Building customer loyalty often takes time and multiple successfully fulfilled orders, while a single mismanaged order can erode the trust that was so difficult to gain.
That’s why eBay, like all other major online marketplace providers, pays close attention to the quality of its customers’ shopping experiences.
The platform’s Seller Standard policy establishes the guidelines businesses should follow when handling all aspects of customer interactions, from how often buyers report having a negative experience with a seller to how many issues the seller hasn’t resolved.
eBay’s Seller Standard is more than just a set of guidelines sellers should follow because the platform uses it to evaluate sellers monthly and assign them the appropriate ranking.
Furthermore, consistently failing to meet the seller performance requirements can affect the store’s listing ranking in the Best Match results or lower selling limits.
Let’s explore eBay’s Seller Standard and Service Metrics policies, and see what you’ll need to do to secure the Top Rated seller level.
Key takeaways
- eBay evaluates all sellers every month and assigns them an appropriate level based on their performance results.
- The platform may limit the merchant’s selling activity if they fall below the minimum service standards.
- All metrics eBay uses to evaluate seller performance are available in the Seller Dashboard.
- A seller can change their level every month by improving their overall performance.
- Service metrics ratings are determined by how well a seller manages buyer issues compared to other sellers with similar inventories and target audiences.
- Sellers are assigned Top Rated, Above Average, and Below Average levels based on the outcome of the evaluation.
What is seller performance on eBay, and why does it matter?
As one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, eBay attracts millions of shoppers and sellers across the globe.
The ecommerce giant introduced the Seller Standards policy as a way of measuring the performance of its sellers and keeping the customer satisfaction rates high.
The performance review is conducted on the 20th of each month and consists of two parts. If a seller had more than 400 transactions during the last three months, the evaluation takes into account those transactions.
The platform considers transactions from the last 12 months if a seller had fewer than 400 transactions in the previous three months at the time of the evaluation.
Performance is measured in areas within the seller’s control, such as how often items from a particular store are delivered on time or how promptly the seller resolves customer complaints.
Sellers exceeding eBay’s performance expectations are eligible for a range of benefits, including the Top Rated badge displayed on qualifying listings and marketplace-specific fee discounts.
On the other hand, merchants who don’t meet the platform’s performance expectations may have to pay higher final value fees or face limitations on their selling activities until they improve their performance.
Understanding eBay’s seller performance evaluation process
As noted earlier, the monthly evaluation process takes place on the 20th of each month, while some of the changes become effective on the first day of the month following the evaluation.
Sellers who failed to meet the minimum performance requirements may be blocked from using Promoted Listings, or their selling limits may decrease immediately after the evaluation.
The process consists of reviewing seller standards and service metrics for a three-month or twelve-month period and at least 400 transactions.
The evaluation of the seller standards takes the following metrics into account:
- Cases closed without the seller resolution
- Transaction defect rate
- Late shipment rate
Additionally, the service metrics review measures the number of instances in which buyers reported receiving an item that didn’t match the product description in the listing or not receiving an item they purchased at all.
It’s worth noting that the outcome of each evaluation is only temporary and can change every month, so sellers who fall into the Below-Average level can improve their tier by addressing the issues that caused them to underperform.
An overview of Seller Standards policy
eBay’s Sellers Standards policy uses three major factors to calculate the performance and assign the appropriate level to a seller.
These monthly evaluations can have a major impact on the seller’s reputation, even though Below Average and Above Average seller levels aren’t displayed in the seller’s feedback profile. Consequently, eBay members can only see the current level of Top Rated sellers.
It’s important to remember that even though eBay has several Seller Standards programs, these programs use the same parameters to evaluate the seller’s level.
Hence, the US program that determines the seller level on eBay.com, the German program that determines the seller level on eBay’s German, Swiss, and Austrian domains, and the Global Program for all other eBay sites measure the same metrics.
So, let’s take a closer look at the Sellers Standards metrics.
The minimum Transaction Defect Rate (TDR) requirement
One of the following two things must happen for a transaction defect to occur:
- The seller must cancel an order because the purchased item was out of stock or because they sold it to another buyer.
- The case was closed without resolution from the buyer after a seller reported an issue.
To meet eBay’s requirements, you must keep the TDR below 2% for the evaluation period, either three or twelve months, depending on the number of transactions.
Moreover, a seller won’t be assigned the Below Average level unless the TDR is above 2% and transaction defects are detected with at least four customers.
Managing cases closed without seller resolution
According to eBay’s policies, a seller must provide a solution whenever a customer submits a return request or reports that they haven’t received the item.
eBay steps in to resolve the issue the buyer has raised whenever the seller fails to solve the problem.
Consequently, a case closed without seller resolution designation means that the seller hasn’t provided a solution to the buyer’s issue, even though they were responsible, and eBay has stepped in to fix the problem.
To meet the requirements of eBay’s Seller Standards policy, sellers must have two or fewer cases closed without seller resolution or 0.3% of such cases for the entire evaluation period.
Staying below the Late Shipment Rates (LSR) threshold
All buyers can see the estimated delivery time when buying a product on eBay. The time is calculated based on the handling and dispatch time the seller indicated in their business policies or listings.
