eBay is committed to provide a trusted marketplace and a world-class customer experience. eBay therefore requires that sellers place great importance on buyers' experience and work hard on product and service quality control to reduce the bad buyer experience rate (“BBE”).
What you need to know?
Starting December 11, 2023, sellers will be evaluated on the number of transactions with bad buyer experience. The sellers whose BBE rate is much higher than the peer market average may be subject to a range of actions, including, but not limited to:
- Administratively ending or removing listings,
- Adjusting selling limits,
- Holding the payment,
- Enforcing buying or selling restrictions, or
- Suspending the relevant accounts.
Evaluation metrics
eBay will evaluate the rate of transactions with BBE defined by four evaluation metrics below:
- Significantly Not as Described (“SNAD”): a buyer returned an item and gave a return reason that indicates “Item Not as Described”, including “Doesn’t work or defective” / “Doesn’t match description or photos” / “Wrong item sent” / “Missing parts or pieces” / “Arrived damaged” / “Doesn’t seem authentic” / “Doesn’t fit my vehicle”;
- Stock-Out Cancellation (“Stock-Out”): a seller canceled a transaction because they no longer had the item, or the item was never shipped, and the buyer's money was returned;
- Low Detailed Seller Ratings (“Low DSR”): a buyer left a Detailed Seller Rating score of 1, 2, or 3 for “Item as Described”; or
- Neutral/Negative Feedback (“NNFB”): a buyer left Neutral or Negative feedback for a seller.
A transaction is considered a BBE transaction when any of the above happens and one transaction will be only evaluated once. The BBE rate is defined as the percentage of BBE transactions out of all transactions in the evaluation window.
Relation to Items Not Received
Note that your reputation as an eBay Seller will also be impacted by any “Items Not Received” (“INR”) complaints associated with your listings.
Further details about how you will be assessed for INR can be read at the INR policy page.
How are you being evaluated?
Evaluation Scope: Sellers having their registered address in India, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Macau, American Samoa, Uzbekistan, Angola, Denmark, Iran, Congo, Republic of the, Azerbaijan Republic, Aruba, Russian Federation, Jersey, Puerto Rico, Sierra Leone, Panama, Tahiti, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Turkey, Romania, Finland, Chad, Mauritania, Suriname, Uruguay, Ukraine, Morocco, Venezuela, Georgia, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Maldives, Guinea, Andorra, Hungary, Mozambique, Anguilla, Ecuador, Guatemala, Uganda, Guinea-Bissau, Brazil, Montserrat, French Polynesia, Iceland, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands (Islas Makvinas), Nigeria, Virgin Islands (U.S.), Gambia, South Africa, Monaco, Palau, Guam, Malta, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the, Estonia, Benin, Cuba, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Laos, Djibouti, Nepal, Malawi, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Zambia, Slovakia, Kiribati, Brunei Darussalam, Liberia, Botswana, Tunisia, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Bahrain, Eritrea, Burkina Faso, Marshall Islands, Sudan, Albania, Belize, Israel, Pakistan, Mauritius, Jan Mayen, Tuvalu, Syria, Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tonga, Egypt, Togo, Sweden, Armenia, Serbia, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Niger, Cook Islands, Haiti, Luxembourg, Barbados, Tajikistan, Réunion, Greece, Ethiopia, Czech Republic, Sri Lanka, Equatorial Guinea, Gibraltar, Senegal, Antigua and Barbuda, Bulgaria, Oman, Niue, Argentina, Netherlands Antilles, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bahamas, Saint Kitts-Nevis, San Marino, Iraq, Burundi, Cote d Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Martinique, Moldova, Micronesia, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Central African Republic, Korea, North, Mongolia, Dominica, New Caledonia, Somalia, Lithuania, Qatar, Paraguay, Afghanistan, Western Samoa, Comoros, Algeria, Belarus, Dominican Republic, Cyprus, Saint Helena, Yugoslavia, Lesotho, Bhutan, Chile, Rwanda, Mali, Bolivia, Kuwait, Latvia, Seychelles, United Arab Emirates, Portugal, Slovenia, Gabon Republic, Bermuda, Mayotte, Mexico, Libya, Macedonia, Namibia, Liechtenstein, Colombia, Yemen, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, El Salvador, Burma, Fiji, Nauru, Greenland, Zimbabwe, Jordan, Lebanon, South, British Virgin Islands, Honduras, Kenya, Grenada, Cambodia, Madagascar, Svalbard, Norway, Kazakhstan, Wallis and Futuna, Guernsey, Cameroon, Western Sahara, Cape Verde Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montenegro, and Costa Rica.
Evaluation frequency: every wednesday
Evaluation window: 12 weeks period commencing on the last Saturday before the last week of the evaluation date. For example, where the evaluation date is Wednesday, 13th December, we will review all your transactions during the period commencing Sunday, 10th September, and ending Saturday, 2nd December.
Evaluation consequence:
- Compliant: the BBE rate is lower than the peer market average
- Non-Compliant: the BBE rate is higher than the peer market average, but eBay may not take action due to:
- Account is currently restricted by other eBay policies, or
- Other reasons
- Warning: the BBE rate is higher than the peer market average. Sellers must strengthen the product and service control and improve buyers’ buying experience, otherwise eBay may take action
- Action Taken: the BBE rate is much higher than the peer market average. eBay decides to take action. Sellers may be subjected to various actions as specified above
Evaluation result: Please visit your Seller Dashboard to find out more details.
What you need to do?
As a seller, you should always strive to provide your buyers with items that match up to their expectations. Most of the time when something goes wrong, it could be due to mismatched expectations or lack of visibility related to the details or specifics of the item. You’re expected to follow these best practices:
- Be accurate and detailed
- Use images that are clear and sharp
- List down all the product specifications clearly
- Include size and measurements to prevent any misconception
- Add in the usage guidelines
- Be honest with the condition of your item — state all the flaws and imperfections like scratches, discoloration and dents (if any) for used items
- Manage inventory and end out of stock listings in time
- Ship items within your specified handling time
FAQ
How can I check my performance?
You can visit your Seller Dashboard to check your account performance which will be refreshed every Wednesday.