Seller levels and performance standards

Seller levels

We assess your seller performance on the 20th of each month. Based on your sales history and the quality of service you provide to your buyers, you'll be assigned one of the following seller levels:

• Top Rated – You're one of the best sellers on eBay, providing a great experience to customers, and you've met certain other criteria
• Above Standard – You're meeting at least our minimum standard for sellers, and looking after your customers well
• Below Standard – You're not meeting our minimum standard for sellers

Tip
Take a look at your Seller Dashboard - opens in new window or tab to check your level. If your level is Below Standard, you'll find information on how you can improve.

How your performance is rated

Your seller performance level is calculated by looking at your transaction defect rate, cases closed without seller resolution, and late deliveries.

To see how each of these measures can affect your seller rating, please see our article on seller performance standards.

Transaction defect rates

One of the key seller performance measures is your transaction defect rate. A defect is added to your account if you cancel a buyer's purchase – whether that is because you no longer have the item in stock or you chose not to send it. A defect is also counted for a case closed without seller resolution.

To avoid letting down buyers and receiving a defect due to an item being out of stock:

• Closely manage your inventory – If your stock levels change, end your listing or update the quantity as soon as possible
• Check our restock advice – Go to the Research tab in Seller Hub to see which listings are running low
• Enable our out-of-stock feature – If you use multi-quantity, Good 'Til Cancelled listings, this feature automatically hides listings when the stock quantity falls to zero

Cases closed without seller resolution

If we're asked to step in and help with an eBay Money Back Guarantee case, and you're found to be responsible for the issue, this will result in what we call a "case closed without seller resolution". We count these in your transaction defect rate, and also as a percentage of your transactions closed without you resolving them.

To avoid these cases:

• Describe your item accurately. Use pictures and include specifics in your listing, so your buyers know exactly what to expect
• Provide clear return and payment policies in your listing
• Work with your buyer to resolve issues promptly

Late delivery rates

To provide your buyers with a great service, it's important to make sure you send your items on time. Late delivery rates are determined by the percentage of transactions that you either sent after the dispatch time stated in your listing, or were not delivered by your estimated delivery date.

We'll only consider a delivery as late if:

• Tracking shows the item was delivered after the latest estimated delivery date, unless there's an acceptance scan within your dispatch time or there's confirmation from the buyer of on-time delivery
• The buyer confirms the item was delivered after the estimated delivery date, unless there's an acceptance scan within your dispatch time or there's delivery confirmation by the latest estimated delivery date

Tip
Feedback no longer affects your seller performance. For more information, see our article on Replying to Feedback you received for an item you sold.

Becoming a Top Rated Seller

Becoming a Top Rated Seller indicates that you consistently deliver outstanding customer service, and also makes you eligible to receive a prominent eBay Premium Service badge on qualifying listings.

To become a Top Rated Seller you'll need to:

• Have an eBay account that's been active for at least 90 days
• Be registered as a business seller on eBay.ie or eBay.co.uk
• Have at least 100 transactions and €1,000 (£1,000) in sales during the last 12 months with UK and Irish buyers
• Comply with eBay's selling practices policy
• Meet the requirements for transaction defect rate, cases closed without seller resolution, and late delivery rate. You'll find the requirements in the tables below

If you've met these performance standards requirements on eBay.co.uk or eBay.ie, we'll automatically upgrade you to the Top Rated Seller status at your next evaluation.

Number of defect rates that affect your rating

Transaction defect rate
Transactions with one or more of the defects listed below.

Cases closed without seller resolution
Cases where eBay was asked to review the case and the seller was found responsible. (Applies after account has exceeded maximum number of cases).

Late delivery rate
Transactions where you didn't send the item within your dispatch time or the item was delivered after the estimated delivery date.

Find out more about our Seller performance standards.

If your seller level is Below Standard

Your seller level can fall to Below Standard if your transaction defect rate is above 2% or if your percentage of cases closed without seller resolution is above 0.3%.

Buyers can't see that your seller level is Below Standard. However, since it means that you're not meeting one or more of our minimum standards for sellers on eBay, we'll review your overall account history and we may place limits or restrictions on your account.

The consequences of falling Below Standard can include:

• Your items may be placed lower in search results
• We may limit or restrict you from selling on your account and related accounts, or from registering a new account
• Funds from your sales may be held
• You may be charged higher final value fees. See our Fees for business sellers article for more information
• You will be blocked from using the Promoted Listings tool, and will not be able to create new campaigns or edit existing campaigns
• We may downgrade your eBay Store to the Basic level if you've been Below Standard for more than 60 days
• You'll be unable to deduct an amount from the buyer's refund if an item is returned used or damaged

Usually, we will only apply permanent selling restrictions when your account has been evaluated as Below Standard for at least 2 consecutive months. However, we may take action at any time if we have urgent concerns about your account; for example, if we've detected fraud or if your selling practices pose a threat to the buyer experience. The actions we take will be proportional to the nature of the issue we have identified and what is reasonably required to protect the interests of all eBay users and eBay as provider of the services.

If we apply any limits or restrictions on your account, we'll send you an email to let you know. For information on what steps you can take to improve, see our Seller performance standards policy.

eBay Premium Service

Once you've reached Top Rated status, you can choose to provide eBay Premium Service for some or all of your listings. Any qualifying listings will show the eBay Premium Service badge to let buyers know that you offer high levels of customer service.

For your listings to qualify for eBay Premium Service, they must:

• Offer a free domestic delivery option within 3 working days*
• Offer an express delivery option within 2 working days for no more than £10
• For items over £20, all of the delivery services must be designated tracked services, and valid tracking must be uploaded within the dispatch time. This includes auction-style listings and Best Offers where the final price is over £20

Returns must be based on your item’s location in order for you to qualify for eBay Premium Service:

• If the item location is in the same country as the eBay site you listed on, you need to offer 30-day domestic returns
• If the item location isn’t in the same country as the eBay site you listed on, you need to offer 30-day international returns

For more information see our Seller Centre page on eBay Premium Service.  

*Items listed under the Authenticity Guarantee programme must be received by the authentication centre within 3 working days with tracking information.

Detailed seller ratings

For additional insight into a seller's performance, buyers can also view your detailed seller ratings. This is a breakdown of how you've been rated by your buyers in the following areas:

• Item description – How accurately was the item described?
• Communication – Did you communicate well with your buyer?
• Postage time – How quickly did you send the item?
• Postage and dispatch charges – Were the costs reasonable?

You can view your detailed seller ratings by selecting the number in brackets next to your username. Here you'll find stars next to the four different areas, with 1 star being the lowest rating and 5 stars being the highest.