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September 3, 2025

How to become an Amazon Top Rated Seller?

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Every seller wants one thing: to be an Amazon top-rated seller. But learning how to become an Amazon top-rated seller isn’t just about fulfilling orders – it starts long before a sale is made.

Amazon tracks everything from the products you list to how you handle messages, claims, and returns. One misstep can trigger account health issues or even account suspension. That’s why becoming and staying top-rated requires more than luck – it demands data, strategy, and daily discipline.

In this post, we’ll break down exactly how to protect your rating, what metrics matter most, and how Seller Assistant helps sellers like you stay in Amazon’s good graces.

What Is the Amazon Seller Rating, Really?

Your Amazon seller rating is Amazon’s way of measuring how well you’re doing as a seller. It reflects your performance, reliability, and how closely you follow Amazon’s rules. A strong seller rating is the foundation of long-term success – it increases your chances to win the Buy Box, improves visibility, and lowers the risk of account suspension.

Your performance rating is shown inside Seller Central → Performance → Account Health. There, you’ll find your Account Health Rating (AHR), which is Amazon’s traffic light system:

Green: Healthy (you’re doing fine)
Yellow: At risk (you need to fix something now)
Red: Unhealthy (you're close to suspension or already under restriction)

In the Account Health Dashboard, you’ll find detailed metrics that directly influence your account’s health.

Order defect rate (ODR)

This combines negative feedback, A-to-Z Guarantee claims, and chargebacks. ODR is one of the most critical indicators. Keep it below 1% to stay compliant.

Late shipment rate

Measures how often you ship orders after your handling time. A late shipment rate above 4% signals unreliability and hurts your ability to win the Buy Box.

Cancellation rate

If you cancel too many orders (especially due to being out of stock), Amazon sees it as poor inventory management. Stay under 2.5% to avoid performance alerts.

Valid tracking rate (VTR)

Amazon requires valid tracking IDs for at least 95% of your shipments. Failing to meet this threshold shows you're not providing a reliable customer experience.

Customer feedback

Buyers can leave 1- to 5-star ratings, which appear on your storefront.

5–4 stars = positive
3 stars = neutral
2–1 stars = negative

Amazon calculates your feedback score based on the percentage of positive feedback in 30, 90, and 365-day windows. This affects how trustworthy you appear to buyers. You can check and manage this under Performance → Feedback Manager.

A-to-Z claims and chargebacks

If customers feel their issues aren’t resolved, they may file a claim or chargeback. These are red flags and damage your metrics fast – even if you're not at fault.

Policy violations and IP complaints

Listings that break Amazon’s rules or infringe on intellectual property will result in strikes on your account. These are tracked under Policy Compliance in the Account Health dashboard.

Your product choice matters – more than you think

Many sellers overlook this: your product sourcing decisions directly impact your rating. Selling a risky product – one that gets returned often, attracts negative reviews, or triggers IP complaints – can destroy your metrics even if you fulfill every order perfectly.

To protect your rating

Avoid gated or brand-restricted products unless approved
Check ASINs for IP history and previous suspensions
Steer clear of items with quality, sizing, or compliance complaints
Use tools like Seller Assistant to vet every product before you buy

Where to track all your metrics

The tools below give you real-time visibility into your standing – and early warnings if something’s going wrong.

To monitor your full performance picture:

Seller Central → Performance → Account Health Dashboard (AHR, policy, metrics)
Feedback Manager (buyer feedback and percentages)
Performance Notifications (warnings, alerts)
Voice of the Customer (product-level issues, return reasons).

Best practices to retain the seller rating

Problem	Possible Causes	Solutions
Stock-out	Inventory is not available	Do not list backordered items. Maintain a minimum threshold of inventory. Remove offerings that are consistently out-of-stock.
	Inventory quantity is not accurate	Send inventory update feeds up to every 15 minutes. Process Amazon orders quickly. Set aside dedicated inventory for Amazon orders. Use partial update in text files with only SKU and quantity data. Add multiple listings using inventory files.
	Drop-shipper inventory isn't up to date	Monitor availability and ship times closely. Synchronize back-end systems.
Late shipment	Product takes longer to ship than promised	Set accurate lead-time-to-ship for each SKU. Use the Add a Product feature or XML latency element. Notify buyers of delays, upgrade shipping if needed. Remove consistently late offerings.
Late shipment	Buyer missed shipment notification	Send tracking info with your fulfillment feed.
Product not as described	Product image does not accurately depict its features	Use clear, maximum-size images with multiple views. Ensure images meet Amazon requirements.
Product not as described	The size or material is different than expected	Use custom sizing charts and fill out dimensions.
Wrong size or wrong product	Incorrect product shipped	Check packing, picking, and shipping accuracy. Ensure SKU matches correct Amazon listing.
Product quality	Buyer not satisfied with product quality	Accurately describe the product, avoid misleading terms. Remove products with consistent negative feedback. Include usage instructions on page and shipment.
Customer service issue	Buyers cannot reach your customer service department	Ensure correct phone/email on Amazon Help pages. Use short, clear email addresses. Adjust spam filter settings.
Customer service issue	Buyers are not getting timely responses	Acknowledge all inquiries within 24 hours.
Removal of feedback	Incorrect feedback	Use Feedback Manager to request removal. Reply publicly to resolve issues and build trust. See Can Amazon remove feedback.

