But it counts for both , when it comes to how Amazon views you as a seller . If your products get bad ratings like when someone gave one of my products a 3 star review because it was expensive , it affects your rating with Amazon . And for what it ' s worth , you can and I would argue should contact the seller first if there ' s a problem . If you do that , it gives the seller a chance to make it right , without geting Amazon involved , which also hurts the seller ' s rep with Amazon . So far , I ' ve only had one customer have a problem with one of my products , and I couldn ' t have been happier they contacted me first . It was DOA , and I apologized profusely , refunded them immediately , and sent them an email asking if they want a new one for free . They never responded , but they got their money back at leastand more importantly , they didn ' t get Amazon involved .