A High eBay INAD rate means your item not as described (INAD) return requests run above the sellers eBay compares you with. A High rating on item not received (INR) reports means your parcels fail buyers more often than your peers’ parcels do. It is a warning with no penalty attached yet. The penalties start at Very High, and only when the rate is at least 1 percent and the problem involves at least 10 reports or requests from 10 unique buyers. At that point eBay may add time to your delivery estimates, hold funds until tracking shows the item is moving, stop you deducting from refunds on used or damaged returns, and charge higher final value fees. The window between High and Very High is where the fix is cheapest. As of October 15, 2026, eBay’s policy excludes eBay Live transactions from service metrics and seller standards, including Live sales made before that date.

How eBay Compares Your INAD and INR Rates to Peers

Most eBay metrics measure you against a fixed line. Service metrics work differently. eBay’s Service metrics policy states that it does not set limits for these rates, because item type, seasonality and shipping distance all change how many problems a normal seller sees. eBay instead takes the average rates of sellers with similar sales activity, which it calls peers, and rates you against that benchmark.

The policy names the two behaviors it measures. Sellers are expected to minimize the number of times buyers report that an item has not arrived, and the number of times buyers request a return because an item does not match the listing. Every opened case counts. eBay states plainly that it counts all opened cases even when you resolved the issue promptly, because the buyer still had a transaction that did not go smoothly. A fast refund protects your seller level and your feedback. It does not erase the report from your service metrics.

Who you are compared with

The two rates use different peer groups, and knowing which one applies tells you where to look for the cause.

Metric	What eBay counts	Your peers
Item not received rate	Transactions where the buyer reported the item did not arrive or was not available for collection	Sellers with comparable volume and evaluation period, on the same eBay site, with a similar price, shipping to the same destinations with similar delivery timeframes
Item not as described return rate	Transactions where the buyer requested a return because the item does not match the listing	Sellers with comparable volume and evaluation period, in the same categories, with a similar price and item condition, and similar return policies and delivery timeframes

The INR comparison is built around shipping. eBay splits it into three shipping categories, domestic, where the item location and shipping address are in the same country, international to a matured region, and international to an emerging region. The policy lists the matured regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore and most European countries. A seller who ships a lot to emerging regions is measured against other sellers doing the same, which is fair, and it also means an INR problem can sit in one shipping category while the others look fine.

The INAD comparison is built around the product. Category, price, condition and return policy define your peer group. A used electronics seller is compared with other used electronics sellers at similar prices, so the rate reflects how your descriptions perform against theirs. This is the insight we start every case with. Your peers sell the same kind of item to the same kind of buyer. If your rate is higher, something in your listings or your shipping is different from theirs, and that difference is usually specific and fixable.

The four ratings

eBay evaluates service metrics on the 20th of each month and gives each rate one of four ratings, Low, Average, High or Very High. Low means you are performing better than most peers. Average means you match them, with room to cut preventable requests. High means you are not performing as well as your peers. Very High means your rate is significantly worse than your peers.

Other eBay members cannot see your service metrics. A High rating does not show on your listings, change your feedback score or reach buyers. It is information for you. It arrives before any limitation, and it tells you which rate is drifting.

The evaluation window

eBay adjusts how far back it looks based on your volume. If you had more than 400 transactions in the past 3 months, eBay counts those 3 months. If you had fewer than 400, it counts the last 12 months. The difference matters for planning. A high-volume seller who fixes a listing today sees the improvement within a few evaluations, because old transactions leave a 3-month window quickly. A smaller seller carries every report for a full year. One bad product line that produced a run of INAD returns in spring can still weigh on the rating the following winter.

The policy also notes that eBay only calculates service metrics when it has enough data, so you may not see metrics for every category, or any data at all. Your dashboard shows your current rates and a projected rate for the next evaluation, and eBay warns that the projection can change if more cases open. Treat the projection as your early warning line.

The Report Count Needed for Very High

Very High is the rating that brings limitations. eBay built two statistical safeguards into it, and both are written into the Fair evaluation section of the policy.

The 1 percent floor. If a metric is High or Very High compared with peers but the rate is less than 1 percent of transactions, eBay adjusts the rating to Average.
The 10 and 10 rule. A Very High rating will not affect your account unless it involves at least 10 reports or requests with 10 unique buyers.