The Most Overlooked Factor: the Products You Choose

Many sellers focus on fulfillment and shipping speed – but overlook the biggest driver of seller rating: the product itself. Your product choices directly impact how your account performs.

Why? Because products with frequent complaints, defects, or listing changes often lead to returns, negative reviews, and policy violations – all of which damage your Account Health.

Worse, selling flagged or infringing products can trigger immediate IP complaints, result in listing removal, or even account suspension.

To avoid these risks and protect your seller rating, only source products that meet three essential conditions:

Steady demand
Strong profit margins
Low risk of policy issues

Use tools like Seller Assistant to instantly check all product metrics in bulk with price list scanning or single products with in-depth research.

Seller Assistant is an end-to-end Amazon workflow management platform that integrates 10+ wholesale-focused solutions into one connected system. It combines workflow automation, bulk research, sourcing intelligence tools, and integrated Chrome extensions – giving you everything you need to streamline product sourcing, supplier management, and purchase order creation.

The platform aggregates: workflow management tools – Purchase Orders Module, Supplier Database, Warehouse Database to organize, automate, and scale every step of your wholesale and arbitrage operations; bulk research & sourcing tools – Price List Analyzer, Bulk Restriction Checker, Sourcing AI, Brand Analyzer, Seller Spy to evaluate supplier price lists, verify selling eligibility and restrictions, open new brands, and discover winning product ideas from competitors to expand your product catalog; Chrome extensions – Seller Assistant Browser Extension, IP-Alert Extension, and built-in VPN by Seller Assistant to deep-research products, check IP claims and compliance, and access geoblocked supplier sites directly within your browser; and integrations & team access features – seamless API connectivity and integrations with Zapier, Airtable, and Make, plus Virtual Assistant Accounts for secure, scalable team collaboration.

With Seller Assistant, every step of your Amazon wholesale and arbitrage workflow is automated and connected.

How to evaluate the product before sourcing

Eligibility and restrictions

Before checking profitability, make sure you’re actually allowed to sell the product.
Avoid gated categories and restricted brands unless your account is approved
Check if you can sell a product on your Amazon account. Don’t list until you confirm eligibility – guessing leads to performance strikes

Profitability metrics

A product might sell fast – but does it profitably? Calculate using Amazon’s fee structure:

Profit = Selling price – COGS – Amazon fees – logistics – tax
ROI target = 15–30%+
Margin target = 15%+
Compare FBA vs. FBM options. One often outperforms the other, depending on weight, size, and storage.

Demand indicators

You want products that sell consistently, not one-hit wonders. Look for:

BSR (Best Sellers Rank): Aim for products ranked between 1–200,000
BSR trend: Steady = strong. Spikes = seasonal or unstable
BSR drops: The more drops, the higher the sales volume
Sales velocity: Avoid listings with <1% velocity – they’ll just eat storage fees

Competition levels

More sellers = tighter margins. But too few sellers can be a red flag.
FBA seller count: 3–15 is manageable
Avoid reselling private label listings: One-seller listings are usually locked down
Buy Box share: If it’s dominated by one seller (or Amazon), skip it

Price history behavior

Use tools like Keepa to spot price stability.
Average Buy Box price sets expectations
Price trend: Frequent drops = race to the bottom
Avoid listings with volatile prices unless you plan to undercut aggressively (not ideal for rating protection).

Product risks to avoid

Some products look profitable on paper but come with hidden risks. Red flags include:

Amazon dominating the Buy Box
Fragile, meltable, or hazmat items
Adult category (restricted ads, packaging limits)
Generic or unbranded listings (you can’t add an offer)
High return or defect rate products
Any ASIN with previous IP complaints or policy strikes

Sales volume and unit planning

Always estimate realistic monthly sales – especially for multipacks or variations.
Don’t assume all variation colors/sizes sell equally
Make sure you’re sourcing the correct configuration
Buying too much of the wrong variation = dead stock + losses

By choosing products carefully, you prevent most of the problems that lower your seller rating. Smart sourcing is the first – and best – line of defense.

