Amazon Sellers: Should You Add Inserts Requesting Reviews?

When a seller asked if it was okay to add handwritten notes in orders sent to Amazon customers asking them to leave reviews (the "Inserts or No Inserts" debate), it resulted in a lively discussion on the Amazon boards that's hitting some hot-button issues.

- Do Amazon's policies prohibit sellers from including inserts inside packages asking Amazon buyers to leave reviews? 

- Do customers appreciate handwritten notes, or are they a turn-off because it makes the seller look "unprofessional"? (It seems to matter what the product is, according to some sellers - supplements versus handmade items, for example.)

- Is the buyer Amazon's customer or the seller's customer?

- Do Amazon Seller Support reps provide information consistent with Amazon policies enforced by Seller Performance reps? And can you rely on Seller Support responses if later accused of violating policy Seller Support said was okay?

- Who do you trust to have the best answers about policy compliance?

In order for a company the size of Amazon to enforce policies consistently, it must have created some documentation and training materials for Seller Performance reps. Why doesn't it share that with sellers, I wonder?

Providing sellers with some examples of what's allowed and what's not allowed would be tremendously helpful, particularly when it comes to inserts in packages and if asking customers to leave reviews is allowed.

Here's the discussion on Amazon Seller Central. How important are reviews, and what techniques work for you? What other questions do you wish Amazon would clarify once and for all?