EBay, in a bid to drum up more business, said Monday it plans to reward top-rated sellers on the online auction site.

The San Jose, California-based company said sellers who receive the highest ratings from buyers will receive 20 percent discounts on the fees they pay to eBay and feature more prominently in search rankings.

EBay said the system would be in place by October, ahead of the Christmas holiday shopping season, and that 150,000 sellers in the United States were expected to immediately qualify.

It said the program would launch in Britain and Germany at the same time as it does in the United States.

Sellers with as few as 100 transactions a year and 3,000 dollars a year in sales can qualify for the program based on buyer feedback, eBay said.