Policy overviewMost sales go smooth

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 ship within your stated handling 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 standards focus on what matters most to buyers—getting the item they ordered on time, and effective customer service to resolve any requests for help.
This is measured in 3 metrics:
Defect rate
Late shipment rate (starting February 2016)
Cases closed without seller resolution
Learn more about seller performance standards.
Can defects, late shipments, or feedback be appealed?

We automatically remove defects, adjust your late shipment rate, and remove feedback in the instances described in the guidelines below.
Things to keep in mind:
Automatic adjustments happen daily, but please allow up to 2 days for them to show in your seller 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 a refund hasn't been issued for a returned item.
You may qualify for automatic 5-star detailed seller ratings and other protections outlined in the Seller Protection Policy.
Sellers who violate our policies or are found to be manipulating our seller performance standards may be subject to a range of actions, including the reinstatement of previously removed defects, feedback, and late shipments; ineligibility for further removal of defects, feedback, or late shipments; limits on buying and selling privileges; and account suspension.
What are the guidelines?

Automatically removed
Automatically removed
We automatically remove defects, adjust your late shipment rate, and remove feedback when:
The buyer didn't pay for a purchase and an unpaid item case is recorded against the buyer.
The defect, feedback, or late shipment was the direct result of an eBay site issue or program error.
The delivery estimate shown in the listing was shortened, but tracking shows the item was delivered by the carrier's longest delivery estimate.
We take action against a buyer for violating the Buying Practices policy.
We instruct you to hold a shipment or take action to cancel the transaction.
We can determine through valid tracking that the defect, feedback, or late shipment was the direct result of systemic delays in shipping or communication. Examples include wide-scale shipping carrier delays, items stuck in customs, or power outages due to extreme weather. Actual qualifying events are listed on our announcement board.
Not eligible for removal
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, but the feedback rating or any defects aren't necessarily removed.
Late shipment appeals for transactions without tracking to verify on-time order fulfilment or delivery.
Manual review
Manual review
There are some circumstances where a defect, feedback, or late shipment can be manually reviewed. Sellers may appeal in these cases, but must make the request within 90 days of the transaction. Examples include:
You upload tracking that confirms the item was shipped within the handling time or the item was delivered by the estimated delivery date, but the late shipment rate wasn't automatically updated because the tracking isn't integrated with eBay
In cases where there is an attempted delivery, we consider this "delivered" for the purposes of adjusting late shipment rate or removing feedb