Amazon Seller Ratings

How to Use Them to Gauge Seller Success

Amazon seller ratings. We've all seen them, but what do they really mean? These are the ratings customers give to sellers, not for the product, but for the seller's service. It's about communication, shipping speed, packaging, handling returns, and the overall buying experience. However, only a tiny fraction of customers - less than 1% - leave a seller review. So, let's dive a bit deeper.

How to Interpret the Ratings?

The ratings are often shown as a percentage but don't be fooled by that simple number. With so few reviews coming in, the percentage can be skewed. A seller with a high rating isn't always the best in the business, and one with a lower rating isn't necessarily doing a poor job. It's just not that black and white.

Here's where it gets interesting. Amazon shows the number of reviews a seller has gotten in the last month, the last three months, the last twelve months, and their total over a lifetime. This is where you can start to get a real feel for how a seller is doing.

Let's say a seller has more reviews this month than the average for the last twelve months. That could mean business is booming or that they're in their busy season. But if a seller's twelve-month rating is much lower than their lifetime rating, it might mean they're hitting a rough patch.

Remember, though, not to jump to conclusions quickly. A drop in reviews doesn't always mean a drop in business. It might just mean fewer customers are leaving reviews. It's all part of the puzzle.

Using Ratings to Understand Seller Business

Digging into the numbers, seller ratings can be a goldmine of information. For example, the number of ratings can be a reasonable proxy for order volume - two sellers with similar numbers of ratings likely have comparable business sizes. But it's not just about the number; it's also about the trend. A sudden increase or decrease in ratings could hint at inventory challenges or reveal seasonality in the seller's business.

However, while Amazon provides the raw numbers, there is a need for a more nuanced interpretation of the data. This is where TrackSellers.com steps in. With our platform, we not only provide the raw data but also help make sense of it. Our tools can organize and interpret this data, providing more insightful analysis and allowing you to make more informed decisions.

We've only scratched the surface of the power of seller ratings. In a future issue, we'll dive deeper into how to use a seller's rating history to evaluate their business. Stay tuned for that!