Seller Feedback: Your Reputation as a Merchant
What is Seller Feedback?
Seller Feedback is the rating a buyer gives about you as a seller — not about the product. It evaluates the purchase experience: Was the delivery on time? Did the item match the description? How was communication when problems arose?
You find your Seller Feedback in Seller Central under "Performance" and then "Feedback." There you see an overall rating (1-5 stars) and the individual feedback entries from the last 12 months.
How buyers leave Seller Feedback
After a purchase, the buyer can click "Rate your seller" on the order page. They give 1-5 stars and can optionally leave a comment. The questions Amazon asks relate to:
- Timeliness of delivery
- Condition of the item upon arrival
- Accuracy of the product description
- Seller customer service
Why Seller Feedback matters
Seller Feedback directly influences two central areas:
Account Health: Amazon continuously monitors your seller metrics. Your feedback score is a factor in the Order Defect Rate (ODR), which must stay below 1 percent. If your feedback score drops too far, you risk restrictions on your seller account up to and including suspension. Amazon recommends a positive feedback rate of at least 95 percent.
Buy Box eligibility: Amazon's Buy Box algorithm considers your Seller Feedback as one of several factors. Sellers with consistently high feedback (above 95 percent positive) have a measurable advantage in Buy Box allocation compared to sellers with lower feedback. The exact influence varies — price and fulfillment method carry more weight — but with all other conditions being equal, feedback tips the scale.
More on the Buy Box: Amazon Buy Box Explained
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Product Reviews: The Rating of Your Product
What are Product Reviews?
Product Reviews are ratings that buyers give about a specific product. They appear directly on the product page, below the product description. They rate the quality, functionality, and value of the product itself — regardless of which seller sold it.
A crucial difference: Product Reviews are tied to the ASIN, not to the seller. If three different merchants sell the same product, they share the same Product Reviews. A new seller joining an ASIN immediately benefits from existing reviews — but also carries the burden of negative ratings.
How Product Reviews work
Conversion rate: Products with more and better reviews convert significantly better. The jump from 0 to 5 reviews increases conversion by an average of 15 percent. Products with over 50 reviews and at least 4 stars convert up to twice as well as comparable products without reviews.
Organic ranking: Amazon's search algorithm considers review count and quality when determining placement in search results. More positive reviews lead to higher visibility, which in turn leads to more sales and more reviews.
Purchase decision: 93 percent of Amazon shoppers read reviews before buying. They look not only at the star rating — buyers read the detailed experience reports, examine the most common criticisms, and check whether the seller responds to negative reviews.
For detailed strategies on building reviews: Amazon Reviews 2026: How to Get More Reviews
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The Comparison Table
| Criterion | Seller Feedback | Product Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| What is rated? | The seller (delivery, service, communication) | The product (quality, function, value for money) |
| Where visible? | Seller profile page, "Other Sellers" list | Product detail page, below the description |
| Tied to | Your seller account | The ASIN (shared by all sellers) |
| Influences | Account Health, Buy Box eligibility, trust | Conversion rate, organic ranking, purchase decision |
| Star rating | 1-5 stars | 1-5 stars |
| Comment | Optional | Optional (usually present) |
| Relevant period | Last 12 months | Visible indefinitely |
| Removable? | Yes, under certain conditions | Yes, if it violates guidelines |
| Who sees it? | Buyers who check "Other Sellers" | All visitors to the product page |
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How Seller Feedback Influences the Buy Box
The Buy Box is the decisive mechanism on Amazon — over 82 percent of all sales flow through it. Your Seller Feedback plays a concrete role:
Minimum requirement: Amazon does not mandate an explicit minimum rating for Buy Box eligibility, but sellers with a positive feedback rate below 90 percent demonstrably have worse Buy Box rates. A rate of at least 95 percent positive is recommended.
Rotation share: When multiple sellers offer similar prices and identical fulfillment methods, feedback determines the share of Buy Box rotation. Sellers with 98 percent positive feedback receive a larger rotation share than sellers with 92 percent — all other conditions being equal.
Trust signal: For buyers who actually open the "Other Sellers" list (roughly 10-18 percent), Seller Feedback is a decisive factor. A seller with "96% positive feedback (2,847 ratings)" appears more trustworthy than one with "84% positive feedback (47 ratings)."
Threshold effects: Certain feedback thresholds have disproportionate effects. The jump from 89 percent to 95 percent positive is significantly more valuable than the jump from 95 to 98 percent. Below 90 percent, Buy Box rates begin to decline noticeably.
