Seller performance and Feedback policy overview
Most sales go smoothly. When you follow selling best practices and make sure the items you list are in stock, you work with a customer when an issue arises, and you post within your stated dispatch time, your buyers will have a great experience and are more likely to buy from you again.
Occasionally, there may be an issue with a transaction. When certain transaction problems happen, you can track them in your seller dashboard.
This policy outlines when we adjust your performance evaluation and Feedback.
How is selling performance measured?
Seller performance standards focus on what matters most to buyers: getting the item they ordered on time, and effective customer service to respond to any requests for help.
This is measured using 3 metrics:
- Defect rate
- Cases closed without seller resolution
- Late delivery rate
For full details of how your seller level is evaluated, please read our Seller standards policy article and Service metrics policy.
Can defects, late deliveries, or Feedback be appealed?
We automatically remove defects, adjust your on-time delivery rate, and remove Feedback in the instances described in the guidelines below.
Things to keep in mind:
- Although automatic adjustments happen daily, please allow up to 72 hours for them to show in your seller standards dashboard or your Feedback profile
- Appeals aren't considered if tracking shows the item is still in transit, if there is an open eBay Money Back Guarantee request, or if a refund hasn't been issued for a returned item
- You may qualify for automatic 5-star detailed seller ratings and other protections
Activity on eBay is required to follow this policy, the eBay User Agreement and all applicable laws, as well as respect the rights of third parties. If it doesn’t, eBay may take action consistent with applicable laws and the eBay User Agreement, and may even be legally required to do so. Such actions may include, as an example only: Removing the listing or other content, issuing a warning, restricting activity or account suspension.
What are the guidelines?
Automatically removed
We automatically remove defects, adjust your late delivery rate, and remove Feedback when:
- The buyer didn't pay for an order and you cancelled it using Buyer hasn't paid as the reason
- The defect, Feedback, or late delivery was the direct result of an eBay site issue or programme error
- The delivery estimate shown in the listing was shortened and tracking shows the item was delivered by the carrier's longest delivery estimate
- We take action against a buyer for violating the Abusive buyer policy
- We take action to close an eBay Money Back Guarantee case or appeal request in favor of the seller
- We instruct you to hold a delivery or take action to cancel the transaction
Not eligible for removal
The following scenarios aren't eligible for removal:
- We may remove a Feedback comment that violates eBay policy, such as containing profanity or links, although the Feedback rating or any defects themselves aren't necessarily removed
- On-time delivery appeals for transactions without tracking available to verify on-time order fulfilment or delivery
Manual review
There are some circumstances where a defect, Feedback, or late delivery can be manually reviewed. Sellers may appeal in these cases and must make the request within 90 days of the transaction.
Examples include:
- You upload tracking, prior to the defect occurring, that confirms the item was dispatched within the dispatch time or the item was delivered by the latest estimated delivery date, and the on-time delivery rate wasn't automatically updated because the tracking information isn't integrated with eBay
- In cases where there is an attempted delivery, we consider this to be delivered for the purposes of adjusting on-time delivery rate or removing Feedback
- The Feedback comment contained inappropriate content (such as swear words) as described in our Member-to-member contact policy. While inappropriate comments will be removed, the rating will remain
Why does eBay have this policy?
We adjust seller performance metrics when we have objective information available in our system, or by using carrier tracking information that shows the seller fulfilled all elements of the transaction and the defect, Feedback, or late delivery was not accurate.