Every marketplace keeps score of how well you look after its customers. Ship late, cancel orders or leave complaints unresolved, and the numbers slip. Slip far enough and the consequences range from lower search rankings and higher fees to having your account restricted or deactivated, which means sales stop overnight.
The good news is that the metrics are published, the targets are clear, and most problems show up on a dashboard well before they become serious. This guide covers the metrics Amazon, eBay and TikTok Shop use in the UK, the thresholds you need to stay within, and the habits that keep you there. All figures are correct at the time of writing (October 2026).
Amazon: the core performance metrics
Amazon's Order Performance programme policy sets minimum standards for fulfilment, delivery and customer service. You can see how you are doing on the Account Health page in Seller Central. These are the targets:
| Metric | What it measures | Target | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order Defect Rate (ODR) | Orders with negative feedback, an A-to-z Guarantee claim or a credit card chargeback | Under 1% | 60 days |
| Cancellation Rate (shown as Pre-fulfilment Cancel Rate) | Orders you cancel yourself, for example because you ran out of stock | Under 2.5% | 7 days |
| Late Dispatch Rate (also called Late Shipment Rate) | Orders confirmed as dispatched after the expected dispatch date | Under 4% | 10 or 30 days |
| Valid Tracking Rate | Shipments with a valid tracking number | Above 95% | 30 days |
Source: Amazon. Amazon says an ODR above 1%, a cancellation rate above 2.5% or a late dispatch rate above 4% may result in the loss or restriction of selling privileges. A valid tracking rate below 95% in a category may restrict your ability to sell items you fulfil yourself in that category. Amazon also expects a minimum 90% On-Time Delivery Rate for orders you fulfil yourself, measured against the delivery date you promised.
Which metrics apply to you
The cancellation, late dispatch, valid tracking and on-time delivery metrics apply to orders you fulfil yourself (FBM, or Fulfilled by Merchant). If you use FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon), Amazon stores, packs and ships those orders, so those metrics do not apply to them. ODR applies to every order, because negative feedback and A-to-z claims can come from any sale.
Watch your handling time. Amazon compares the handling time you set for each SKU with your actual performance over a rolling 30 days. If you are consistently a day or more slower, Amazon may switch on automated handling time for that SKU for 90 days. Set handling times you can genuinely hit, including on busy days.
Amazon's Account Health Rating
On top of the performance metrics, Amazon gives each seller an Account Health Rating (AHR). It reflects how well you comply with Amazon's selling policies, such as rules on intellectual property, restricted products, product reviews and listing accuracy, and it indicates your risk of deactivation.
The rating is a score from 0 to 1,000, colour coded:
- Healthy (green), 200 to 1,000: your account is not at risk of deactivation under the policies the score covers.
- At risk (yellow), 100 to 199: your account is at risk of deactivation.
- Unhealthy (red), 99 or lower: your account is eligible for deactivation or already deactivated.
Here is how it moves. All new sellers start at 200. You lose points when Amazon finds a policy violation, typically between two and eight points depending on severity, and you get them back when you successfully appeal, dispute or fix the issue. Repeat violations of the same policy can sometimes double in value. You also gain four points for every 200 orders successfully fulfilled over the last 180 days.
The exception is a critical violation, such as a product found to be counterfeit through a test buy, soliciting reviews, or manipulating search results. A critical violation sends your score straight to zero, and you have three days to address it before deactivation. Amazon may also call your emergency contact number during that window, so keep it up to date.
Violations generally drop off your Account Health page after 180 days, or sooner if you successfully dispute or appeal them.
eBay: seller performance levels
eBay evaluates every seller on the 20th of each month and assigns one of three seller levels: Top Rated, Above Standard or Below Standard. If you had more than 400 transactions in the past three months, eBay looks at those three months. If you had fewer, it looks at the last 12 months.
| Metric | Minimum standard | Top Rated requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Cases closed without seller resolution | No more than 2, or 0.3% of transactions, whichever is higher | No more than 2, or 0.3% of transactions |
| Transaction defect rate | No more than 2% (Below Standard only if defects involve more than 4 different buyers) | No more than 0.5%, involving no more than 3 different buyers |
| Late delivery rate | No minimum on its own | No more than 5, or 3% of transactions |
Source: eBay. A transaction defect is an order you cancel unexpectedly, for example because it was out of stock, or a buyer issue you do not resolve, so that eBay steps in and finds you responsible.
Top Rated status also needs an account active for at least 90 days, at least 100 transactions and £1,000 in sales with UK and Irish buyers over 12 months, and registration as a business seller.
