Customer reviews and star ratings are intended to help buyers make informed decisions and to provide valuable feedback to businesses. On paper, this system sounds like a win-win scenario. However, in practice, the review system is riddled with flaws that disproportionately harm small businesses, misinform customers, and create unnecessary barriers to success. As a small business owner, I have seen firsthand how the current review system is broken and how it can devastate hardworking entrepreneurs. I’ve touched on this topic before in another post, which you can read here: "The Ripple Effect of Customer Reviews in the Handmade Marketplace".

The Impact of a Single Negative Review

Recently, one negative review on Amazon effectively tanked the star rating of our best-selling Monarch Butterfly ornament, dropping it to 3.9 stars. The review simply stated: “Very expensive for this small ornament. Very disappointed!” This may appear to be harmless criticism, but its implications were far-reaching.

Despite providing clear dimensions in our listing images, descriptions, and even showcasing the ornament in a hand for scale, the reviewer either didn’t read the details or ignored them. As a result, this listing was pushed down in Amazon’s rankings — an automated punishment from the platform’s algorithm. Lower visibility meant fewer sales, which further damaged the listing’s performance. All because one buyer didn’t take the time to review the information presented.

The harsh reality of platforms like Amazon is that their algorithms heavily weigh recent reviews. If a listing has only a few reviews, even one or two negative ones can significantly affect its visibility. On Amazon, less visibility equates to fewer sales — a vicious cycle that’s nearly impossible to break.

Would you buy a product with a 3.9-star rating? Would you recommend it to your friends or family? Many shoppers wouldn’t, and the algorithm knows it. We consider this listing a dead listing now, and don't hold much hope that it will recover.

The Challenges of Competing with Overseas Manufacturers and Hobbyists

Most of the negative feedback we receive revolves around price versus size.

Small businesses like ours face an uphill battle competing with mass-manufactured products from overseas, which can be sold at a fraction of the cost. These cheap imports flood the market, making it hard for us to highlight the value of our handmade creations.

On top of this, we also compete with hobbyists — individuals within the handmade community who treat their craft as a hobby, not a business. These hobbyists often price their products too low, sometimes even losing money or breaking even, because they don't factor in the real costs of running a business. Their underpricing creates an unfair market, undermining small businesses like ours that understand the true value of our products and the costs of maintaining quality and sustainability.

Our ornaments are handmade in Texas, carefully designed, and produced using materials sourced from other small businesses whenever possible. We pride ourselves on supporting our community by hiring local talent, but this commitment to quality and ethical production comes with higher costs. Despite this, many buyers unfairly compare our handcrafted items to these mass-produced and hobbyist-made goods. The price versus size fallacy needs to be addressed.

Consider this: Diamonds are tiny, yet they can cost a fortune due to their rarity and significance. A fine wine may come in a small bottle, but its value lies in the time and care it takes to perfect it. Would you want an oversized ornament that dominates your tree, overshadowing the other meaningful pieces? Probably not. The value of a product isn’t defined by its size alone; it’s the craftsmanship, purpose, and the thought behind it that truly matter. Just like a diamond’s value isn’t measured by its size, our ornaments’ worth lies in the artistry, the support they provide to a small American business, and the memories they help create.

The Unfairness of Current Review Systems

The issues with review systems extend far beyond Amazon. Platforms like Etsy also heavily rely on star ratings, using them as criteria for programs like the Star Seller badge. To qualify, sellers must:

• Respond to messages within 24 hours.
• Maintain a ratings average of 4.8 or higher.
• Ship orders on time with tracking.
• Meet a minimum sales threshold.

These criteria sound reasonable until you realize how unforgiving they are. A single 3-star review during the holiday rush nearly cost us our Star Seller status. It used to be that in order to offset just one 4-star review, we would need 19 perfect 5-star reviews just to maintain our rating. This is an almost insurmountable challenge for small businesses with limited sales volume.

What’s worse is that many customers leave low ratings without providing feedback. How can businesses improve if they don’t know what went wrong? Customers rarely realize the devastating impact their reviews can have on a business’s visibility, sales, and overall success.

The "Always Room for Improvement" Mindset

Another common dilemma is the principle some people hold of never leaving a perfect 5-star review. Their reasoning? “There’s always room for improvement.” While this mindset is understandable and even admirable in its pursuit of excellence, it inadvertently harms small businesses more than it helps.

When someone loves a product but insists on leaving a 4-star review due to this principle, they might not realize they are severely affecting the business’s standing in the algorithm. For small businesses, star ratings aren’t just opinions — they are lifelines. Algorithms don’t consider the nuances of a 4-star review; they see it as less-than-perfect and often penalize the product accordingly.

If you find yourself hesitant to leave a perfect score but genuinely love the product, it’s better to leave no review at all. That way, you avoid unintentionally contributing to a system that punishes the very businesses you appreciate.

A Call for a Better Review System

The current review system desperately needs an overhaul. Fake reviews, unverified buyers, and the lack of accountability for leaving low ratings — especially without feedback — all contribute to its flaws.

Imagine a more balanced system where:

• Buyers leaving a 3-star rating or below are required to provide specific feedback.
• They also indicate whether they contacted the business to resolve the issue before posting the review.
• Businesses can provide their side of the story, similar to how Uber allows mutual ratings for drivers and riders.
• Reviews only become visible once both parties have shared their perspectives, ensuring a more accurate and fair representation of the transaction.

Such a system would not only hold buyers and sellers accountable but also foster better communication and understanding. Businesses could proactively address issues before they escalate, and customers would have more confidence in the reviews they read.

Final Thoughts

Reviews are powerful tools that can build or break a business. As buyers, we all have a responsibility to use this power thoughtfully. Understand that your feedback, whether positive or negative, has far-reaching implications for the businesses you choose to support.

Thank you for taking the time to read our thoughts on the review system. If you haven’t yet, we’d love for you to take a moment to check out our customer reviews and, if you’ve made a purchase with us, kindly consider leaving a review. Your feedback means the world to us and helps us continue to grow and serve you better!