So, whenever a seller sends an item and doesn’t upload the tracking information from the carrier option the customer has selected, eBay asks the buyer if the item was delivered on time. If they confirm that the item has arrived late, the platform will count it as a late shipment.
On the other hand, when a seller uploads the tracking information, eBay counts a shipment as late whenever the delivery scan is after the delivery date displayed to the buyer, or there was no scan of the shipment within the handling time the seller specified.
A low LSR is necessary to qualify for the Top Rated level, but the high late shipment rate alone won’t push a seller to the Below Average level. Nonetheless, sellers should maintain the late shipment rate below 3% to meet eBay’s seller performance requirements.
It’s also worth remembering that keeping the valid tracking rate (VTR) high is advisable, as eBay monitors the percentage of transactions where the seller uploaded the tracking information on time.
The VTR varies by product category, and the required valid tracking rate can be as high as 95% for certain categories.
A glance at the Service Metrics
Unlike the Seller Standards policy, which evaluates a seller’s performance based on how well they manage customer complaints or how often buyers cancel their orders, Service Metrics measure the seller’s performance based on peer benchmarks.
The platform examines all transactions during the evaluation period to detect those in which the customer either didn’t receive the item they ordered or the item they received didn’t match the description.
Rather than simply displaying the percentages, eBay uses the average rates from sellers with similar activity as a benchmark to determine whether the seller’s Service Metrics are Low, Average, High, or Very High.
Monitoring the ‘Item not received’ and ‘Item not as described’ rates
The Service Metrics are only calculated if sufficient data is available, so depending on the seller’s sales volume, these metrics may not be available for all product categories or displayed in the Service Metrics dashboard.
Moreover, other eBay members cannot see these metrics, as they’re only meant to help sellers minimize the instances when sellers fail to deliver products to buyers or deliver products that aren’t as described in their listings.
The platform determines these rates by comparing them to the rates of sellers with similar business policies, expected delivery times, shipping destinations, or a comparable number of transactions during the evaluation period.
The sellers are assigned different levels based on the outcome of the benchmarking process. Low or Average ratings indicate that a seller is performing as well as their peers or better.
On the other hand, High and Very High ratings indicate that a seller doesn’t perform as well as their peers.
However, if the overall ‘item not received’ and ‘item not as described’ rates are below 1%, the rating will automatically be adjusted to Average, even if the service metrics are either high or very high.
Navigating eBay seller levels
Monitoring the performance dashboards is the best way of tracking seller level and identifying the areas of improvement that would enable sellers to secure the Top Rated rank.
Here’s the overview of the requirements sellers must meet to qualify for the Top Rated status:
Seller performance evaluation:
- Closed cases without seller resolution: 0.3% of all transactions within the timeframe selected for evaluation, or a maximum of 2 cases.
- Transaction defect rate: 0.5% or lower, associated with three buyers or fewer.
- Late Shipment Rate: 3% of evaluated transactions or five instances.
- Valid Tracking Rate: 95% or more transactions must be uploaded within the specified handling time and verified by the carrier.
Selling activity:
- Seller’s eBay account was active in the last three months.
- The seller had a hundred transactions or more and has generated at least $1000 in revenue in the previous year.
- Seller complies with eBay’s Selling Practices policy.
Please note that the requirements for the Top Rated rank vary across eBay marketplaces, so the threshold you must reach to qualify for this level may be different for your stores in the US, the UK, and Germany.
What’s more, reaching the Top Rated level on one marketplace doesn’t mean that sellers will have the same level on other eBay marketplaces.
Sellers who fail to meet performance requirements on any of the marketplaces where they’re active are assigned the Below Average level and face the following limitations:
- Lower ranking of listings in Best Match search results
- Decreased selling limits
- Restricted access to Promoted Listings. Sellers cannot edit the existing campaigns or create new ones.
- Funds from orders are held until the tracking data shows the product is shipped to the buyer.
- Higher selling fees
- Sellers cannot deduct the amount from the refund if the buyer returned a used or damaged item.
These limitations can severely affect the seller’s ability to generate profit, so it’s paramount to address the underlying issues promptly and improve the seller’s performance rating as quickly as possible.
Meeting eBay’s seller performance expectations to fuel your success across marketplaces
Underestimating the importance of seller metrics can be a costly mistake that prevents you from reaching your target audience and maximizing the potential of your eBay store.
Hence, in addition to monitoring click-through rates, page views, impressions, and sales conversion rates, eBay sellers must also ensure that their customers receive the products they purchase from the store on time, resolve buyer issues promptly, and restock their inventory regularly.
Meeting or exceeding eBay’s seller performance requirements is paramount for businesses that want to encourage repeat purchases and expand the reach of their listings.
Do you need assistance with expanding your business to new eBay marketplaces or managing free returns? Schedule a call with us to find out how we can help.
About Webinterpret
Webinterpret supports merchants selling on eBay.
Our AI-based solutions enable more effective selling through automated listing localization, advertising, and returns and ensure all products placed on EU markets are GPSR-compliant.
By giving your international customers a full, end-to-end local shopping experience, Webinterpret improves your conversion and helps establish your business globally.
