The eBay UK & Ireland PowerSeller portal has an announcement today that as of April, the criteria for UK PSs will change. Here’s the full announcement. In summary, the sales qualification for entry to the PS programme is being lowered, but the performance qualification is being raised. All PowerSellers will need to be registered with eBay as businesses.

Qualification criteria for entry-level Bronze PS status is being dramatically lowered: sellers will have to have

• a minimum of 100 transactions* over 12 months (currently 100 items per month for three months), or
• minimum sales volume of £2000* over 12 months (currently £750 per month for three months)

In addition, there will be new minimum performance standards for all PowerSellers:

• average DSRs of 4.6 on all four criteria (currently 4.0)
• 1 or 2 star ratings for item as described DSR: maximum 1% or 3 total*
• 1 or 2 star ratings for other three DSRs: maximum 2% or 3 total*
• have no policy breaches in the last 90 days
• have no breaches of the Feedback Manipulation, Shill Bidding and Counterfeits policies in the last 180 days
• comply with the Selling Practices Policy

* Only transactions with UK and Irish buyers count for these criteria.