to “figure things out” instead of just using the product? They’re not happy.

⚠️ Why Bad Packaging & Instructions Hurt Your Business

💥 Negative reviews kill conversions.
💥 Refund rates go up.
💥 Amazon starts ranking you lower.
💥 Ads become more expensive.

And before you know it? Your product is dead in the water. 🚢💨

So, I gave the seller some blunt advice:

Pull the inventory, rewrite the directions, and repackage the product before it’s too late.

Will they do it? I hope so. Because once negative reviews pile up, it’s game over.

✅ How to Make Sure Your Instructions & Packaging Don’t Ruin Your Sales

1️⃣ Write clear, simple instructions

• Use plain English (or hire a native English speaker to fix the wording).

• Avoid technical jargon unless your audience understands it.

• Step-by-step clarity—assume your buyer has never used the product before.

2️⃣ Use the right measurement system

• If you sell in the U.S., use imperial (cups, teaspoons, inches, etc.).

• If you sell in Europe or Asia, use metric.

• OR include both to make life easy for everyone.

3️⃣ Make the instructions look professional

• Use clean fonts (no Comic Sans or cluttered layouts).

• Add simple images or diagrams if necessary.

• Keep it short and easy to scan.

4️⃣ Test it before shipping

• Ask 5 random people (who don’t know your product) to read the instructions.

• If they have ANY confusion, fix it.

🔥 The Lesson? Packaging & Instructions Matter. A Lot.

A great product with bad instructions is like a Ferrari with no keys.
It doesn’t matter how good it is if people can’t use it.

📌 Takeaway:
If you’re getting unexpected bad reviews, check your packaging, instructions, and user experience. It might be the easiest fix you ever make.

Next week, I’ll break down exactly how to write instructions that boost customer satisfaction (and sales). Stay tuned! 👀

👉 What’s the worst product instruction fail you’ve seen? Drop it in the comments!

Cheers to your success,

Ryan Keene
Amazon Seller Mentor | Scaling Expert | Recovering Overthinker
🚀 Helping everyday sellers build extraordinary Amazon businesses.

P.S. If you’ve been eagerly waiting for your free copy of my new book—good news! It’s almost here (turns out perfection takes a little extra time). 📚 Expect it next week! If you haven’t claimed yours yet, shoot me an email at [email protected], and I’ll make sure you’re on the list. 🚀