Amazon’s vision is to be earth’s most customer-centric company, and providing excellent customer service is one of the best ways to ensure that your target audience will continue purchasing from you. The rate at which you can sell your products on Amazon is highly influenced by your seller reputation on the platform. Good or bad feedback can make or break your business!
What is Amazon Seller Feedback?
The platform’s seller feedback system is based on the idea that Amazon wants to provide customers with a space where they can share their experiences with specific sellers. They have 90 days from the date of purchase to leave seller feedback and you are measured on a scale from 1 to 5 stars. Amazon uses this to help other customers determine how trustworthy you are as a seller.
The Difference Between Seller Feedback And Product Reviews
As a seller, it’s important that you know the difference between these two terms that are often mistakenly interchanged so that you can observe where to improve your business practices.
Amazon Seller Feedback is solely for evaluating shipment and delivery processes of FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) orders, if they are advertising the product properly, packaging the product well, as well as the satisfaction gained from customer service.
Product Reviews, on the other hand, are related to the product itself. Customers often write about quality & authenticity, value for money, ease of use, functionality, and other factors of the product. Having this section provides fellow customers with an opportunity to read and make an informed decision before purchasing.
Why Does The Difference Matter?
There is a distinction between the two because there are instances when the individual running a business’s customer service is not involved with the order fulfillment and product listings.
For example, if Amazon categorizes seller feedback and product reviews together, a customer may leave a very vague negative statement as a review. The seller would not know if the customer was dissatisfied with the product itself or with the fulfillment of the order or customer service. Success on Amazon is heavily determined by a seller’s ability to identify where they need to focus on improving their business.
How Is Amazon Seller Feedback Retrieved From Customers?
Under a customer’s order history, they can click on a “Leave seller feedback” button. Amazon will ask the buyer to rate your performance through the following potential yes-or-no questions:
- Item as described by seller?
- Prompt and courteous service?
The questions Amazon asks tend to vary.
In addition, Amazon asks the buyer how likely they would be to recommend the seller to other customers, if the product was packaged well, and if the customer would purchase from this seller again in future orders.
How Can I Improve My Amazon Seller Feedback Score?
Now that you understand how seller feedback highly influences how well your business performs, here are a few tips on how Amazon sellers can earn positive seller feedback:
Make Customer Service A Priority
Be prompt and polite in responding to Amazon buyer messages. Make sure you know how to reply to Amazon messages. Amazon has a strict policy against sellers who engage in any form of rude or unprofessional behavior and they want to maintain a safe and trustable environment for customers. Ensure you are replying within 3 hours during Amazon operating hours (8AM-10PM EST).
Improve Inventory Management
If Amazon starts receiving multiple complaints about receiving damaged or incorrect items, Amazon will begin looking into your inventory management practices. If Amazon believes that an issue is due to how you are managing your products, Amazon can require that you remove the product from Amazon’s fulfillment centers if it needs repairing or replacing.
Comply With Amazon’s Seller Code Of Conduct
Amazon is serious about maintaining its integrity as a safe place for customers to shop and expects sellers to adhere to the Seller Code of Conduct.
Regarding Seller Feedback, Amazon has the following written on their Seller Code of Conduct article:
” You may not attempt to influence or inflate customers’ ratings, feedback, and reviews. You may request feedback and reviews from your own customers in a neutral manner, but may not:
- Pay for or offer an incentive (such as coupons or free products) in exchange for providing or removing feedback or reviews
- Ask customers to write only positive reviews or ask them to remove or change a review (This may cause you to have a problem of an Amazon review not showing up)
- Solicit reviews only from customers who had a positive experience
- Review your own products or a competitors’ products “
Amazon has banned many sellers who have not complied with Amazon’s Seller Code of Conduct and will suspend or even terminate your selling privileges. Amazon takes selling on its platform seriously and it is important to be compliant with Amazon policy at all times.
What Can I Do To Deal With Unfair Amazon Seller Feedback?
If there is any seller feedback that is less than desirable, there are measures you can take to influence Amazon to act on it. Amazon values its relationship with its sellers and does not want your business to be negatively affected unfairly.
I’m Currently In Contact With An Unhappy Customer
In Amazon’s Feedback Manager, you can reply directly to the customer who has submitted a negative review to your seller account. Take note that customers have 60 days after leaving feedback to remove it. It is important that the seller attempts to resolve the issue with the customer in an amicable way, and Amazon recognizes this as ultimately better for everyone involved – Amazon, the seller, and the customer.
I’ve Received An Unfair Product Review On My Seller Feedback Page
Reviews left by customers that are entirely revolved on product reviews do not count as seller feedback. It is also not considered fair seller feedback if the entire comment left by the customer revolves around orders or customer service fulfilled by Amazon.
If you do not have any luck in requesting the customer to remove the feedback, you can contact Amazon through the Feedback Manager to request feedback removal.
I’ve Received An Unfair Review Of Me As A Seller
As mentioned, it’s generally recommended that the seller makes attempts to resolve the issue directly with the customer before bringing it to Amazon. Amazon’s general rule is that they do not remove feedback on behalf of the customer even if it is unwarranted or if the issue has been resolved.
However, Amazon’s Seller Central states that they will remove feedback in the following cases:
- The feedback includes words commonly understood to be obscene or profane.
- The feedback includes seller-specific, personally identifiable information, including email addresses, full names, or telephone numbers.
- The entire feedback comment is a product review. For example, “The Acme Super-Widget lacks the sharpness and speed of the Acme Ultra Widget.”
However, if the comment contains both a product review and feedback about your service, we will not remove the feedback. For example, “Seller’s shipping service was very slow, and the Acme Super-Widget lacks the sharpness and speed of the Acme Ultra Widget.”
For full information on monitoring feedback and performance, read Amazon’s article here.
Final Thoughts
The Amazon Seller Feedback system is a valuable part of the platform’s strategy to help them understand how to be fair in providing a great experience for both sellers and customers. Amazon wants its sellers to be able to share their success stories with the world, so they strongly encourage sellers to build on their relationships with customers by being aware of their policies and communicating in ways that will benefit all involved. Need more Amazon business advice? Visit the Sourcing Monster blog!