What happens if you fall Below Standard
eBay says your items may be placed lower in Best Match search results, your selling limits may fall, you will be blocked from Promoted Listings, funds may be held until tracking shows the item is on its way, and from the following month you may be charged higher final value fees. Extended periods Below Standard can lead to wider selling restrictions.
One change worth knowing: from 15 October 2026, eBay Live transactions will no longer count towards seller standards and will be evaluated separately.
TikTok Shop: Shop Performance Score and fulfilment targets
TikTok Shop UK uses a Shop Performance Score (SPS) from 0 to 5. You receive a score once you have delivered at least 30 orders in the past 60 days. Under the version of the policy effective from 22 July 2026, it is calculated from six metrics in three groups:
- Product satisfaction: negative review rate (1 and 2-star reviews) and seller-fault return and refund rate, both over 60 days.
- Fulfilment and logistics: seller-fault cancellation rate and on-time delivery rate, both over 30 days.
- Customer service: chat (IM) dissatisfaction rate and after-sales handling time.
Unlike Amazon and eBay, the SPS is relative. Each metric is scored against sellers in your own product subcategory, and the weighting of each group depends on your category. TikTok says top sellers generally score 4 or above. Your score is shown to customers on your shop profile and affects access to programmes such as affiliate marketing and campaigns. Auctions, for example, require an SPS of at least 3.0.
The fulfilment lines you must not cross
Alongside the SPS, TikTok Shop UK enforces fixed targets on a weekly basis:
- Seller-fault cancellation rate: 2.5% or lower over 7 days. Running out of stock and pricing errors both count. Exceeding it can lead to an order volume limit, which caps how many orders you can receive each day.
- Valid tracking rate: 95% or higher over 7 days for orders you ship yourself, using approved carriers.
- On-time delivery rate: a healthy rate is 90% or more each week. For UK orders the deliver-by window is 4 business days. Below 70%, you may face reduced visibility and an order volume limit.
Policy violations add up too. If you build up multiple violations within 180 days, TikTok Shop applies escalating enforcement, from pausing new product uploads for 2 to 7 days, to temporary shop closure for 7 to 28 days, and finally permanent suspension.
Habits that keep your metrics healthy
Every metric above comes back to a few basics. Get these right and account health largely looks after itself.
- Check the dashboards weekly. Amazon's Account Health page, eBay's Seller Dashboard and TikTok's Shop Health all show problems early. eBay even shows your projected level if you were evaluated today.
- Never sell stock you do not have. Out-of-stock cancellations count against you on all three marketplaces. If you sell on more than one, sync your stock. Our guide to stopping overselling explains how.
- Set handling times you can actually meet. A promise of one day that you miss is worse than a promise of two that you keep.
- Use tracked services and upload tracking straight away. It protects your valid tracking rate and gives you evidence if a delivery is disputed.
- Answer messages quickly. Slow replies turn small questions into complaints, claims and poor reviews. TikTok Shop estimates that every hour a customer question goes unanswered increases 1 and 2-star ratings by about 5%.
- Keep listings accurate. Wrong sizes, colours or descriptions lead to returns, negative reviews and "not as described" claims.
- Dispute what is not your fault. All three marketplaces have appeal routes for defects caused by carriers, abusive buyers or errors. On eBay, for example, you can appeal a case closed without seller resolution within 30 days of the decision.
A ten-minute weekly check
| Marketplace | Where to look | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Account Health page | AHR status, ODR, cancellation, late dispatch and valid tracking rates, any new policy violations |
| eBay | Seller Dashboard | Current and projected seller level, transaction defects, cases closed without resolution |
| TikTok Shop | Shop Health and Shop Performance Score | SPS and the "Top Opportunity" metric, seller-fault cancellations, on-time delivery, violation records |
Account health checks are part of every Polymerchant plan, and our account health service explains what we monitor. If you are not sure where you stand, book a free 20-minute demo and we will look at the channels you sell on today.
Key takeaways
- Amazon targets: ODR under 1%, cancellation rate under 2.5%, late dispatch rate under 4%, valid tracking rate above 95%.
- Amazon's Account Health Rating runs from 0 to 1,000. Stay at 200 or above to be "Healthy".
- eBay sellers need a transaction defect rate of 2% or less to avoid Below Standard, and 0.5% or less for Top Rated.
- TikTok Shop scores you from 0 to 5 against similar sellers, and enforces a 2.5% seller-fault cancellation limit and a 95% valid tracking rate weekly.
- Stock accuracy, realistic handling times, tracked delivery and quick replies protect almost every metric.