You might have noticed the colorful stars that pop up on product pages across eBay. These are eBay star ratings and they appear in your ‘Seller Information’ section.
If you’ve just joined eBay, it may seem like your account is the only one without a star. But don’t worry, we’re here to explain how you can get an eBay star rating of your own and improve your seller reputation.
eBay Stars: An Introduction
Sometimes they’re yellow, sometimes they’re red, and sometimes they even have little speed lines for added effect. These eBay feedback stars always appear to the right of a seller’s account name, just above their positive feedback percentage.
Each star has a number beside it, and if you hover over it, you’ll be told that this number represents the seller’s feedback score. If you’re unfamiliar with eBay’s rating system, you might think 90 is a high score. It’s out of 100, right? Wrong. You’ll see eBay star ratings of 2,998 and 759,000 and even higher.
Though their meaning might not be immediately clear, these stars are eBay’s way of telling shoppers about each seller’s reputation. Many people who frequently browse eBay understand what the different colored stars and numbers mean, so they are important if you want to prove your eBay customer service credentials.
The eBay Star Rating System Explained
An eBay star rating and feedback score indicate both a seller’s experience and their level of customer service. They represent how high your sales are and how much positive feedback you have received.
Every time a seller earns feedback, they can gain or lose points. Here’s how the eBay star system works:
- You earn one point for each positive rating
- You lose one point for every negative rating
- A neutral rating isn’t worth any points
The eBay feedback star score will show how many points a seller has received based on this system. This is how they work it out:
Positive ratings – negative ratings = Feedback score
The eBay Star Rating Chart
If you’re a seller, you may be wondering how to get an eBay star rating of your own, and what the eBay star colors mean.
Well, the color of each eBay star is designed to correlate with the feedback score of a seller. As you’ll see in the eBay star level list below, once you start receiving customer feedback, you’ll need 10 points to be awarded your first star.
- Yellow star: 10 feedback points
- Blue star: 50 feedback points
- Turquoise star: 100 feedback points
- Purple star: 500 feedback points
- Red star: 1,000 feedback points
- Green star: 5,000 feedback points
- Yellow shooting star: 10,000 feedback points
- Turquoise shooting star: 25,000 feedback points
- Purple shooting star: 50,000 feedback points
- Red shooting star: 100,000 feedback points
- Green shooting star: 500,000 feedback points
- Silver shooting star: 1,000,000 feedback points
If you’re curious about your current feedback score, you can see where you’re at by looking at the top of your seller feedback profile. If you have an eBay star level, it will appear here too.
You’ll notice that when you receive 10,000 points, your star on eBay turns to yellow again. But this time, it will have speed lines sticking out, meaning you’ll have reached ‘shooting star’ status.
How Important Is Your eBay Star Rating?
Although not everyone knows what eBay feedback stars mean, it is still a good idea to get your score as high as possible. Having a high feedback score makes you a more reputable seller, who customers are more likely to buy from.
eBay Feedback Stars and Your Sales
Those who do understand eBay stars will be impressed with a shooting star. But people who are unaware of the system can still click on your star and be brought to a breakdown of recent ratings. So, feedback on eBay is essential to instilling trust in potential customers.
Small volume sellers may wonder how they can compete with big brands here. But eBay feedback stars and scores aren’t the be-all and end-all. Most customers also look at the positive feedback percentage. If you have 100% here, your feedback score might not influence buyers as much.
Smaller sellers can be competitive by offering a great service. So, for example, eBay users looking for a pair of sneakers might come across two sellers:
- peach_sport_uk, which has 100% positive feedback and a feedback score of 115,605
- adidas_official, which has 97.1% positive feedback and a feedback score of 226,725
While both metrics are impressive, some users may be inclined to go with Peach Sport, which has only received one negative rating in the past year. Other buyers will be impressed with Adidas’ feedback score.
eBay Feedback Stars and Your Rankings
When pulling together listings for its results page, eBay’s search algorithm pushes some sellers to the top and others into obscurity. The precise formula for success isn’t clear, but we know that eBay rewards sellers for good performance. So your feedback score will influence your rankings and visibility on the platform.
1. Make Sure Your Product Listings Are Accurate
A badly written description – or even an outright inaccurate one – will attract negative feedback. If customers don’t get what they’re expecting, they won’t be happy. They may be inclined to warn other shoppers too, which can have the serious impact of negative eBay feedback on your seller reputation.
Optimize your eBay listings by including as much detail about your products as possible. By this we mean feature model numbers, measurements and other precise specifications to match buyer expectations with what they’ll actually receive.
2. Use Great Images
A picture is worth a thousand words. So once you’ve finished your detailed description, add some high-quality photos to your listings. Check out eBay’s photo tips for guidance. Clear, well-lit images from multiple angles help buyers know exactly what they’re buying.
3. Provide Top-Class Customer Service
Great customer service is about speedy responses and a polite attitude. Even when you’re dealing with unhappy customers, great service can prevent negative reviews. In fact, eBay encourages customers to contact sellers before giving them a bad rating, so consider this an opportunity to turn a bad experience into a good one.
Providing exceptional customer service on eBay not only helps maintain positive feedback but is also crucial for achieving eBay Top Rated Seller status, which can further boost your visibility and sales on the platform.
4. Respond to Negative Feedback
eBay also allows users to update their feedback. So if you receive negative ratings, you should respond promptly and professionally.
You may be able to make the situation better or even encourage them to remove negative feedback. If not, an apology and clear explanation will comfort potential customers that come across this rating. Remember, poor seller performance can lead to consequences including account suspension, so taking feedback seriously is essential.
Related: eBay Feedback Revision: How to Improve your Seller Reputation
5. Personalize Your Customer Messages
The best customer support tools for eCommerce offer personalization options, so give your customers a friendly experience and speak to them on their level. Address them by name and reference specific details about their purchase to create a more engaging shopping experience.
6. Proactively Request Feedback
The chances are that most of your eBay customers are having a great experience, but aren’t providing feedback. So, how do you increase eBay feedback and ratings? Just ask. There are handy tools to automate this process, so there’s no excuse not to.
By following these steps, you can be sure to earn your star on eBay and continue climbing the seller rating levels.
eBay Silver Shooting Star Sellers
The world’s top eBay accounts feature many silver shooting star sellers. With a feedback score of over six million, one of 2025’s top sellers, ‘World of Books’, has one. If you look at its stats from recent reports, the seller receives an average of 99,000 feedback scores each month.
For many sellers, this level is out of reach. But they should shoot for the stars regardless. The more feedback your account receives, the more visibility and customers you’ll gain. Even small sellers can build impressive reputations by consistently providing excellent service and following the tips outlined above.
Whatever your current eBay star level, focus on delivering great customer experiences and your rating will continue to climb, helping you build a successful eBay business.
