Seller Feedback vs Product Reviews on Amazon: What’s the Difference? (2026)

By Gulfam Haidar, Founder, GrowEventure. Last updated September 2026.

Feedback Vs Reviews Amazon: quick summary

In short, this guide covers feedback vs reviews amazon in plain terms. Below you will find the key points on feedback vs reviews amazon, a breakdown you can act on today, and clear answers to the most common questions about feedback vs reviews amazon.

On Amazon, seller feedback rates your service as a seller, such as shipping, packaging, and support, and it feeds your Order Defect Rate. Product reviews rate the item itself and appear on the product page. Feedback tied to an FBA shipping issue can be removed, and policy violating feedback can be removed. Genuine product reviews usually cannot. They are two separate systems with two separate fixes.

Sellers confuse these all the time. They ask Amazon to remove a product review thinking it is feedback, or the reverse, and the request goes nowhere. This guide gives you a crisp side by side, shows where each appears, tells you which one affects your account, and explains exactly what is removable.

The core difference in one line

Here is the difference in one line. Seller feedback is about you. Product reviews are about the product.

Seller feedback answers the question, how was this seller to buy from? It covers whether the item arrived on time, arrived well packaged, and matched the listing, plus how you handled any problem. A product review answers a different question, is this product any good? It covers quality, function, and value, no matter who sold it.

Keep that line in mind and most of the confusion clears up. Everything below builds on it.

Here is why the mix up is so common. Both use a five star scale, both let buyers add written comments, and both can feel like a judgment on your business. From a buyer’s seat they blur together. From a seller’s seat they could not be more different, because one can end your account and the other cannot. Learning to tell them apart at a glance is one of the highest value skills a new seller can pick up, since it decides where you spend your effort when a bad rating lands.

Where each appears

The two ratings live in different places, which is a fast way to tell them apart.

Seller feedback appears on your seller profile, the page shoppers reach when they click your store name. It rolls up into your seller feedback rating, the star score next to your seller name. Product reviews appear on the product detail page, under the item, mixed with reviews from everyone who bought that product from any seller.

So if a rating sits on the product page, it is a product review. If it sits on the seller profile, it is seller feedback. Same star shape, different home, different meaning.

There is a visibility gap that matters for your business. Shoppers browsing a product see the product reviews right there, so those reviews shape most buying decisions on that page. Seller feedback is one click away on your profile, and many buyers never look at it, especially for FBA orders where Amazon handles delivery. That does not make feedback less important to you, because Amazon watches it closely even when buyers do not. It just means the two ratings do different jobs. Reviews mostly sell the product. Feedback mostly protects your account.

Which one affects your account

This is where the difference gets practical. One rating touches your account health. The other mainly touches sales.

Seller feedback feeds your Order Defect Rate, or ODR. Negative seller feedback counts toward ODR, and ODR must stay under 1 percent, per Amazon Seller Central. A rising ODR pulls down your Account Health Rating and can put your account at risk. So seller feedback is not just cosmetic. It affects whether you keep selling. Our guides on the Order Defect Rate and the Account Health Rating explain how the numbers connect.

Product reviews do not feed ODR. They affect conversion, which is how many shoppers who see your listing decide to buy. A strong review profile lifts sales. A weak one lowers them. It matters for revenue, but it does not directly threaten your account the way seller feedback can.

What you can remove (and how)

Removal is where sellers waste the most effort. Here is what is actually removable.

Seller feedback can be removed in specific cases, per Amazon’s feedback removal policy. If the order was fulfilled by Amazon under FBA and the feedback is about a shipping or packaging problem Amazon caused, Amazon will typically strike it, often marking it to show the issue was on Amazon. Feedback that breaks policy can also be removed, such as feedback that is really a product review, contains a product review only, includes profanity, or shares personal information. You request removal through the feedback tools in Seller Central.

Product reviews are much harder to remove. A genuine review, even a harsh one, stays. Amazon only removes a product review when it violates the Community Guidelines, for example if it contains hate speech, profanity, or clearly is not about the product. You cannot get a fair negative review taken down. The fix for product reviews is to improve the product and earn better ones.

There is one useful exception on product reviews. Sometimes a buyer leaves a one star product review that is actually a complaint about slow shipping or damaged packaging, which is a seller service issue, not a product issue. A review that is entirely about shipping or packaging can breach the review guidelines, and you can report it on that basis. This is a narrow case, but it comes up often, because frustrated buyers do not always know which box they are typing in. When you spot a product review that never mentions the product itself, it is worth reporting.

For seller feedback, the removal request is quick and specific. You open the feedback in Seller Central, select the reason it qualifies, and submit. FBA shipping complaints and policy breaches are the two strong grounds. Requests outside those grounds usually fail, so do not waste time asking to remove feedback that simply reflects a bad but genuine experience you caused. Fix the service gap instead.

