eBay doesn't have a "Poor Performance" fee tier, whatever older guides say. What it does have is two surcharges that quietly add percentage points to your final value fee: one for being Below Standard, and one for a very high 'item not as described' return rate. This guide covers what triggers each one on eBay.com, what they cost in real dollars and how to get out of them.
Fees verified against eBay's official United States fee pages on 13 October 2026. Checked daily for changes (fee change tracker). Source: eBay eBay.com fee page.
The two surcharges eBay actually charges
eBay evaluates every seller on the 20th of each month and assigns one of three levels: Top Rated, Above Standard or Below Standard. If you land on Below Standard, eBay adds 6 percentage points to the final value fee on your sales for the following calendar month. Stay there four months in a row and it rises to 7 points.
The second surcharge is category-specific. If your rate of 'item not as described' return requests is rated Very High in a category, sales in that category pay 5 extra points (6 after four months). If both apply, you only pay the Below Standard one.
| Seller status | Surcharge on the total sale |
|---|---|
| Top Rated / Above Standard | None |
| Below Standard | +6 points (+7 points after 4+ months) |
| Very high 'item not as described' rate | +5 points in the affected categories (+6 points after 4+ months) |
"Points" matters here. The surcharge isn't 6% of your fee — it's 6% of the total sale, added on top. A 13.6% fee becomes 19.6%, not 14.4%.
What actually triggers Below Standard
eBay.com's seller standards policy has just two minimum requirements:
- Cases closed without seller resolution: no more than 2, or 0.3% of transactions — whichever is higher. These are cases where the buyer asked eBay to step in and you were found responsible.
- Transaction defect rate: no more than 2% of transactions. Defects are seller cancellations (for example, out of stock) plus cases closed without seller resolution. You're only marked Below Standard if the defects involve more than four different buyers.
Late shipments on their own won't push you to Below Standard — but a low late shipment rate is required for Top Rated.
How far back eBay looks depends on volume: the last 3 months if you had more than 400 transactions in that time, otherwise the last 12 months. That's why small sellers feel a single bad month for a long time — three unresolved cases out of 100 sales is already 3%.
The cost in dollars
Here's the fee on a single eBay.com sale in most categories (13.6% + $0.40 per order), with and without the surcharge:
| Sale | Above Standard | Below Standard | 4+ months Below |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50 | $7.20 | $10.20 | $10.70 |
| $100 | $14.00 | $20.00 | $21.00 |
| $250 | $34.40 | $49.40 | $51.90 |
| $500 | $68.40 | $98.40 | $103.40 |
On a $100 sale you hand eBay an extra $6.00. Sell 200 items a month at that price and Below Standard costs you $1,200 for that one month — usually more than the profit on a dozen sales.
Low-rate categories get hit hardest in relative terms. Sneakers that sell for $150 or more pay 8% on eBay.com; with the surcharge that's 14% — your fee goes up by three quarters. Guitars (6.7%) nearly double to 12.7%.
Can a store subscription offset it?
Not really. A Basic or higher eBay Store lowers the rate for most categories from 13.6% to 12.7%, but the surcharge is still added as 6 points on top: 12.7% becomes 18.7%. You save less than a point while paying six. Below Standard sellers are also blocked from Promoted Listings, so the usual ways to buy visibility disappear at the same time.
The other direction: Top Rated Plus
Top Rated sellers don't pay any surcharge, and listings that qualify for Top Rated Plus (same- or one-day handling and free returns of 30 days or more) get 10% off the final value fee. That makes the gap between a well-run account and a struggling one about 7 points of every sale on eBay.com.
To reach Top Rated you need at least 100 transactions and $1,000 in US sales over 12 months, a defect rate of 0.5% or less, at most 5 late shipments (or 3%), and tracking uploaded on 95% of orders.
Other eBay sites
The UK and most European eBay sites use the same Below Standard surcharge (6 points, 7 after four months) but a slightly lower 'not as described' surcharge of 4 points. Australia charges 5.5 points including GST. Private sellers who sell for free in the UK, France, Italy and Germany have no final value fee to surcharge.
How to get back to Above Standard
Resolve every case before eBay steps in
Cases closed without seller resolution count twice — once on their own and again inside your defect rate. When a buyer opens an item-not-received or return request, respond the same day, offer a refund or replacement, and don't let it reach the "ask eBay to step in" stage.
Stop cancelling orders
Out-of-stock cancellations are the other defect. If you crosslist, sync inventory or end listings as soon as stock runs low. A buyer who can't check out costs you nothing; a cancelled order costs you a defect.
Describe items so they don't come back
'Not as described' returns drive the category surcharge. Photograph flaws, measure clothing, list exact model numbers and state condition plainly.
Watch your dashboard before the 20th
The Seller Dashboard shows your projected level for the next evaluation. If it says Below Standard, you still have until the 20th to resolve open issues.
Run your own numbers — including the surcharge — in the eBay profit calculator; the seller performance option shows exactly what Below Standard does to your margin.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the Below Standard surcharge last?
It applies to sales in the calendar month after an evaluation that rates you Below Standard. Each new evaluation on the 20th can lift it — but because the evaluation looks back 3 or 12 months, bad months keep counting until they drop out of the window.
Is the surcharge charged on shipping too?
Yes. Like the final value fee, it's calculated on the total amount of the sale, including shipping and sales tax.
Do international fees stack on top?
Yes. A Below Standard eBay.com seller shipping abroad without eBay International Shipping pays 13.6% + 6 points + 1.65% international fee — 21.25% of the sale before the per-order fee.