Amazon is introducing “star-only” seller feedback ratings on Monday, August 4th, calling it a “simplified” submission experience that could help sellers receive more seller ratings faster. Previously buyers had to leave comments along with their star ratings for sellers (as opposed to product ratings).
But sellers are objecting to the change, and many cited reasons why the new seller-feedback system could hurt rather than help them. One seller said, “In the entire history of bad Amazon ideas, this is definitely top 3.”
A seller said sellers need the context that comments provide, which also helps identify situations where buyers confuse seller feedback with product feedback. It can also show when a customer dissatisfaction stems from a problem caused by Amazon FBA fulfillment rather than anything the seller did.
The seller explained:
“While we understand the intent may be to simplify the process and encourage more submissions, this change has significant negative consequences for sellers and ultimately undermines the feedback system itself. Below are the reasons why this is a highly problematic decision:
- Star Ratings Without Comments Provide No Context
Sellers depend on written feedback to understand customer concerns, address service issues, and improve operations. A standalone star rating tells us nothing — was it an issue with shipping, packaging, response time, or something unrelated to our service altogether? Without a comment, the feedback is vague, unhelpful, and impossible to interpret or act upon.
- Most Customers Still Don’t Understand the Difference Between Seller Feedback and Product Reviews
This has been a longstanding issue on Amazon. Many buyers confuse the two systems, frequently submitting product reviews as seller feedback. As a result, sellers often receive comments that have nothing to do with their service — such as “great quality phone case” or “screen protector broke.” These are clearly product-related but end up in the seller feedback section.
If you now allow star-only ratings without text, it becomes completely unclear whether the buyer meant to review the seller or the product. Without any written indication, the seller cannot determine what the rating refers to — nor can Amazon’s automated tools accurately assess relevance.
- FBA-Related Issues Are Often Blamed on Sellers
It is also common for customers to leave negative feedback for issues entirely outside the seller’s control, such as delivery delays, package mishandling, or missing items — all of which fall under Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). In many cases, customers are unaware that the seller did not handle these aspects directly. If written comments are removed, we lose our ability to identify and request removal of FBA-related feedback, which Amazon currently allows when properly documented.
- No Appeal Option for Star-Only Ratings is Unfair
Disabling the appeal process for star-only ratings strips sellers of their right to challenge unjust or incorrect feedback. We rely on the appeal system to maintain fair and accurate records. Without it, a single star rating — even if accidental, abusive, or totally unrelated, may unfairly impact our account health and performance metrics, with no way to respond or correct it.
- This Undermines the Integrity of the Feedback System
Removing written comments lowers the overall quality and usefulness of the feedback system for both sellers and buyers. Future customers gain no insight into what went well or poorly, and sellers are left guessing. Honest and transparent feedback requires context. Otherwise, it’s just a number — one that can be misinterpreted or misused.
- Star-Only Ratings Can Harm Sellers Without Due Process
Seller feedback influences our Order Defect Rate, performance reviews, and even Buy Box eligibility. Allowing star-only ratings with no explanation and no recourse exposes sellers to unnecessary risk, especially given the growing number of mistaken or misused feedback entries.
We urge Amazon to reconsider this change. At a minimum, we recommend that:
- The appeal process remain available for all ratings, including star-only.
- Buyers are strongly encouraged (if not required) to provide written feedback, especially when rating negatively.
- Amazon improve customer education to clarify the difference between product reviews and seller feedback.
- Feedback suspected to be product-related or related to FBA should be clearly flagged and removable.
We appreciate your attention to this matter and hope Amazon will uphold fair and transparent practices for all sellers.
Amazon posted the announcement in a thread on the seller discussion boards on Tuesday, as follows:
Amazon ‘Simplifies’ Feedback
Update to seller feedback experience: Introducing star-only ratings
On August 4, 2025, we’ll launch a simplified seller feedback submission experience, so customers can give a star-only rating with optional written feedback. This simplified review experience can help you receive more seller ratings faster.
Honest and authentic star ratings are an important way for customers to know how past order experiences were perceived by other customers. To make it easier for customers to submit ratings, we’re making written feedback optional, which will help increase rating submissions and give customers more information to confidently make purchase decisions.
When customers submit seller feedback with or without text, we automatically look for signs of abuse and evaluate them against our community guidelines. When there is no text, the feedback appeal feature in Feedback Manager will be disabled for all star-only rating reviews. If you believe the star-only rating violates our community guidelines, you can request additional review through Report a violation.
To learn more, go to Monitor Feedback and Performance.
Calling it a terrible policy change, a seller commented, “All of our 1 and 2 star seller feedbacks have been related to FBA, which we’ve appealed and negative feedbacks were removed. Now customers will see negative stars on our seller feedback which actually have nothing to do with us as a seller. It will be misleading for customers and negatively affect their purchase decisions. We hope Amazon will reconsider this policy change.”
Another explained, “90% of my feedback are product reviews. So now we can not get bad ones removed.”
Amazon’s announcement about the changes to seller feedback quickly garnered 58 comments along with 80 thumbs down and only 1 thumbs up.
I agree – comments add important context. But then Amazon has always had a two-faced relationship with sellers, especially when sellers are competing with Amazon itself.