Seller Assistant Helps You Pick Products That Boost Rating

To protect your seller rating and scale profitably, you need a reliable way to find products that sell well, earn strong margins, and carry minimal risk. Seller Assistant supports product research in two powerful ways:

Bulk scanning of supplier lists for scalable product discovery

Deep research of single products for high-confidence sourcing decisions

Both strategies help resellers quickly identify profitable, low-risk products – while filtering out items that could lead to IP complaints, policy violations, or poor performance.

Strategy 1. Supplier price list scanning for scalable product discovery

Supplier price list scanning is the go-to method for sellers who work with large catalogs or spreadsheets of SKUs. It’s designed to quickly sift through hundreds or thousands of items and surface the most profitable opportunities.

How this strategy works

Get a supplier file (wholesale), or scrape/export data from supplier websites (OA or dropshipping).
Feed the list into Seller Assistant’s Price List Analyzer.
The tool automatically matches each product with Amazon listings, enriches the data with sales, profitability, and risk insights, and flags potential issues.
Manual scanning takes hours and risks missed opportunities. Automation makes the process fast, accurate, and scalable.

Tools you’ll need

Seller Assistant’s Price List Analyzer is built for bulk scanning. It transforms a plain spreadsheet into a decision-ready sourcing file.

With it, you can

Instantly match supplier items to Amazon ASINs
Auto-populate with sales insights (BSR, velocity, trend history)
See profitability metrics (ROI, margins, break-even, net profit)
Track Buy Box behavior and price history over 30/90/180 days
Review fees (Amazon referral, FBA/FBM, storage, prep, hazmat)
Check seller competition, Buy Box rotation, Amazon in-stock rate
Flag restricted ASINs, hazmat, meltables, or IP risk products
Like/Dislike items and build sourcing shortlists
Export filtered lists directly into purchase orders

Who this strategy is best for

Wholesale sellers with big supplier catalogs
OA and dropshippers scanning scraped product data at scale

Strategy 2. Deep research of individual products

If bulk scanning helps you scale, deep product research helps you control quality and minimize risk. This strategy is ideal for sellers who want precision over volume. With it, you hand-pick products one by one where the supplier cost is significantly lower than the Amazon selling price.

Though slower than bulk sourcing, deep research builds sourcing intuition, gives product-level insights, and ensures that every item you add to your inventory is profitable, compliant, and low-risk. Wholesale sellers often use this strategy to vet deals auto-selected with bulk research.

How this strategy works

You start by browsing Amazon or supplier sites for promising products. With the Seller Assistant Extension, all the key data you need – profitability, sales demand, competition, restrictions, and hidden risks – appears directly on the Amazon product and search pages, supplier websites, and Amazon competitor storefronts. This means you can make confident sourcing decisions in real time without switching between spreadsheets and tools.

Tools you’ll need

Seller Assistant Extension turns your browser into a complete sourcing dashboard. It overlays insights directly on Amazon product pages, search results, supplier catalogs, and even competitor storefronts.

Key features of Seller Assistant Extension

Product Page View: Shows ASIN, UPC/EAN, BSR, dimensions, monthly sales, seller count, and other essential product metrics
Quick View: Displays restrictions, IP alerts, sales velocity, and seller data on search results
Side Panel View: Matches products directly on supplier sites with Amazon listings
Storefront Widget: Reveals competitor’s brands, categories, reviews, and top-performing items
Sourcing AI: Discovers up to 10 U.S. suppliers per product with
Sales Estimator & Stock Checker: Projects monthly sales and checks seller stock levels
FBM&FBA Profit Calculator: Calculates ROI, profit, margins, fees, VAT, and logistics
Restriction Checker: Instantly check selling eligibility and restrictions
IP Alert: Spots IP complaints and Amazon policy violations
Alerts and Flags: Flags risks like hazmat, adult, meltable, fragile, generic brands, or Amazon as a competitor
Offers: Analyze all competitor offers on a listing – prices, stock, and Buy Box share
Variation Viewer: Identifies best-selling variations by review share
Keepa Integration: Provides long-term sales and pricing trends
Google Sheets Export & Notes: Send data to Sheets, save supplier links, and add team comments

Who this strategy is best for

Online arbitrage sellers who need detailed validation before buying
Dropshippers checking risk factors before listing
Wholesale sellers verifying individual deals that automation might miss

Core Performance Metrics Every Top-Rated Seller Must Control

Smart product selection sets the stage for success – but once the right items are in your catalog, you need to keep your performance metrics within Amazon’s thresholds. These numbers are non-negotiable: fall below the standards, and your seller rating – and even your entire account – can be at risk.

Amazon measures success with metrics. Staying within limits isn’t just about avoiding penalties – it’s what keeps you visible, competitive, and trusted as a seller.