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Getting Negative Seller Feedback Removed
Not every negative feedback has to stay. Amazon removes feedback under certain conditions:
Product-related feedback
When a buyer leaves Seller Feedback that is actually a product review ("The product does not work" or "Poor quality"), Amazon can remove this feedback. The reason: Seller Feedback should evaluate the seller, not the product. Report such feedback through Seller Central noting that it is product-related.
FBA-related feedback
For orders fulfilled through FBA, Amazon assumes responsibility for shipping and item condition. If negative feedback relates to late delivery or damaged packaging on an FBA order, Amazon strikes through the feedback and adds a note: "This item was fulfilled by Amazon, and we take responsibility for this fulfillment experience."
Offensive or inappropriate feedback
Feedback containing personal insults, offensive language, or obviously false claims violates Amazon's guidelines and can be reported.
How to report feedback
Go to Seller Central, then "Performance," then "Feedback." Select the relevant feedback and click "Request removal." Clearly and objectively describe why the feedback violates the guidelines. Amazon reviews the request and decides within a few days. The success rate for product-related feedback is roughly 50-60 percent and for FBA-related feedback over 80 percent.
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Feedback, Reviews, and Repricing: How They Work Together
Good Seller Feedback and good Product Reviews create an advantage that an intelligent repricer can leverage:
Seller Feedback and Buy Box: If your Seller Feedback is above average (over 97 percent positive), you have a bonus in Buy Box allocation. This means: you do not necessarily have to be the cheapest seller to win the Buy Box. Your repricer can keep your price slightly above the cheapest competitor — and you still win your share of Buy Box rotation.
Product Reviews and price tolerance: Better Product Reviews increase conversion. If your listing has more and better reviews than a competitor on the same ASIN, you convert better — which Amazon also views positively in Buy Box allocation. Here too: you can afford a slightly higher price.
The combination: Sellers with excellent feedback and strong Product Reviews have the freedom to configure their repricer more aggressively toward margin rather than volume. Instead of pushing the price to the minimum, you use a strategy like backoff mode in arbytrage.io, which resets the price to the maximum after reaching the minimum. You still hold the Buy Box — because your overall profile is stronger than the competition's.
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> Good feedback pays off twice — for the Buy Box and for your price. arbytrage.io ensures your repricing leverages your rating advantage. Across all EU marketplaces, starting at EUR 40/month. Sign up free
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can a buyer leave both Seller Feedback and a Product Review?
Yes. Both are separate rating systems on Amazon. A buyer can evaluate the seller via Seller Feedback and the product via Product Review after a purchase. In practice, however, few buyers do both — most leave either one or the other.
Does Seller Feedback count toward Product Reviews or vice versa?
No. The two systems are completely separate. Seller Feedback feeds into your seller score (visible on your profile and in the "Other Sellers" list). Product Reviews feed into the product's star rating (visible on the product page). An excellent seller score does not improve the product rating and vice versa.
What do I do when a buyer submits a product review as Seller Feedback?
This happens frequently. When a buyer writes about the product in their Seller Feedback ("Product defective," "Color does not match the image"), report this feedback to Amazon explaining that it is a product review rather than an evaluation of seller service. Amazon removes such feedback in the majority of cases.
How quickly does new feedback affect the Buy Box?
The effect is not immediately measurable. Amazon calculates your Buy Box eligibility and rotation share based on your metrics over longer periods (30, 90, and 365 days). A single negative feedback will not cause your Buy Box rate to collapse overnight — but a downward trend over several weeks will. Conversely, it also takes several weeks before improved feedback has a positive effect.
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> Your feedback score gives you a Buy Box advantage. Use it. With arbytrage.io, you optimize your prices to extract maximum margin from your good reputation — automatically, across all EU marketplaces. Get started now
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Summary
Seller Feedback and Product Reviews are two different rating systems on Amazon that influence different areas of your business:
- Seller Feedback rates you as a merchant, affects Account Health and Buy Box eligibility. Recommended: at least 95 percent positive rate
- Product Reviews rate the product, affect conversion rate and organic ranking. They are tied to the ASIN and shared by all sellers
- Negative Seller Feedback can be removed if it is product-related (rather than seller-related) or FBA-related
- Good feedback and good reviews together allow you to maintain higher prices because your overall profile secures the Buy Box even without rock-bottom pricing
- An intelligent repricer like arbytrage.io leverages this rating advantage and maximizes your margin instead of just chasing the lowest price
Invest in both rating systems: excellent customer service for Seller Feedback, quality products and permitted review strategies for Product Reviews. Together, they form the foundation for long-term success on Amazon.
Continue reading: Amazon Repricer Comparison 2026