Amazon bullet points: character limits, rules and examples

Amazon allows five bullet points for sellers, each more than 10 and fewer than 255 characters, and Amazon's SEO guide suggests 100 characters or fewer. Since 15 August 2024, Amazon restricts special characters, emojis and some phrases in bullets, such as refund-related guarantees, and says it removes content that does not comply. Write each bullet as a short header and a colon, then one answer to one shopper question.

Amazon's bullet points sit right beside the main image, and on a phone they are often the first words a shopper reads after the title. They are also governed by more detailed rules than most sellers realise.

This guide covers how many bullets to write, how long each can be, what Amazon does not allow, how to make each bullet answer one question, and examples for four kinds of product, with a before-and-after rewrite of a bullet written to the old habits.

How many bullet points does Amazon allow, and how long can they be?

Amazon allows five bullet points for sellers, each more than 10 and fewer than 255 characters. Amazon's bullet guidelines, as copied from its help page by a listing software firm, set the basics:

Amazon's SEO guide is stricter about length in practice: it suggests bullets of 100 characters or fewer. The 255-character limit is the ceiling, not the target. A shopper reading on a phone takes in a short bullet; a long one is skimmed.

What does Amazon not allow in bullet points?

Amazon's August 2024 update named three things it restricts: special characters, emojis and some phrases, such as refund-related guarantees. The guidelines list them in more detail:

• Special characters, such as ™, ®, €, …, †, ‡, ¢, £, ¥, ©, ±, ~.
• Emojis of any kind.
• Placeholder text and ASINs, such as TBD or COPY PENDING.
• Prohibited phrases, including "eco-friendly", "environmentally friendly", "ecologically friendly", "anti-microbial" and "anti-bacterial".
• Guarantees, such as "Full refund" or "If not satisfied, send it back".
• Company information, website links, external hyperlinks or contact details.
• Repetition. Each bullet must say something different.

The guidelines also ask for no comparisons with competitor brands and no subjective, performance or comparative claims that cannot be checked. Award or accolade claims need the date and the awarding body on the page, and survey claims need their source and date.

Amazon said it would remove non-compliant content and suggest improved bullets, written with AI, for sellers to review before they are published. Writing compliant bullets yourself keeps the words yours, and the facts in them right.

What should each Amazon bullet point answer?

Each Amazon bullet point should answer one of the five or so questions a shopper has:

1. What is the main benefit? The reason most people buy it, with the fact behind it.
2. Will it fit? Size, dimensions, capacity, compatibility.
3. What is it made of, and how do I care for it? Materials, finish, cleaning.
4. How do I use it, or what does it work with? Set-up, uses, the things it pairs with.
5. What do I get? What is in the box, and anything not included.

Your reviews and questions, and those on similar products, tell you which questions matter most for your product. If shoppers keep asking whether it is dishwasher safe, the answer belongs in a bullet, not in a reply.

How do you write an Amazon bullet point?

Each Amazon bullet point follows the same pattern: a short header with a colon, then the detail, in a sentence fragment with no end full stop.

• Header first. Two to four words naming the point: "Leak-proof lid:", "Fits most cup holders:".
• Fact before adjective. "Holds 750 ml" before "generous".
• One idea per bullet. Two features in one bullet hide one of them.
• Keywords where they fit. Amazon's guides suggest using related terms and features shoppers search for in the bullets, naturally.
• Nothing you cannot prove. If the claim needs a test result, you need the test result.

What makes a good bullet point header?

The header is the part of a bullet a skimming shopper reads, so it should carry the point by itself:

• Name the benefit or the question: "Keeps drinks cold:", "Size and fit:", "In the box:".
• Two to four words. A header that runs to a sentence defeats its purpose.
• The same style on all five, so the bullets look like a set.
• No claims in the header that the detail does not back up.

Read only the five headers, one after another. If they tell a shopper what the product does, how big it is, what it is made of, how to use it and what arrives, the bullets are working.

How do Amazon bullet points look on a phone?

On a phone, long Amazon bullet points wrap into blocks of text, and the first few words of each carry most of the weight, so open the listing on a phone after you save. If a bullet's point only appears in its second line, move it to the start.

What do good Amazon bullet points look like?

Good Amazon bullet points look like the four sets below. The products are made up for this article, and each set follows Amazon's format: a header, a colon, a sentence fragment, no end full stop.

