Last week, Amazon rolled out a major change to Amazon seller feedback. Allowing buyers to submit star-only ratings (1–5 stars) without leaving a comment – the biggest shift in the feedback system in years.
What is Amazon Seller Feedback and Why It Matters in 2025
Seller Feedback is one of the most crucial metrics for Amazon Sellers. It serves as a public report card, demonstrating to buyers which sellers consistently deliver quality products and which might pose a higher risk. Even more significantly, this rating directly impacts your ability to secure the Buy Box.
Feedback Trends: Volume Down, Negativity Up
The rate of feedback submissions has been steadily declining – today, less than 1% of buyers leave seller feedback. Even more concerning, the share of negative feedback has increased. In 2020, 92% of feedback was positive; five years later, that number has dropped to 84%. The reasons behind this shift are debated: rising delivery expectations, inflation-driven price increases, and the difficulty of leaving feedback may all play a role. Regardless, sellers feel the negative impact on their reputation and performance on Amazon.
How Amazon Has Tried to Increase Seller Feedback
To address some of these issues, Amazon has already taken steps to encourage buyers to leave more feedback for sellers. In 2018, Amazon began contacting a small percentage of buyers, recommending that they leave product reviews and seller feedback. Later in 2020, they also launched their Solicitations API, enabling sellers to request feedback messages be sent automatically for specific orders.
Amazon’s Star-Only Seller Feedback Update (August 2025)
Until now, buyers had to leave a comment to submit seller feedback, but as of 4th August 2025 this will become optional. Amazon hopes this will lower the barrier for feedback, boosting the overall volume. Their own pre-release testing supports this idea.
Amazon has emphasized that when leaving a star rating of 1-3, buyers will still need to select a reason from a dropdown menu. However, sellers worry that removing the comment requirement could lead to more negative feedback that’s harder to address, even if overall ratings improve.
What star-only seller feedback means for sellers.
Amazon’s forums have been inundated with sellers expressing concerns – especially confusion between Seller Feedback and Product Reviews. Some sellers fear more negative feedback from FBA delivery issues will stick because without comments, it’s harder to get feedback removed.
Here’s what this update could mean for your business:
More feedback volume expectedWith comments no longer required, buyers can now leave a star rating in seconds. Amazon’s own testing shows this reduces friction and can significantly boost feedback volume. For sellers, this means you’ll likely see more ratings — both positive and negative — in your account metrics.
Less context for negative feedback
No comment means less clarity on why a buyer rated you poorly, making it harder to identify the root cause and to challenge the feedback with Amazon. This could lead to more ratings that remain on your account, even if they would have been removable before.
Potential shift in feedback tone
While more ratings might sound positive, some sellers fear the easier process could lead to quick, emotionally driven low-star ratings from buyers. This is particularly relevant for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) orders where sellers have limited control over shipping, yet may still receive negative seller feedback if deliveries are late or packages are damaged.
Smaller margin for mistakes
Minor issues in fulfilment, packaging, or customer communication can now more easily translate into permanent score drops.
Impact on Buy Box eligibility:
Seller feedback is one of several performance metrics Amazon uses when awarding the Buy Box. A drop in your feedback percentage can reduce your chances of winning it, directly affecting your sales.
What can sellers do?
The best defense is delivering exceptional service. Treat every customer well, address concerns quickly, and learn from any negative ratings to avoid repeating mistakes. Companies with the best feedback genuinely consider customer concerns and feedback, constantly seeking ways to improve their service. Investigate every negative feedback to understand what went wrong and ensure that experience isn’t repeated.
Sellers can also utilize services such as Repricer.com’s inbuilt feedback request tool. With Repricer.com Feedback, you can
- Automatically request seller feedback and product reviews from your buyers
- View your feedback in one page
- Receive instant email alerts for negative feedback
Time will tell if Amazon’s big gamble will pay off – we’ll be sure to keep you posted on any changes announced as these updates are rolled out.
The Bottom Line
In summary, the Amazon seller feedback system is changing in 2025 with the introduction of star-only ratings. Amazon’s gamble may boost overall feedback volume – but with fewer details attached to ratings, sellers must monitor feedback closely, protect their Buy Box eligibility, and deliver flawless service to keep their ratings strong.
We’ll continue monitoring the rollout and share any new developments as they happen.
