Answer #

A key metric to measure your selling performance is your defect rate. Actually, the eBay defect rate is the most critical metric for sellers. You can expect eBay to take action against you if it gets too high. It is essential to keep the defect rate as low as possible.

What is the eBay transaction defect rate? #

This is the number of so-called “defects”, as a percentage of your transactions, over the last 90 days.

A defect occurs when:

• You cancel a transaction; most commonly, this happens when the item is out of stock
• You accept a claim through eBay’s resolution process and side with the buyer
• You cause a case to be closed without resolving it in your favour through Paypal’s resolution process

How does the defect rate affect my eBay account? #

Some people aren’t aware that eBay divides their sellers into levels. Your level affects how you sell on eBay. Every month, eBay evaluates its sellers and assigns them one of the following levels:

• Top Rated: This level is only given to top-performing sellers who provide exceptional customer service and meet specific criteria.
• Above Standard: This level is given to those who provide good customer service and meet certain standards.
• Below Standard: This level is for merchants who did not meet the requirements for either excellent customer service and/or have a high amount of defects/disputes.

What happens when I’m rated as “Below Standard”? #

When you are rated as “Below Standard”, you will receive an email notifying you of the change in rating, a warning that your reputation score is low, and the steps you can take to improve your rating.

When the defect rate is above 5%, there is a possibility that your eBay account might be suspended. Before that, eBay applies a series of penalties to your account.

Luckily for sellers, buyers will not be able to see if the merchant is on the below-standard level. eBay may also restrict your account if you fail to meet monthly minimum standards. You can face severe consequences if you repeatedly fail to meet those minimum standards. Some of the consequences are as follows:

• Higher fees – an additional 5% – 6% of each transaction
• Lower visibility for your listings on search results and related products
• Your funds on eBay may be put on hold
• You may be restricted from using Promoted listings tools, unable to create new campaigns or edit your existing campaigns
• Your eBay store may get a downgrade to the Basic Level if you fail to improve your defect rate for more than 60 days
• You may be restricted from issuing partial refunds

If a store has been below standard for at least two months in a row, permanent selling limits may be applied. On top of that, eBay may perform actions for urgent concerns involving fraud or other illegal activities.

How do I appeal an eBay defect? #

If a defect is eligible to be removed, eBay will remove it automatically within three days. If the defect isn’t removed automatically, you may be able to appeal, depending on the circumstances.

Please note that you can only submit an appeal within 20 days from the last day of the estimated delivery date. Here are the situations when you may be able to appeal:

• The buyer opened a request by mistake (although this is rare, it can happen)
• Proof of delivery was provided by the seller and showed that the order was delivered to the buyer’s address within the guaranteed delivery date
• An item sent through the GSP (Global Shipping Programme) arrived on time at the processing centre but was delayed during international shipping
• One of eBay’s GSP partners returned an item, and it can be linked to your GSP return label. You may also use this exception if you have proof that a returned item was delivered to the wrong address, due to a courier error.

All of the reasons stated above are eligible for appeal. After submitting the appeal, eBay will quickly review it and remove the defect if applicable. You can submit a defect appeal through the Seller Help page on eBay.

What if I can’t appeal my defect or my appeal is denied? #

When your circumstance is not covered by one of the eligible appeal reasons, there is still something you can do: rely on our eBay defect removal service.

For a fair price, we can contact eBay on your behalf and appeal the defect using our private method. This allows you to get up and running within three business days at most. This service can only be performed on eBay accounts that received defects within the last 90 days.

To do this, we do not need access to your eBay account. All we need is your email, eBay username and your Item or Case ID. If you are interested in our eBay defect removal service, please visit the service page for more information.

TL;DR #

When your eBay account has a high defect rate, your sales are at risk. Your entire eBay account is at stake when the rate exceeds 5%. There are different ways to mitigate the problem, one of them being the defect appeal feature.

Those who can’t appeal their defects can still save their business with Ormosis. With our eBay defect removal service, we can help remove your defects and bring your account back to a good standing status.