What are eBay seller levels?
eBay's seller performance requirements are intended to help ensure that buyers have a great experience on the marketplace. Your seller level indicates whether you're meeting or exceeding eBay's minimum standards.
Every month eBay takes a look at how much you've sold recently, and how many of those sales resulted in a poor experience for the buyer, such as not receiving the item they ordered. eBay measures individual performance on areas within your control — fulfilling orders on time and resolving any buyer issues promptly. eBay also has some safeguards in place to protect sellers and ensure fair evaluation.
It's important to check your Seller dashboard on a regular basis so you can see how your performance is tracking, and, if needed, take action before the next evaluation. On your Seller dashboard, you can see your current seller level, as well as what it would be if you are evaluated today, and a detailed breakdown of your performance on the factors which determine your seller level — to help you figure out where you can improve.
To get to your Seller dashboard:
- In Seller Hub, go to the Performance tab and choose Seller level from the left menu (1) or top dropdown menu (2)
You can also quickly сontrol your current seller level viewing the information module on the Overview tab and on the Summary page of the Performance tab (3)
- In My eBay, open the Account section and find Seller dashboard link under Selling (4)
- Or use the quick link
All sellers are required to maintain the following minimum performance standards for their listings on ebay.com within their evaluation period:
- Cases closed without seller resolution: No more than 2 (or 0.3% of transactions)
- Transaction defect rate: No more than 2% of transactions
Each month, eBay evaluates your performance based on your recent sales, and assign you one of the following seller levels:
Top Rated
You're exceeding eBay's performance expectations, as well as having an established sales history and complying with other eBay policies
Above Standard
You're meeting eBay's expectations
Below Standard
Your performance has fallen below eBay's minimum standards and as a result, it may place limitations on your selling activity until your performance improves
If you are Top Rated, this will be shown in your feedback profile. Otherwise, other eBay members can't see your seller level.
If your current or projected seller level has dropped to Below Standard, it's important to focus on minimizing cases closed without seller resolution and order cancellations as soon as possible – this will help to improve your performance on these metrics at the next evaluation. For more help, read the article How to monitor and improve your seller performance.
How is your seller level determined?
On the 20th of each month, eBay takes a look at your recent transactions. To make sure it is getting a fair picture, eBay will adjust how far it looks back (the “evaluation period”) depending on how much you've sold recently:
Low-volume sellers
< 400 sales transactions in the previous 3 months
12-month evaluation period
(all your transactions for the last 12 months will be counted)
High-volume sellers
≥ 400 sales transactions in the previous 3 months
3-month evaluation period
(all those transactions will be counted)
eBay will then calculate your:
What this means
When a buyer reports that an item hasn't arrived or requests a return, the seller is responsible for providing a resolution.
A case closed without seller resolution means that the seller didn't resolve the buyer's issue, eBay stepped in to review the case, and the seller was found responsible.
For full details of actions, time frames, requirements for sellers and how eBay decides the outcome of a case, please read the eBay Money Back Guarantee policy.
Minimum requirements
You're allowed 2 cases closed without seller resolution within an evaluation period, or 0.3% of your transactions — whichever is higher.
Calculation examples
These examples illustrate how eBay determines your seller level, comparing your rates of transactions with defects against eBay's minimum requirements, and considering the number of unique buyers to ensure you're protected from having your evaluation skewed by just one or two buyers.
Sales volume vs. transaction defects
Let's take a look at a random seller. All of his transactions over the last 12 months are counted. He's had 3 cases closed without seller resolution, which is relatively high compared to how many times he's sold an item. Unfortunately, this means that he doesn't meet eBay's minimum seller standards.
| Evaluation period | 12 months (100 transactions) | |
| Cases closed without seller resolution | 3 of 100 transactions (3%) | ❌ This is more than 2 cases, and more than 0.3% of transactions |
Transaction defect rate
|
3% (3 of 100 transactions) | ❌ This is more than 2% of transactions |
| Late shipment rate | 5% (5 of 100 transactions) | ⚪ There are no minimum requirements for late shipment rate |
| Seller level | Below Standard | |
Now let's look at another seller. He has a small business, so eBay only needs to look at the last 3 months to get a fair picture of his performance. This seller also had 3 cases closed with no resolution, and a few inventory issues that caused him to cancel some orders. Despite these problems, this seller meets eBay's minimum seller standards when viewed as a percentage of total transactions.
| Evaluation period | 3 months (1,000 transactions) | |
| Cases closed without seller resolution | 3 of 1,000 transactions (0.3%) | ✅ This is more than 2 cases, but it isn't more than 0.3% of transactions |
Transaction defect rate
|
0.7% (7 of 1,000 transactions) |
✅ This is less than 2% of transactions |
| Late shipment rate | 1.0% (10 of 1,000 transactions) |
⚪ There are no minimum requirements for late shipment rate |
| Seller level | Above Standard | |
Transaction defects vs. unique buyers
Let's take a look at a popular store on eBay with many loyal customers. One day, the manager found damaged products, but didn't get a chance to update the listing until the next day. In the meantime, two buyers had purchased from the listing, with one of the buyers placing multiple orders at once.