How to earn more of each the right way

Because they are separate systems, you grow each one differently.

To earn more product reviews, use the Request a Review button on every eligible order and enroll new products in Amazon Vine. Both are compliant and target the product review. Our guide on how to get reviews on Amazon covers the safe methods in full.

To earn better seller feedback, deliver great service. Ship on time, package well, and respond fast when a buyer has a problem. If you use FBA, Amazon handles shipping, which protects your feedback from delivery slips. Good service is the whole game for feedback, because feedback rates the buying experience.

This is a strong argument for FBA if feedback and Order Defect Rate worry you. Under FBA, Amazon controls the shipping speed, the packaging, and the returns process, and it takes responsibility for its own delivery mistakes. That both lifts your service quality and gives you removal grounds when Amazon slips. A seller who fulfills orders themselves under FBM owns every shipping outcome, good or bad, and every late or damaged delivery can turn into negative feedback that counts against the account. Our guide on the Order Defect Rate explains how those service outcomes flow into the metric that can suspend you.

Responding the right way

You can respond to both, but the right response differs.

For product reviews, you may leave a public comment in some cases and, more usefully, act on the feedback by fixing the product or clarifying the listing. Do not offer anything in exchange for changing or removing a review, since that breaks the rules.

For seller feedback, you can contact the buyer through Amazon’s messaging system to resolve the issue that led to the low feedback, within Amazon’s rules. If the buyer is satisfied, they may remove or update their feedback on their own. You cannot pressure them, and you must stay inside buyer seller messaging policy.

When you do reach out about feedback, lead with a genuine fix, not a request to change the rating. Solve the problem first, whether that is a refund, a replacement, or an answer to their question. A buyer whose problem you solved often updates their feedback without being asked. A buyer who feels pressured to change a rating may report you instead. The goal of the contact is to make the customer whole, and the improved feedback, if it comes, is a byproduct of good service rather than the point of the message.

Common mistakes

A few mistakes come up again and again. Avoid them and you save hours.

The first mistake is asking Amazon to remove the wrong type. Sellers ask to remove a product review as if it were feedback, and the request fails. Check where the rating lives first, then use the right tool.

The second mistake is trying to remove a fair negative product review. That rarely works, and the energy is better spent improving the product.

The third mistake is breaking messaging rules while chasing a feedback change. Do not spam buyers or offer incentives. Stay within Amazon’s messaging policy, or you risk a violation of your own.

The fourth mistake is ignoring seller feedback because it feels less visible than product reviews. Product reviews sit on the busy product page, so they grab attention, while seller feedback hides on your profile. But seller feedback is the one that feeds your Order Defect Rate, so ignoring it is backwards. Check your seller feedback regularly, request removal where you have grounds, and treat a run of poor feedback as an early warning about your service, not a cosmetic annoyance.

The fifth mistake is treating a review or feedback problem as a one time fix instead of a signal. If several buyers complain about the same thing, the rating is telling you something real about your product or your service. Removing or answering one bad rating does nothing if the cause remains, because the next order brings the next complaint. Read your ratings for patterns. A repeated product flaw calls for a product fix. A repeated shipping issue calls for a fulfillment fix, or a move to FBA. The rating is data, and the durable fix is to act on the cause. Keeping an eye on the Account Health Rating helps you see when feedback is starting to threaten the account.

Seller feedback vs product reviews

Attribute	Seller feedback	Product review
Rates what	Your service as a seller	The product itself
Where it shows	Seller profile	Product detail page
Affects ODR/Account Health?	Yes	No, affects conversion
Removable?	Yes for FBA shipping issues and policy breaches	Rarely, only policy violations
How to improve	Great service, on-time shipping	Request a Review, Vine, better product

If negative feedback is hurting your Order Defect Rate, or you are unsure which ratings you can remove, book a free call. Our account management service handles feedback removal requests and account health for sellers who want it managed.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between feedback and reviews on Amazon?

Seller feedback rates your service and shows on your seller profile. Product reviews rate the item and show on the product page.

Does seller feedback affect my account?

Yes. Negative feedback feeds your Order Defect Rate, which affects your Account Health Rating.

Can I remove a product review?

Rarely. Amazon only removes reviews that break its Community Guidelines, not fair negative reviews.

Can I remove seller feedback?

Yes in some cases, such as FBA shipping issues Amazon caused and feedback that breaks policy.

Where does each appear?

Seller feedback appears on your seller profile. Product reviews appear on the product detail page.

How do I get more product reviews?

Use the Request a Review button and enroll new products in Amazon Vine.

Sources: Amazon Seller Central feedback removal policy and product review guidelines.

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