At a glance
On-Time Shipping Rate (Star Seller KPI) is the share of your orders that were marked shipped, with tracking where required, inside the processing window you declared on each listing. It is one of the named criteria Etsy uses to award the Star Seller badge, and Etsy expects at least 95% of orders to ship on time. An Etsy seller cares because falling below the 95% line puts the badge at risk, and the badge drives buyer trust, conversion, and search prominence. Good looks like a rate sitting comfortably above 95% with margin to absorb the odd late order. Bad looks like a rate hovering near or below 95%, where a single late batch can tip you out of badge eligibility.
| What it counts | The percentage of orders shipped, with tracking where Etsy requires it, within the seller-declared processing window. |
| Sample type | Backend API data from Etsy, refreshed on the standard data refresh. |
| Why it matters | It is a direct Star Seller criterion. Etsy requires 95% on-time, so this card is your live distance from the badge threshold. |
| Reading the value | Read it as a percentage where higher is safer. Anything at or below 95% is in the danger zone; the comfort you want is a buffer above the line, not a value exactly on it. |
| Currency | Percent. |
| Time window | 30D vsP |
| Alert trigger | <95% (Star Seller threshold) |
| Sentiment key | ets_on_time_ship_rate |
| Roles | owner, operations |
Calculation
The rate is the count of orders shipped on time divided by total shippable orders in the window, expressed as a percentage. An order counts as on time when it is marked shipped, with valid tracking where Etsy requires tracking, on or before the end of the processing window you declared on the listing. The current 30 days is compared against the prior comparable period, and the alert fires when the rate falls below the 95% Star Seller threshold.Worked example
Illustrative numbers. A leather-goods shop normally runs at 98% on-time. On 23 Jun 26 the card shows the rate has slipped to 94% and tripped the alert below 95%. The owner opens the card and sees a cluster of orders shipped a day late after a courier collection was missed. They batch-ship the remaining open orders the same day, add tracking to each, and pad the declared processing window on their slowest-to-make listings to build buffer. Within the rolling window the rate climbs back above 95% and the badge stays safe. To find precisely which orders pulled the rate under the line, the owner uses Vortex Mind to trace the late cluster, then asks Ask Viq, “which orders made me miss the Star Seller shipping target this month”, for a plain-English list.Sibling cards merchants should reference together
| Card | Why merchants reach for it |
|---|---|
star-seller-status | The badge outcome this rate directly protects. |
late-shipments-risking-star-seller | Names the exact orders dragging the rate below the line. |
star-seller-kpi-review-ontime-response-crossed-threshold | Shows the companion Star Seller criteria moving alongside shipping. |
pending-shipment | The live queue of orders still inside their window, before they go late. |
etsy-shop-health-score | Rolls this rate into the wider composite shop-health picture. |
Reconciling against Etsy Shop Manager
Where to look in Etsy Shop Manager: Reconcile against Shop Manager > Star Seller dashboard, which shows your on-time shipping percentage against the 95% target for Etsy’s rolling assessment window. Cross-check individual orders under Shop Manager > Orders & Shipping, where each order shows its ship-by date and whether tracking was added. Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:| Reason | Direction | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment window. Etsy’s Star Seller dashboard runs on its own rolling period, while the card uses a trailing 30 days. | Marginal | Expect a small gap near the period edges; trend direction matters more than the exact figure. |
| Tracking requirement. An order shipped on time but missing required tracking may not count as on time. | Variable | Confirm tracking was added on orders that look on time but score against you. |
| Processing window edits. Changing a listing’s declared window changes the ship-by date used for new orders. | Variable | Reconcile each order against the window that applied at purchase, not the current one. |