The 10 and 10 rule is also the most useful planning tool on the page. If your dashboard shows INAD returns at High and you count 7 return requests from 7 buyers in the window, you know exactly how much room is left before limitations can apply. That number tells you how urgent the fix is.

The growth adjustment

eBay adds one more protection for growing sellers. If your sales grow and you move from a 12-month evaluation period and peer group to a 3-month one, and that change makes your rating Very High, eBay adjusts the rating and limitations do not apply for one evaluation cycle. You will see a message in the service metrics dashboard when this happens. Use that cycle. It is time eBay has given you to fix the cause before the rating counts.

What Very High brings

The policy separates the limitations by metric and by timing. Some apply directly after the evaluation on the 20th. Others start on the 1st day of the following month. When your rating improves at a later evaluation, the same timeframes apply to removing them.

Rating	Directly after the evaluation	From the 1st of the following month
INR at Very High	Extra time may be added to expected delivery dates shown to buyers, for the shipping categories rated Very High. Funds may be held until tracking shows the item is on its way. You may be unable to deduct from a buyer’s refund when an item is returned used or damaged.	None listed for this metric
INAD at Very High	Refund deductions on used or damaged returns may be blocked.	Higher final value fees may be charged. eBay points to its Selling fees and Store selling fees pages for the details.

eBay does not publish one fixed fee increase on the service metrics page. The policy directs you to the fee pages, and the rate can differ by site and by Store subscription. eBay’s Seller standards policy adds one more cost for strong sellers, because the 10 percent final value fee discount for Top Rated Plus listings does not apply to the additional final value fees charged in categories where you are rated Very High for INAD returns. A Top Rated seller can lose part of the benefit of that status in one category while keeping it elsewhere.

Nothing on the service metrics page describes a suspension tier. The limitations are commercial ones, such as delivery estimates, holds, refund deductions and fees. They still hurt. Longer delivery estimates cost conversions, holds cost cash flow, and higher fees cost margin on every sale in the affected categories. Service metrics also feed the same buyer experience that eBay’s seller standards measure, so the habits that push INR and INAD up tend to produce defects there too. Our guide on a Below Standard seller level covers that program.

Step through the eBay evaluation calendar to see when Very High limitations apply, when the later ones start and how removal follows the same timing.

eBay service metrics warning triage checklist

What the dashboard names. Which metric is High (INR, INAD or both), which category or shipping category it sits in, and whether the projected rate for the next evaluation is rising.
The deadline. The next evaluation on the 20th. INAD fee changes apply from the 1st of the following month.
Your window. 3 Months if you had more than 400 transactions in the last 3 months, otherwise 12 months.
Your distance from limitations. The count of reports or requests and of unique buyers, measured against the 10 and 10 rule and the 1 percent floor.
Evidence to gather. Return reasons and buyer messages per listing, tracking history per order, the shipping service used per order, and any orders where eBay removed a report under its seller protections.

See also eBay Seller Level Near Below Standard and eBay Handling Time and Tracking Setup That Prevents Late Ships.

Sellers already paying higher fees or waiting on held funds can bring the dashboard figures to our eBay suspension desk, and we will rank which listings and shipping services to fix first.

Finding the Listings Driving INAD Returns

The INAD rate is a listing problem far more often than a buyer problem. A buyer requests a not as described return when the item in their hands differs from what the title, photos, item specifics or condition told them to expect. The return reason the buyer selects, and the message they attach, tell you where the listing failed. Our method is to work from the returns back to the listings, and to fix the few listings that produce most of the requests.

Step 1. Pull the returns in the window

Export or list every not as described return request inside your evaluation window. For each one, record the item number, the category, the return reason, the buyer’s words, and whether the item came back. Group them by listing, then by product line. In most of the cases we review, a small number of listings produce the majority of the requests. That concentration is good news. It means the fix is narrow.

Step 2. Read the listing as the buyer did

Open each high-return listing and compare it against the return messages. Ask four questions.

Does the title promise anything the item does not deliver, such as a model number, size, bundle or compatibility claim?
Do the photos show the actual unit or a stock image that hides wear, color variation or missing parts?
Do the item specifics match the item, including size, color, material, brand and part numbers?
Does the condition grade match the item, and does the condition description name every flaw a buyer would notice?

The answer is usually visible within a few minutes. A listing described as “like new” that ships with scuffs. A stock photo of a complete kit when the unit ships without the charger. A size chart copied from another brand. These are the gaps that produce INAD returns, and each one is a sentence or a photo away from closed.

