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Service metrics policy

Starting from July 24, 2023, eBay will launch the Shipping Performance Policy — Item Not Received Rate.

Sellers with a higher than market average “Item not received rate may be subject to a range of actions, such as eBay ending or removing your listings, enforcing buying or selling restrictions, adjusting your selling limits and/or suspending all relevant accounts. For more information, please read the article: Shipping Performance Policy — Item Not Received Rate.

eBay wants to make sure that buyers have a great experience when shopping, so it helps sellers deliver quality service to their customers. eBay provides sellers with service metrics and peer benchmarks so that they can see how they are performing compared to other sellers of similar items.

You can see your personalized service metrics on your Service metrics dashboard in My eBay or Seller Hub. Please read the full policy below for additional information about service metrics and peer benchmarks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are service metrics and peer benchmarks?

Service metrics provide you with data on the percentage of your transactions that result in 'item not as described' return requests and 'item not received' requests from buyers. Peer benchmarks are an indicator of how you are doing in these areas compared to other sellers who sell similar items.

How often does eBay calculate these metrics?

Service metrics are evaluated on the 20th of each month:

  • Sellers with 400 or more transactions during the last 3 months: You're evaluated on your transactions during the previous 3-month period
  • Sellers with fewer than 400 transactions during the last 3 months: You're evaluated on your transactions over the previous 12-month period

What happens if I'm not performing as well as my peers?

Sellers who have an evaluation rate as Very High (meaning a very high percentage of transactions result in 'item not as described' return requests and 'item not received' requests) might be subject to increased final value fees or time automatically added to delivery estimates.

Read the full policy

Service metrics policy overview

When a buyer purchases an item on eBay, they expect it to arrive on time and as it was described in the listing. Sellers must create accurate listings and ship items in a timely and secure manner in order to ensure that buyers are satisfied with their purchases.

Return requests for 'items not as described', and 'item not received' requests from buyers can be both time consuming and costly for sellers to resolve. We provide service metrics as a tool for sellers, and staying familiar with your metrics and benchmarks can help you keep these types of requests to a minimum.

Read the articles on how to help buyers with items not received or items that arrived damaged or not as described

Service metrics

Service metrics include information on the following:

  • How often you receive return requests for 'items not as described'
  • How often you receive buyer requests for 'items not received'
  • Peer benchmarks: comparisons of those rates to similar sellers
  • Insights into why your buyers are making these requests
  • Tips to help reduce rates of these requests

Service metrics are provided for your listings on the following eBay sites:

  • eBay.com
  • eBay.ca
  • cafr.eBay.ca
  • eBay.co.uk
  • eBay.com.au
  • eBay.de
  • eBay.fr
  • eBay.it
  • eBay.es

eBay evaluates your metrics and peer benchmarks on the 20th of each month:

  • Sellers with 400 or more transactions during the last 3 months are evaluated on their transactions during the previous 3-month period
  • Sellers with fewer than 400 transactions during the last 3 months are evaluated on their transactions over the previous 12-month period

Item not as described

Your 'Item not as described' rate is the percentage of your transactions where buyers requested returns for the following reasons:

  • Doesn't work or defective
  • Doesn't match description or photos
  • Wrong item sent
  • Missing parts or pieces
  • Arrived damaged
  • Doesn't seem authentic

Item not received

Your 'Item not received' rate is the percentage of your transactions where buyers requested information about an item that was already expected to have arrived, or where tracking shows the item as delivered but the buyer has not received it.

Peer benchmarks

Peer benchmarks are comparisons of your rates of 'Item not received' and 'Item not as described' requests to other sellers offering similar products under similar circumstances, including selling price, terms of sale, and shipping destination.

What do the different rates mean?

Your rate is evaluated as 'Low':

  • Item not as described: You're performing better than most of your peers in making sure that buyers receive the items they ordered, and in setting and meeting their expectations for item condition, careful packaging, and ensuring orders are correct and complete before shipping.
  • Item not received: You're doing better than most of your peers in meeting your handling time commitments, uploading tracking, and shipping as fast or faster than described in your listings.

Your rate is evaluated as 'Average':

  • Item not as described: You're performing as well as your peers in ensuring that buyers receive the items they ordered, and in setting and meeting buyer expectations. You might have some returns which could have been prevented.
  • Item not received: You're performing as well as your peers in meeting your delivery commitments.
  • Some sellers may have higher than average rates but too few total returns to be evaluated as High or Very High in the peer benchmarks. In these cases, sellers' rates are evaluated as Average.

Your rate is evaluated as 'High' or 'Very High':

  • Item not as described: You're not performing as well as your peers in making sure that buyers receive the items they ordered as described in the listing, and in setting and meeting buyer expectations.
    If you are rated Very High in a category, but you had fewer than 10 'Item not as described' return requests from unique buyers, or your 'Item not as described' rate is under 1% in a specific category during the evaluation period, you will not be subject to consequences.
  • Item not received: You’re not performing as well as your peers in meeting your delivery commitments.
    If you are rated Very High for a shipping category, but you had fewer than 10 'Item not received' requests from unique buyers, or your 'Item not received' rate is under 1% in a specific shipping category during the evaluation period, you will not be subject to consequences.

Consequences of Very High rates

If you are evaluated as Very High, the following consequences may apply to your listings on the eBay sites and in the categories or shipping categories where the Very High evaluation applies:

  • Item not as described: An additional 5% final value fees for listings in the categories where you are currently evaluated as Very High.
    Note: This additional 5 percentage points fee is calculated on the total amount of the sale, including shipping. Final value fee discounts, including Top Rated Seller discounts, do not apply to this additional fee. See the selling fees article for more information on how final value fees are calculated.
  • Item not received: Time automatically added to buyer-facing delivery estimates for the shipping categories where you are currently evaluated as Very High.

Consequences won't be applied once your rating improves and you are no longer evaluated as Very High.

Your seller performance standards rating is not impacted by your 'Item not as described' or 'Item not received' evaluation rate. To learn more about seller performance standards, see eBay seller performance policy.