| Evaluation period | 3 months (1,000 transactions) | |
| Cases closed without seller resolution | 0 | ✅ This is less than 2, and less than 0.3% of transactions |
Transaction defect rate
|
2.5% (25 of 1,000 transactions) Unique buyers: 2 |
✅ Although this is more than 2% of transactions, it doesn't affect the seller rating because there are fewer than 4 buyers involved |
| Late shipment rate | 0.8% (8 of 1,000 transactions) |
⚪ There are no minimum requirements for late shipment rate |
| Seller level | Above Standard | |
Let's take a look at a small business that doesn't sell many items on eBay. They noticed that a number of items were mislabeled and had to cancel those sales. All of the canceled orders were from different buyers — unfortunately, this means that the error rate is above eBay's minimum requirements. The late shipping rate is also high, but that's not what causes them to be rated below standard.
| Evaluation period | 12 months (1,000 transactions) | |
| Cases closed without seller resolution | 0 | ✅ This is less than 2, and less than 0.3% of transactions |
Transaction defect rate
|
2.5% (25 of 1,000 transactions) Unique buyers: 25 |
❌ This is more than 2% of transactions, involving more than 4 different buyers |
| Late shipment rate | 3.0% (30 of 1,000 transactions) |
⚪ There are no minimum requirements for late shipment rate |
| Seller level | Below Standard | |
Becoming a Top Rated seller
To become a Top Rated seller on eBay, you must be an active seller who performs well above eBay's minimum standards, have an established sales history, and comply with other eBay policies.
eBay will automatically upgrade you to Top Rated status on the 1st of the following month if you meet all of the criteria listed below in your seller performance review.
- Your eBay account has been active for at least 90 days
- You have at least 100 transactions and $1,000 in sales with US buyers over the past 12 months
- You're complying with eBay's Selling practices policy
Please note, the 10% final value fee discount:
- Does not apply to the per order portion of the final value fee
- Does not apply to any additional final value fees applied to sales in categories where you're rated as Very High in your service metrics for “item not as described” returns
- Is only available to sellers resident in the country in which they're Top Rated (for example, if you're selling through ebay.com, you must be resident in the US to qualify for this discount)
Free returns must be based on your item's location in order for your listings to qualify for Top Rated Plus:
- If the item location is in the same country as the eBay site you listed on, you need to offer 30-day free 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 free international returns
In some product categories, eBay will extend the discount benefit (but not the seal) even if you don't offer 30-day free returns.
What happens if you are Below Standard
If your evaluation on the 20th of the month shows that you are not meeting eBay's minimum standards, eBay may put limitations on your selling activity until your performance improves. To see what you can do to bring your level back to Above Standard, read the article How to monitor and improve your seller performance.
Some limitations are applied straight away after the evaluation, while others take effect from the 1st of the following month. If your seller level improves at a future evaluation, the same time frames will apply for limitations to be removed.
- Your items may be placed lower in Best Match search results
- Your selling limits may decrease
- You'll be blocked from using the eBay Advertising tools, and won't be able to create new campaigns or edit existing campaigns
- Funds from your orders may be placed on hold until tracking information shows that the item is on its way to the buyer
- You'll be unable to deduct an amount from the buyer's refund if an item is returned used or damaged
Fair evaluation, seller protections and appeals
eBay's seller standards are in place to protect the interests of all users, and these evaluations are intended to look at your performance as a whole. eBay doesn't want your seller level to be skewed by just one unfortunate transaction or difficult buyer, and it wants you to be able to focus on providing great service to trustworthy, reliable customers.
Fair evaluation
To evaluate your overall performance as accurately and fairly as possible:
- eBay adjusts the evaluation period according to how much you sell to make sure it is getting a fair sample
- eBay only counts transactions where the buyer has paid
- There can only be one defect per transaction
- For your transaction defect and late shipment rates, eBay takes into account how many unique buyers are involved
Seller protections
eBay has safeguards in place to protect your ratings and help you in case you have a problem. For example:
- If eBay determines that a buyer has violated our Abusive buyer policy, it will automatically remove any associated defects
- eBay removes defects and/or late shipments when things happen that are outside of your control, such as severe weather or carrier disruptions
- eBay won't count a late shipment if an item arrives after the estimated date, but tracking shows you sent it on time
While these protections are available to all sellers, some of eBay's other protections are dependent on meeting specific eligibility and/or seller performance criteria. Learn more on how eBay protects sellers
Appeals
You can appeal a case closed without seller resolution within 30 days of eBay's decision on the case. For more information, please refer to the eBay Money Back Guarantee policy.
Transaction defects may be eligible for removal in certain circumstances. If the removal of a defect means that you are again meeting the minimum standards, your seller level will be adjusted at the next evaluation.
You can appeal a late shipment if you uploaded valid tracking information showing that the item arrived by the expected delivery date, or that there was a carrier scan within your stated handling time.
Tip. Visit Seller Help to resolve any incorrect defects or improper feedback.