Step 3. Fix the listing and record the change

Rewrite the description and photos for each listing that drives returns. Photograph the actual unit for used and refurbished items, including close-ups of flaws. State what is and is not included. Add compatibility details and measurements where fit drives returns. Then record what you changed and the date. That log is what shows you, and eBay if it ever asks, that the cause was found and closed. It also lets you check at the next evaluation whether the change worked.

Business models that trigger high INAD rates

Three seller profiles account for most of the high INAD rates we see.

Used and refurbished goods. Condition is a judgment, and buyers judge harder than sellers. The peer group for these sellers already reflects higher return rates, so a High rating means your condition grading is looser than others at your price point. Run it compliantly by grading against a written standard, photographing every unit, listing every cosmetic and functional flaw in the condition description, and choosing the lower grade when a unit sits between two.

Apparel and footwear. Size and fit drive the returns. A buyer who receives a size that does not fit as expected may select “doesn’t match description” even when the label is correct. Run it compliantly by adding measured dimensions for each item, stating the brand’s sizing where it runs large or small, and showing the actual color under neutral light.

Auto parts and accessories. Compatibility drives the returns. eBay’s Money Back Guarantee policy states that when a part covered by eBay Guaranteed Fit does not fit the buyer’s vehicle and the buyer selects “Doesn’t fit my vehicle,” the return is treated as not matching the listing. Run it compliantly by keeping fitment data accurate, listing part numbers and interchange numbers you have verified, and removing fitment claims you cannot confirm.

Fixing Delivery Estimates Behind INR Reports

The INR rate is a shipping problem. A buyer reports an item as not received once the estimated or actual delivery date has passed and the parcel is not there. The report counts in your service metrics even if the parcel turns up two days later and the buyer closes the request. The fix sits upstream, in the handling time, the service and the delivery estimate the buyer saw at checkout.

Find the shipping category first

eBay compares INR rates separately for domestic, international matured region and international emerging region shipping, and a Very High INR rating adds time to delivery estimates only in the shipping categories where you are rated Very High. Start by finding which category carries the problem. A seller with a clean domestic rate and a poor emerging region rate has one service to change. A seller with a poor domestic rate usually has a handling time or carrier problem.

The usual causes

Untracked or low-cost international services. Parcels move slowly, scans are sparse, and buyers report non-receipt before the parcel arrives.
Handling times the warehouse cannot meet. If items leave late, they arrive late, and the buyer’s estimate passes first.
Tracking that never reaches eBay. eBay’s Money Back Guarantee policy states that when you provide tracking details, eBay may close an INR request automatically once tracking shows delivery. Tracking that is not uploaded cannot do that work.
Address problems. eBay’s Money Back Guarantee policy requires delivery to the address in the Order details. A parcel sent anywhere else is hard to prove delivered.

The fixes that move the number

Ship every order with tracking from an integrated carrier and upload it within your handling time. Set a handling time your team meets on its busiest day. Move high-INR destinations onto a faster tracked service, or stop offering the slow service for them. For higher-value orders, add signature confirmation. eBay’s Money Back Guarantee policy requires signature confirmation as part of the evidence of delivery on eBay.com orders with a total cost of $750 or more. Our guide on the eBay late shipment rate covers handling time and carrier scans in more detail.

Contact the buyer before they report. When tracking stalls, a short message with the tracking link and a realistic delivery date keeps many buyers from opening a request. Every request you prevent is one less report in a window that may run for 12 months.

Use the seller protections that exist

eBay lists automated protections on the service metrics page. If eBay determines that a buyer violated its Abusive buyer policy, it automatically removes that buyer’s INR reports and INAD return requests from your service metrics. eBay may also extend delivery dates or remove INR reports when widespread delays occur, such as severe weather or carrier disruptions. If you believe a buyer is not following eBay’s policies, eBay’s policy points you to report the buyer. These protections are the only route for removing individual reports. The policy states eBay will only remove INR reports or INAD return requests from service metrics when they fall under its automated seller protections.

If you are already rated Very High for INR and funds are being held, our guide on Very High INR payment holds explains how those holds release.

Compare the usual causes of eBay item not received reports with the shipping fixes that move the INR rate, one row at a time.

