When a buyer adds your product to their shopping basket and checks out, Amazon processes their order following these steps:
Amazon places the order in Pending status.
The quantity available for the listing is subtracted from your quantity in Manage Inventory. If there was a quantity of one at the time the order was placed, the listing will be removed from the Amazon offer page and appear in Manage Inventory with a quantity of zero while the order is being processed.
Pending orders will not appear in either the Orders report or the Undispatched Orders report and will be greyed out (non-actionable) in Manage Orders. Amazon holds all orders for 30 minutes, which gives buyers an opportunity to cancel orders. Buyer-cancelled orders will appear in Manage Orders as cancelled, and will be greyed out. In some cases, our payment and order detail verification processes may potentially extend order processing times for as long as 21 days. For more information, see Pending Orders. If a buyer contacts you while an order is in Pending status, refer them to Amazon Customer Service for more information.
Amazon verifies the order.
Amazon attempts to validate the buyer’s payment method and order details. At this stage, you will see one of three different status types in Manage Orders:
Undispatched
Payment verification is successful. See step 3.
Pending
Payment verification is initially unsuccessful or extended. In some cases, our payment and order detail verification processes might extend order processing times for as long as 21 days. Pending orders should not be dispatched, even if the buyer contacts you directly. Pending orders will not appear in either the Orders report or the Undispatched Orders report and will be ‘greyed out’ (non-actionable) in Manage Orders.
Cancelled
An order gets cancelled if payment authorisation does not succeed, or in cases of fraud. Amazon will not notify you when an order is cancelled, other than recording the order as cancelled in Manage Orders. No further action is necessary.
If a buyer contacts you about a cancelled order and you still have available inventory, you can invite them to place a new order on Amazon.
When payment is verified on an order, Amazon does the following:
Changes the status to Undispatched
Sends an order confirmation to the buyer with the estimated delivery date
Sends an order notification to you
Note: Do not rely solely on email notifications for order confirmation. Check your Manage Orders page or Orders reports for undispatched orders at least once a day.
Note: If an order is delayed because of Amazon’s processes, we will provide the buyer with a new delivery date based on the date the order is released from Pending status.
You process the order.
Once an order is in Undispatched status, you must either fulfil or cancel the order. Keep in mind that buyers can leave feedback on seller-cancelled orders.
Note: Amazon expects sellers to maintain accurate inventory levels. Failure to adjust your inventory in a timely manner can lead to excessive pre-fulfilment order cancellations. For information on how we factor cancelled orders into your overall performance, see Customer Metrics.
Obtain the delivery address in one of these locations:
The Order Details page
An Orders report
An Undispatched Orders report
Note: To protect confidential buyer information, Amazon does not include the buyer’s delivery address in the Sold, Dispatch Now email.
Dispatch the order to the buyer using the delivery address and the requested delivery method.
Note: Only dispatch orders that you can verify as Undispatched in Manage Orders or through the reports.
Confirm dispatch using one of the following methods:
From the Manage Orders page, click Confirm Dispatch and complete the required information.
Upload a Dispatch Confirmation file for multiple orders (only available to sellers with Professional selling accounts).
Note: You must confirm dispatch of the order with Amazon within 30 days of the order date. Otherwise, Amazon will automatically cancel the order and you will not be paid, even if you dispatched the order. One week before the 30-day cutoff, you will see a warning in Manage Orders (‘Confirm as dispatched by [date] to avoid cancellation’), and you will receive a notification by email.
Note: You must confirm dispatch of the order with Amazon within 7 days of the delivery date. Otherwise, Amazon will automatically cancel the order and you will not be paid, even if you dispatched the order. One week before the 7-day cutoff, you will see a warning in Manage Orders (‘Confirm as dispatched by [date] to avoid cancellation’), and you will receive a notification by email.
