Short answer: every order gets a 1 to 5 star rating. 4 and 5 stars count as positive, 3 is neutral, 1 and 2 are negative. Buyers have 60 days to rate, and an order with no rating five days after it is marked complete gets an automatic 5. Ship within 48 hours, answer messages fast, fix problems by the refund policy, then ask politely for a revision. Feedback about things outside your control can be escalated for removal.
How TCGplayer feedback works
TCGplayer's Your Feedback Rating page: "For every order a buyer places through your store on TCGplayer.com, you'll receive a rating from 1 to 5 (where 5 is the highest rating possible)." The rules that matter:
- Positive, neutral, negative. "Positive = 5 stars and 4 stars", "Neutral = 3 stars", "Negative = 2 stars and 1 star".
- The reminder. TCGplayer emails the buyer "within two days of the estimated delivery date for the order."
- The window. "Buyers have 60 days after a transaction to leave feedback."
- The automatic 5. "If the buyer doesn't provide any feedback five days after an order is marked complete, we'll automatically rate the sale a 5." A buyer can still replace it with their own rating inside the 60 days.
- Comments are rare. "You'll most likely receive comments on approximately 10% of sales."
- One rating per order. Feedback "is segmented by order", so a 20-card order gets one rating, not 20.
Your rating "is calculated daily" and shows in the Feedback tab of your Seller Portal. Buyers see your overall percentage on product listings and your last 12 months on the Feedback tab of your storefront. A new store shows "Newly Launched" until its first rating, and a store with no ratings in 12 months shows "No recent ratings".
What rating you need
TCGplayer's own guide: "As long as you keep your rating between 97% and 100%, you're doing great. If your rating dips below 95%, that's the time to take action." It also warns that "In severe cases where your rating dips significantly, our team may choose to remove you from the TCGplayer Marketplace." Some thresholds from other help pages:
| What | Feedback needed |
|---|---|
| Move to Level 2 | 80% or above (plus 2 orders past their EDD) |
| Move to Level 3 | 85% or above (plus 11 orders past their EDD) |
| Move to Level 4 | 90% or above (plus 51 orders past their EDD) |
| Gold Star Seller | at least 99.5%, with at least 100 transactions in the last 90 days |
| Apply for TCGplayer Direct | 99.5% over the past 30 days (plus Level 4 and other sales criteria) |
Gold Star status is "tabulated daily", so one bad week can take the star away and a good one can bring it back. What the star gets you and how to keep it: TCGplayer Gold Star Seller.
How to get more 5-star feedback
TCGplayer names the top cause of bad ratings directly: "The most common, and preventable, cause of negative feedback is failure to reply within 48 hours to a buyer inquiry in the Messages tab." Its advice for keeping a high rating:
- Ship fast. Ship "as soon as possible (within 48 hours at the latest)" and follow the shipping guidelines so the cards arrive "intact and as expected".
- Answer every message. "Respond to any buyer inquiries about the status of their order within 48 hours, and provide professional responses."
- Speak up first. If you hit a snag, TCGplayer says "it's definitely best to send the buyer a message explaining the situation and offering them options on how to proceed."
- Send the right cards in the right condition. A wrong card or a condition miss is a complaint you can prevent at the packing table. Check each card against the order before the envelope closes.
What not to do: TCGplayer says to "be careful not to pressure the buyer into changing their rating, as doing so is a violation of our policies." Its feedback policy also removes any feedback "used to manipulate feedback ratings".
How to answer a negative or neutral rating
TCGplayer says "You should reply to all negative feedback (1-3 stars) within 48 hours." The steps from Viewing and responding to feedback from buyers:
- Open the Feedback page and find the rating.
- Select the order number tied to it.
- On the order page, choose View Messages (if you've messaged the buyer before) or Contact Buyer (if you haven't).
- Type your reply and select Send.
Fix the problem first, by TCGplayer's refund and return policy. Then ask. TCGplayer: "Once the issue has been resolved, you can request that the buyer revise their original rating and comment." Buyers change a rating from Order History with Edit Rating, but only within 60 days of the order. TCGplayer adds that "Most buyers are willing to amend feedback to a positive rating once the seller messages them and helps resolve their issue."
When TCGplayer removes feedback
The Seller Feedback Policy lists the cases. TCGplayer removes all feedback with things like hate, threats, profanity, personal information, links to sales off TCGplayer, comments meant for a different item or seller, and "Negative comments with positive ratings, or positive comments with negative ratings". It also removes feedback used to extort a member or manipulate ratings.
For order problems, these are the cases most sellers run into. TCGplayer may remove neutral or negative feedback when the buyer is referencing:
- "The buyer asked to cancel after placing their order"
- "A delivery issue where tracking shows us that the delivery or handling time expectations were met"
- "A delivery issue where a natural disaster or unexpected event caused a carrier delay"
- "The buyer requested a change to an order after the order has shipped (and their feedback relates to this)"
And it removes neutral or negative feedback when you handled a return by the rules, for example "A seller provided a refund or replacement for a missing or wrong card in the order", or a partial refund for a condition difference. That is a strong reason to resolve problems through the policy, not around it.
TCGplayer is also clear about the limits: "buyers do not expect to see 100% positive feedback and that TCGplayer is not in a position to contradict buyers' opinions or judgment of items."
How to ask TCGplayer to remove feedback
Open the message thread for the order and select Escalate This Thread at the top. A team member reviews it. If the feedback qualifies, TCGplayer emails you and removes it "within a reasonable timeframe". If not, it explains how the feedback fits the policy. TCGplayer's rating page suggests you try the buyer first: escalate once "you've done everything in your power to resolve any problems with the order, and the buyer still has not changed their feedback".
Where TCG Speed Shipper helps
Most bad ratings start with a slow, wrong or missing order. When you upload TCGplayer's Export Shipping file to TCG Speed Shipper, it prints the address labels for the batch, and Combine puts a buyer's multiple orders into one package so they don't get two envelopes. Packing mode shows one order at a time on your phone, so you can tick off each card as it goes in. When you add tracking numbers, it builds the TCGplayer upload file so the whole batch is marked shipped in one upload, and the buyer sees tracking.
FAQ
How long does a buyer have to leave feedback on TCGplayer?
60 days after the transaction. If the buyer leaves nothing five days after the order is marked complete, TCGplayer automatically rates the sale a 5. The buyer can still replace that with their own rating inside the 60 days.
Does 4-star feedback hurt my TCGplayer rating?
No. TCGplayer counts 5 and 4 stars as positive, 3 stars as neutral, and 2 and 1 stars as negative.
Can I ask a buyer to change their TCGplayer feedback?
Yes, after you resolve their issue by TCGplayer's refund and return policy. Ask in the order's message thread. Don't pressure them: TCGplayer says pressuring a buyer to change a rating violates its policies.
How do I get negative feedback removed on TCGplayer?
Open the order's message thread and select Escalate This Thread. TCGplayer removes feedback that breaks its Seller Feedback Policy, such as complaints about a delivery where tracking shows expectations were met, a cancel the buyer asked for, or a problem you already fixed with a refund or replacement.
What feedback rating do I need for Gold Star Seller?
At least 99.5%, with at least 100 transactions in the last 90 days. TCGplayer tabulates Gold Star status daily.
Sources
- TCGplayer Help: Your Feedback Rating (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: Seller Feedback Policy (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: Viewing and responding to feedback from buyers (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: Leaving feedback for sellers (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: What is a Gold Star Seller? (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: How do seller levels work? (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: New Seller FAQ (checked November 1, 2026)