Amazon Feedback Score: How Do You Stack Up?

"What's your Amazon feedback score?"

If a fellow Amazon merchant asked you this question, what would be your response? Some might say 99% positive. Others might say 4.9 stars. Still others may choose to focus on their less than 1% negative rating.

So, What's the Correct Answer?

To address this question, we need to first explain the difference between two key metrics: Amazon negative feedback rate and Amazon feedback rating. This post seeks to set the record straight.

What is the Amazon Negative Feedback Rate?

Amazon defines the negative feedback rate as follows: "the number of orders that have received negative feedback divided by the number of orders in the relevant period." Expressed as a percentage, the Amazon negative feedback rate is one of the three bits of information that Amazon uses to determine the "order defect rate" (the other two being A-to-z guarantee claims and credit card chargebacks).

When it comes to negative feedback, Amazon obviously encourages sellers to aim low. Achieving zero negative feedback (even if you routinely request removal) is probably not realistic for most sellers. The simple truth is that some buyers are impossible to keep happy, no matter the quality of service you provide to them. Keeping your negative feedback rate below 5% will most likely keep you in Amazon's good graces. Although, it is worth noting that Amazon classifies a 0% to 2% rating as "great."

To view your negative feedback rate in the Seller Central dashboard, look under "customer service performance" in the "account health" tab. If you're an FBA merchant, you'll notice that negative feedback is grouped into two camps: orders fulfilled by you and orders fulfilled by Amazon.

What is the Amazon Feedback Rating?

The "Amazon feedback rating" is probably what most sellers (and customers for that matter) think of when discussing this topic. Simply navigate over to any seller profile page, and you'll see what I'm talking about. This rating is also displayed for each merchant listed on the "Other Sellers on Amazon" page for a given item.

Amazon displays the feedback rating in the form of a percentage (over a 12-month period). A seller with a perfect negative feedback rate would likely also have an Amazon feedback rating that reads: "100% positive in the past 12 months."

What about neutral feedback? How does this impact your overall feedback rating? Good question. As Amazon points out here, only 4-star and 5-star feedbacks count toward your score. Neutral (and of course negative) feedback is excluded from the calculation.

For a more concrete example, consider the following situation. Let's say over the previous 365 days, you've racked up the following stats:

• 5-star feedbacks: 800
• 4-star feedbacks: 190
• 3-star feedbacks: 5
• 2-star feedbacks: 3
• 1-star feedbacks: 2

In this scenario, your most visible feedback rating should say: "99% positive in the past 12 months." I say "most visible" because Amazon also exposes a more detailed breakdown of your feedback (further down your seller profile). Interested parties can also view the following stats:

• Positive feedback percentages for 30, 90, 365-day and lifetime periods
• Neutral feedback percentages for 30, 90, 365-day and lifetime periods
• Negative feedback percentages for 30, 90, 365-day and lifetime periods
• Total feedback counts for 30, 90, 365-day and lifetime periods

In short, the ratio of positive to total feedback is highly visible. But, as you can see, other ratios are available to those who care to view them.

Improve Both Metrics

Regardless of feedback score terminology, one thing is definitely true: Amazon merchants would be well advised to increase positive feedback while decreasing negative ratings. Using a tool like FeedbackFive can help you achieve both goals.

Our software offers a robust suite of features, which helps you automate your feedback solicitation and removal workflows. We've helped customers successfully manage millions of feedbacks, and we're excited at the opportunity to help you improve your Amazon feedback score.