What is the VUS score?
Last updated 2026-06-07
The VUS score is value.us's own 0–5 rating for a retailer. In short, it's a confidence rating: the more current, verified information we hold about a retailer — and the more consistently they show up across value.us — the higher their score. It is a value.us metric, calculated by us.
What pushes a score up
The single biggest factor is how rich and how fresh our verified data is. When we've been able to confirm a lot about a retailer, recently and directly, we're more confident — and the score reflects that. The kinds of things that contribute:
- Current signup deals and welcome offers we've verified
- A clear free-shipping threshold
- A stated return / refund policy and window
- Live sales or promotions running right now
- Gift-card availability, price-match, student or military discounts
- How recently we last checked all of the above at the source
A retailer where we've verified many of these, very recently, scores higher than one where we've only been able to confirm a little. The score also reflects how the retailer performs across value.us more broadly.
How to read it
- 4–5 — we hold a lot of fresh, verified detail on this retailer.
- 3–4 — a solid amount of verified information.
- Below 3 — we hold less, or it's due a re-check.
- No score shown — we don't yet hold enough confirmed information to rate them. That isn't a mark against the retailer; it just means we're still gathering data.
Scores update as we re-verify retailers, so a score can rise (or fall) over time as our information changes.
What the VUS score is not
- It is not a customer-review score, and it is not any other company's rating. It's our own measure, and we don't republish third-party review numbers.
- It is not a guarantee of your individual experience with a retailer — always check the retailer's own current terms before you buy.
- It is a confidence and completeness signal, not a verdict on a retailer's overall worth.
Every fact we show is stamped with when we last checked it — see how we verify data for more on where our information comes from.