Our Method When a Rating Needs a Written Response

Service metrics ratings are not appealed the way a suspension is. eBay states that ratings must be statistically meaningful and substantially worse than your peers before limitations apply, so individual reports should not affect your standing. The practical route is to bring the rate back inside the peer range. Some sellers still need to explain their position in writing, for example when a related account restriction follows, when eBay asks for information, or when a dispute about a specific report sits under the Abusive buyer policy. We build that written response on the same method we use for performance cases.

The position

The account is compliant when the rate is within the peer range. The corrected metric and the closed driver show that. State that position in one sentence and support it with numbers. Do not argue that the peer comparison is unfair or plead hardship. eBay designed the comparison to account for item type and distance, and arguing against it signals you have not found the cause.

The root cause

Name the category, listing or shipping method behind the reports. “A condition grading gap on refurbished laptops in one category produced 9 of our 12 INAD requests” is a root cause. “We had some returns” is not. A vague cause gives no one, including you, a way to check whether the fix worked. Do not blame buyers, carriers or eBay’s tools. A response that points at buyers tells the reader the listings will keep producing the same return reasons.

Corrective actions already taken

List what you have already done, with numbers, such as the listings you rewrote, the photos you replaced, the shipping service you dropped, and the buyers you refunded or contacted. Corrective actions are completed work, ideally within a day or two of seeing the rating.

Preventive measures

Describe the permanent controls tied to the exact failure, such as the grading standard, the photo rule, the fitment check, the shipping matrix by destination, and the monthly service metrics review with a named owner. Generic promises to be more careful fail because they cannot be checked.

Evidence

Return reasons and buyer messages, tracking data for the affected orders, the before and after versions of each listing, and the current metrics screen. List only documents you can produce. A document you name and cannot provide weakens the rest.

Corrective action log to keep before an appeal is ever needed

Date the High rating or projected rise was first seen, and who saw it.
Metric, category and shipping category affected.
Count of reports or requests and of unique buyers in the window.
Listings identified as drivers, with item numbers and the return reasons tied to each.
Change made to each listing (title, photos, item specifics, condition description, fitment) and the date.
Shipping changes, such as service dropped or added, handling time changed, or signature confirmation added, with dates.
Buyers contacted or refunded, with order numbers.
Rating and rate at each following evaluation on the 20th.

Regional Differences and the Law

Service metrics are provided for eBay.com and a number of other eBay sites. The UK site publishes the same program, including the evaluation on the 20th, the 400 transaction window rule and the 10 reports from 10 unique buyers safeguard. One limitation is narrower on eBay.co.uk. The UK page adds extra delivery time only for postage categories rated Very High for two consecutive evaluations, while the eBay.com page applies it to any shipping category currently rated Very High. eBay’s Global seller performance policy states that seller standards run in four regional programs, US, UK, German and Global, and that a seller listing on several sites gets separate service metrics for each site, benchmarked against sellers on that same site. Seller levels, fee schedules and some thresholds differ by site, so check the policy on the site you sell on. One difference is worth knowing. The signature confirmation threshold on eBay.co.uk payment dispute guidance is set at £450, where eBay.com uses $750.

The law sits underneath eBay’s policy. It does not change how eBay rates you, but it explains why accurate descriptions and timely delivery are obligations that exist beyond the platform. The table summarizes each statute in general terms, and a seller facing a specific buyer claim should take advice on those facts from a lawyer licensed where the buyer lives.

Region	Law	What it means for your metrics
United States (eBay.com)	FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 435	Sellers must have a reasonable basis for any shipping time they state, or ship within 30 days if none is stated, and must offer buyers the option to consent to a delay or cancel and receive a prompt refund when they cannot ship on time. Under section 435.2, a refund owed on a non-credit order goes out within 7 working days. A realistic handling time on eBay supports compliance and lowers INR reports at the same time.
United Kingdom (eBay.co.uk)	Consumer Rights Act 2015, c. 15, section 11	In force since 1 October 2015, section 11 treats every contract to supply goods by description as including a term that the goods will match the description. An INAD return is often a consumer exercising that right, so accurate condition and specifics protect you in law as well as in your metrics.
European Union (eBay EU sites)	Directive (EU) 2019/771 on contracts for the sale of goods, Article 6	Applying from 1 January 2022, Article 6 requires goods to match the description, type, quantity and quality agreed in the contract, and Article 10 makes the seller liable for a lack of conformity that becomes apparent within two years of delivery. Germany implements this in its Civil Code, where section 434 BGB defines when goods are free from defects, a rule that applies to sales on eBay.de.
European Union and United Kingdom	Platform-to-Business Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2019/1150, Articles 11 and 12, and the retained UK version	Applying since 12 July 2020, Article 11 requires an internal complaint-handling system for business users, and Article 12 requires the platform to name two or more mediators in its terms. Business sellers can use these routes when they dispute how a restriction or fee was applied to them.

