My only complaint about EBay is shipping delays!

[diggummup]

Great post but let me clarify on the TRS (Top Rated Seller). It's true that sellers can lose their TRS status if they don't ship within their specified handling time but they can specify a handling time longer than 1 business day. However, fees are reduced by 1% of the total sale price IF they specify & ship within 1 business day.

The selling fee in most categories is 10%. If you have a store that is reduced to 9%, & if you are a TRS with 1 day handling it's reduced to 8%. I have the basic store that now costs $19.95/month. Counting the store costs my eBay fees have been averaging right around 8.2% of sales.

Not really. To qualify for top rated seller status one must have either same day shipping or 1 (business) day handling time, maximum. My final value fees are 8%.
Becoming a Top Rated Seller and qualifying for Top Rated Plus

 

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[trdhrdr007]

Top Rated Seller status gets you discounts on postage. Listings that have a 1 day or less handling time & a 30 day return qualify for TRS "Plus". I know plenty of people that are TRS but don't get the extra benefits of "Plus" due to their handling time and/or return policy. Your original point of looking for TRS sellers is valid because buyers wouldn't have any way of knowing someone is a TRS unless they have the TRS seal on their listings. Here's the relevant information directly from your link:

You can qualify to become a Top Rated seller by consistently meeting our performance standards for sales and shipment tracking.
Then, once you're a Top Rated seller, your listings can qualify for additional benefits. If your listings offer same- or one-business-day handling plus a 30-day or longer return period with money back option, you get:

• The Top Rated Plus seal (
  
  ) displayed prominently
  
  
• A 20% discount on final value fees (this applies to the final item price only, not to shipping charges)
  

[h=2]Top Rated Seller requirements[/h]To become a Top Rated Seller your eBay account must have been active for at least 90 days. You must also meet sales and tracking requirements and performance standards.
Sales requirements:

• You have at least 100 transactions with US buyers over the most recent 12-month period.
  
  
• You have at least $1,000 in sales with US buyers over the most recent 12-month period.
  

Tracking requirements:

You've uploaded valid shipment tracking to My eBay within your promised handling time for at least 90% of transactions with US buyers in the last 3 months. [h=2]Qualifying your listings for Top Rated Plus seal and discounts[/h]To qualify for Top Rated Plus benefits, you need to be a Top Rated seller and your eligible listings need to: Provide a 30-day (or longer) money-back return policy Provide same- or 1-business-day handling time

 

[diggummup]

I got it now. Thanks for the edumacation . I didn't realize that TRS-Plus is a listing status and not a seller status. I guess the badge only appears on listings that qualify with same or 1 day shipping and 30 day returns.

 

[trdhrdr007]

That's how I understand it also.