An insulated water bottle

• Keeps drinks cold: double-wall vacuum insulation keeps water cold through a long day out
• Size and fit: 750 ml; 26 cm tall and 7.5 cm wide, fits most bike cages and car cup holders
• Leak-proof lid: screw-top lid with a silicone seal and a carry loop
• Easy care: lid is dishwasher safe; rinse the steel body by hand
• In the box: one bottle and one lid; no straw included

A cotton bath towel set

• Soft and absorbent: 600 gsm cotton terry that dries quickly between uses
• Set of four: two bath towels at 70 x 140 cm and two hand towels at 50 x 90 cm
• Made from: 100% cotton, imported
• Care: machine wash warm with like colours; tumble dry low
• Colours: white, stone, sage and navy

A wireless computer mouse

• Quiet clicks: soft-touch buttons for shared offices and late nights
• Connection: USB receiver and Bluetooth; switch between two devices with one button
• Battery: one AA battery, included
• Fit: ambidextrous shape, 11 cm long, for small and medium hands
• Works with: Windows, macOS, ChromeOS and Linux

A children's raincoat

• Keeps them dry: waterproof shell with taped seams and a peaked hood
• Sizes: ages 3 to 8, with a size chart in the images
• Safe design: no drawstrings at the hood or neck; reflective strips front and back
• Care: machine wash cold; hang to dry
• Made from: polyester shell with a cotton jersey lining

Notice what they leave out: emojis, symbols, "eco-friendly", guarantees, and claims that cannot be checked. The raincoat bullet on drawstrings matters for more than style: US rules treat hood and neck drawstrings on children's outerwear as a hazard. Our page on children's clothing rules explains.

Before and after

A bullet written before the 2024 rules:

✅ BEST QUALITY GUARANTEED!!! Our amazing eco-friendly bottle is the PERFECT gift for everyone, 100% satisfaction or your money back, keeps drinks cold for 24 hours and hot for 12 hours, fits everything, BPA free, leak proof

What is wrong with it, by the guidelines: an emoji, words in capitals, a guarantee, "eco-friendly", claims a shopper cannot check, and five different points in one bullet.

The same information, rewritten as compliant bullets, keeping only what is true and provable:

• Keeps drinks cold: double-wall vacuum insulation, tested to keep water cold for [the hours your test report shows]
• Leak-proof lid: screw-top lid with a silicone seal
• BPA-free lid: lid made from BPA-free plastic; body in 18/8 stainless steel

The rewrite is longer in total and much easier to read. Each bullet carries one point, and the hours come from your test, not a guess.

What are the most common Amazon bullet point mistakes?

Old habits, five bullets about one feature and unprovable claims are the most common Amazon bullet point mistakes:

• Writing to the old habits: capitals, emojis and exclamation marks, all restricted since August 2024.
• Five bullets about one feature. Each should answer a different question.
• Marketing story instead of product facts. The guidelines ask for features and benefits, not the brand's story.
• Unprovable claims: "best", "number one", "lasts forever".
• Variant details that differ from the variant. Keep the facts the same for every variant, and do not mention products outside the listing.
• Keyword lists. A bullet that reads as a row of search terms helps nobody.

How do you write bullet points for variations?

For an Amazon listing with sizes or colours, the bullets usually cover the whole family. Mention the range ("Available in 500 ml, 750 ml and 1 litre") rather than one size, unless the bullets are written for each child listing separately. Whatever you write must be true of every variation it appears on.

How do bullet points differ from the title and description?

Each part of an Amazon listing has a different job, and the bullets answer the questions shoppers read first:

Do not repeat the title in a bullet, and do not copy the bullets into the description. Each part adds something.

For the title, see our guide to Amazon's title rules; for the description, our guide to the Amazon product description.

A bullet checklist

1. Five bullets, each more than 10 and fewer than 255 characters, ideally around 100.
2. A header and a colon at the start of each.
3. A capital at the start, no end full stop, no product attributes in all capitals.
4. No special characters, emojis, guarantees, links or contact details.
5. None of the prohibited phrases.
6. Each bullet answers a different question.
7. Every claim is a fact you can show.

How Commicorn helps

• Five bullets written from your facts, each within Amazon's limit, with a header and a colon, in Amazon's format.
• Amazon's rules applied for you. Banned symbols and emojis are removed, the first letter is capitalised, end punctuation is dropped, and the prohibited phrases are kept out, with the reason shown.
• Your keywords placed naturally in the bullets, from your keyword research.
• Every bullet yours to change before you export.

Commicorn writes bullets from your product's facts. Start free.

Questions sellers ask

How many bullet points can you have on Amazon?

Five for sellers and ten for vendors, with at least three, under Amazon's guidelines as a listing software firm copied them from Amazon's help page.

What is the character limit for Amazon bullet points?

Each bullet must be more than 10 and fewer than 255 characters, and Amazon's SEO guide suggests 100 characters or fewer.

Can I use emojis in Amazon bullet points?

No. Since 15 August 2024, Amazon restricts emojis, special characters and some phrases in bullets.

Can I say "eco-friendly" in an Amazon bullet point?

No. "Eco-friendly", "environmentally friendly", "anti-microbial" and "anti-bacterial" are among the phrases Amazon's bullet guidelines prohibit.

Should Amazon bullet points end with a full stop?

No. Amazon's guidelines ask for sentence fragments with no full stop at the end, each starting with a capital letter.