For EU sites, the Digital Services Act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, adds rights where eBay restricts content or accounts on the ground that the content is illegal or breaks its terms, including a statement of reasons under Article 17, an internal complaint system under Article 20 that stays open for at least six months after the decision, and out-of-court dispute settlement under Article 21. The regulation has applied in full since 17 February 2024, and those rights cover EU stores only. A service metrics fee or hold that rests on your performance numbers is closer to a commercial dispute, and the P2B complaint and mediation routes are the better fit for it.

Monthly Service Metrics Review

The prevention lesson for this rating is to review service metrics every month, before the 20th, and fix the top listings by return reason.

Pick a date and an owner. Schedule the review for the first week of each month so there is time to act before the 20th. Name one person who owns it.
Read both metrics by category and shipping category. Note the rating, the rate and the projected rate for each. Flag anything at High or trending up.
Count against the safeguards. Compare against 10 and 10 and against 1 percent.
Rank the drivers. List the top five listings by INAD requests and the top shipping services and destinations by INR reports.
Fix the top three. Rewrite, re-photograph or relist the top INAD listings. Change the service or handling time behind the top INR source.
Log it. Record the change, the date and the owner in the corrective action log.
Check the result. At the next review, compare the rate for each fixed listing and service. Keep what worked and escalate what did not.

Two habits support the review. First, answer every INR and return request inside eBay’s 3 business day response window, so cases close with you and do not count against your seller standards. Our guide on a Very High INAD or INR rate covers what to do once the rating has already tipped. Second, never move a buyer off eBay to settle a problem. eBay’s Money Back Guarantee policy states that the seller must issue the refund through the return request on eBay.

A composite example

Consider a composite seller of refurbished phones on eBay.com with about 300 sales a quarter, so a 12-month window. The dashboard shows INAD returns at High, with a rate of 2.1 percent and 8 requests from 8 buyers. The INR rate is Average. Grouping the requests shows 6 of the 8 on two listings that use a stock photo and describe battery health as “excellent” with no number. The fix is to photograph each unit, state measured battery health, and list cosmetic marks. Because the window is 12 months, the old requests stay in the count, so the seller also widens the gap by keeping new requests near zero. Two months later the projected rate falls back toward Average, and the seller never reaches 10 requests from 10 buyers. The phone seller, the volumes and the battery listings are a teaching composite, with no client account behind any of the figures.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Very High INAD rate on eBay?

It is an item not as described return rate that eBay rates as significantly worse than your peers. It only affects your account when the rate is at least 1 percent and it involves at least 10 return requests from 10 unique buyers. eBay compares you with sellers in the same categories at a similar price, condition and return policy.

What happens with a Very High INAD rate?

You may be charged higher final value fees from the 1st of the month after the evaluation. Directly after the evaluation, you may also lose the ability to deduct from a buyer’s refund when an item is returned used or damaged. eBay does not publish one fixed fee increase on the service metrics page and refers sellers to its fee pages.

What happens with a Very High INR rate?

eBay may add time to the delivery estimates buyers see and hold funds until tracking shows the item is on its way. These apply directly after the evaluation, in the shipping categories rated Very High. You may also be unable to deduct from refunds on items returned used or damaged.

Which window does eBay use?

eBay uses the last 3 months if you had more than 400 transactions in that period, and the last 12 months if you had fewer. Evaluations run on the 20th of each month.

How do I lower INAD returns?

Make the title, photos, item specifics and condition description match the item exactly. Start with the few listings that produce most of your return requests, photograph the actual unit, name every flaw and add measurements or fitment data where those drive returns.

Get Help With a High eBay INAD or INR Rate

Most sellers can bring a High rating back to Average with the review above. Where we help is the case where fee increases and payment holds already apply, several categories are affected at once, and you need to decide which listings and services to fix first. We map the reports to their drivers and build the correction plan.

Start with our eBay suspension and account health service, submit your case for a free assessment, or book a consultation to review your service metrics before the next evaluation.

Sellers with a second account on Amazon, Walmart or Etsy facing a similar metric can start from the marketplace suspension services hub.

Fixing a High eBay INAD or INR Rate Before Very High Penalties