Unfair Rating System: My Experience with Vine and Customer Reviews
Hello, I recently started selling a new product. During the product launch, I enrolled in the Vine program with 10 units. From the Vine program, I received seven 5-star reviews and three 4-star reviews. My average rating was 4.7.
Afterward, from regular sales, I received one 1-star review, one 3-star review, and two 5-star reviews.
As a result:
9 reviews with 5 stars,
3 reviews with 4 stars,
1 review with 3 stars, and
1 review with 1 star.
Despite only having one 1-star review and one 3-star review, my product’s average rating is now 3.7. This is by no means a fair average rating. Looking at the results of these reviews, I can clearly understand why people try to buy ratings.
Unfair Rating System: My Experience with Vine and Customer Reviews
Hello, I recently started selling a new product. During the product launch, I enrolled in the Vine program with 10 units. From the Vine program, I received seven 5-star reviews and three 4-star reviews. My average rating was 4.7.
Afterward, from regular sales, I received one 1-star review, one 3-star review, and two 5-star reviews.
As a result:
9 reviews with 5 stars,
3 reviews with 4 stars,
1 review with 3 stars, and
1 review with 1 star.
Despite only having one 1-star review and one 3-star review, my product’s average rating is now 3.7. This is by no means a fair average rating. Looking at the results of these reviews, I can clearly understand why people try to buy ratings.
Cooper_Amazon
Good Morning @Seller_i38gMSzlAzfVy,
The partner team came back to me and shared that the information provided to you on Case ID 16479469321 is valid and accurate.
"To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness"
You can find this policy information on the following help page here. I know this is not the news that you were hoping for but at least we were able to have a second pair of eyes review the case. Please let me know if you have any questions about the outcome of this case.
Sincerely, Cooper_Amazon
9 respuestas
Seller_LImVvUWeyiCfQ
Fair or not (and I don't disagree with you by any means), Amazon doesn't use a straight average. Instead, they use this:
"How we calculate overall star ratings
Amazon calculates a product's star rating using machine-learned models instead of a simple average.
These models consider factors such as how recent the rating or review is and verified purchase status. They use multiple criteria that establish the authenticity of the feedback. The system continues to learn and improve over time.
We do not consider customer ratings without an Amazon Verified Purchase status in a product's overall star rating until a customer adds more details in the form of text, image, or video."
How we calculate overall star ratings
"The system continues to learn and improve over time."
One can only hope. 🙄
Cooper_Amazon
Good Evening @Seller_i38gMSzlAzfVy, it looks like you were able to get some guidance from @Seller_LImVvUWeyiCfQ here on the forums about your question on Vine and customer review calculations.
If their reply helped you, feel free to mark it as “Most Helpful reply” using the 3 dots in the corner of their post. This helps other sellers find the answer to your question at the top of the post just in case they find themselves in a similar situation.
I also noticed you reached out to Selling Partner Support on CASE ID ending in 9321 and they shared with you some additional feedback on how the Vine and customer reviews are captured.
I am going ahead and reaching out to one of our internal teams to take a second look at the situation but cannot guarantee any changes may occur to your average review score for this particular ASIN. I will follow up with you as soon as I hear back from the partner team. Until then have a wonderful rest of the week.
Sincerely, Cooper_Amazon
Cooper_Amazon
Good Morning @Seller_i38gMSzlAzfVy,
The partner team came back to me and shared that the information provided to you on Case ID 16479469321 is valid and accurate.
"To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness"
You can find this policy information on the following help page here. I know this is not the news that you were hoping for but at least we were able to have a second pair of eyes review the case. Please let me know if you have any questions about the outcome of this case.
Sincerely, Cooper_Amazon
