Long Delivery dates shown to customers
Please help!!
All of these listings are showing very long delivery times to customers. However, it shows the correct delivery time on our managed order. It has led us to lose all our buy boxes!
Our current settings:-
Handling time: 0
Delivery time: 3-5 days
The delivery time should show at Amazon product page based on this setting is February 2 - 3
However, it showed February 10 - 13 on the Amazon product detail page. This is totally misleading to our customer. We always have 100+ orders in the morning, but due to this issue, we only got 3 orders till now. 
We have contacted Amazon seller support about this issue, they advised that due to COVID-19 related constraints, depending on your ship-from and the ship-to destination, the delivery of shipments might currently take longer and exceed the delivery date we promise to customers based on the settings for handling and transit time in Seller Central.
We have then asked if this extension happened to all Amazon sellers, and he said yes, not only us to be affected. Upon checking one of our ASIN: B079W4QCPW, this has not happened to all sellers, it has only happened to our Amazon account. The mutual seller delivery time is within normal UK delivery time range 3-5 days or 5-7 days (for domestic delivery).
We have then requested the Amazon seller support to check further if our account has any performance issue, but no, there are no issues.
Could anyone experience the same, please share your solution on how to deal with this?
Thank you in advance!
60 replies
Seller_esvgLzKXw2YAl
Do you have shipping automation switched on?
Check in your templates.
If not, then there is simply nothing that you can do about it.
Seller_vIpv9uvBH6CFY
I have exactly the same problem with France, with the exact same delay.
My French orders are sent from a private EU warehouse (MFN, Poland), and instead of 2-3 February, it is showing buyers 11-13 February.
I also contacted amazon asking why. I checked some other MFN seller’s items who also ship there from within the EU, and nobody else seemed to have the same delays. Just me, so it doesn’t seem to be a site-wide, ‘global events’ type issue.
Seller support said:
Upon checking, I found that a promise extension is applied to your order.
Promise extension is a way to extend promises due to certain events. Events can be World Wide like COVID, or carrier due to carrier performances, or even due to bad weather events.
For example, a promise extension may be applied at the seller, store, or zip code level.
So I know it’s not site wide, because other MFN sellers do not have the same issue.
I know it’s not zip code or country related, because it applies to all orders on .FR, even ones to Belgium.
Meaning it can only be a seller/store level for me.
Thankfully no other site is affected for me, just .FR. My metrics are all perfect on there. I did have to issue more refunds than usual for December orders, but none of those were ever escalated to A-Z and none hit my metrics, as I refunded them as soon as customers sent their first message. It’s the only thing I can think of that I might have done wrong (even though it was totally out of my control).
So maybe this is some type of ‘shadow ban’, where metrics are perfect but we’re quietly being punished for something that metrics don’t show?
Seller support transferred my case to another team, but I’m not holding my breath for a reply.
I also noticed that even if I add weekends as working days and lower handling time to 1, it won’t show anything faster than 10 February, even though I took 4 days off my shipping/handling time. It’s like it’s locked to 10 February or later, no matter what my shipping and handling settings are.
Seller_HB9d8uaxIAYi4
We cannot switch on the shipping automation as we use Royal Mail 2nd Class Stamps/Franking service for most of our orders. We need to use the following Royal Mail service if you wish to on the shipping automation in our shipping template.
Royal Mail 24
Royal Mail 48
Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed
Royal Mail Tracked 24
Royal Mail Tracked 48
Furthermore, we had no issue before until this morning We have been told by Amazon seller support that this is only temporarily to extend our delivery time. When I asked when this temporary setting would end, she just said that 'kindly be advised that we are currently unable to provide further information regarding this as this is system-generated and is based on the Amazon algorithm. No further assistance can be given.
We have decided to report Amazon about this issue to Amazonmarketplaceinvestigation@cma.gov.uk as this looks like it kind of deliberately manipulated the lengthened delivery time and led us to lose the buy box.
If anyone has the same issue, please write your experience to Amazonmarketplaceinvestigation@cma.gov.uk, they can then investigate it to protect Amazon marketplace sellers.
Seller_oHIpsQ3TQvNP0
Keat,
I am having exactly the same problem today -
Our current settings:-
Handling time: 0
Delivery time: 2-3 days
The expected delivery dates for our products have increased by around 6/7 Days. We only post First Class into the UK and use Royal Mail on our own template not affected by Amazons automation. Our competitors dates have not been revised hence we are now out of Buy Box territory. Our metrics are near perfect except for one mistaken A-Z claim. I will be getting in touch with seller Support
Seller_P9WE9DmQhKbaT
It seems sure that currently non SSA suppliers are having inordinately long delivery times shown, which are way outside the windows set in the supplier’s own shipping templates. In my own case I was able to solve this by switching to SSA (mostly I use RM 48). My shipping practices are identical to those I used before enabling SSA but on many of my listings I am now shown as the likely quickest FBM supplier. It appears that many small suppliers of books often with more or less spotless feedback records are having the absurdly long delivery windows that I was experiencing, shown against their listings.
The question in my mind is whether this is a glitch or deliberate policy. If it is policy it seems to me another serious abuse of Amazon’s power over 3rd party sellers (although as noted I am not currently adversely affected)
One day this sector will be properly regulated and with luck Amazon forced to separate their two businesses i.e.marketplace and their own on line selling business.
Seller_vIpv9uvBH6CFY
update: For me it’s suddenly been fixed! All estimates are now showing correctly.
Lost a few days of sales to France in total, but at least it was temporary. Hope the UK is also sorted for everyone affected here.
Seller_tHi6zf8gbftSd
We are even showing Feb 2-4 delivery dates on SF and the sames dates for FBA. Should FBA not be quicker.
Seller_HB9d8uaxIAYi4
Update: I have switched on the SSA, it has shorten the delivery time.
Seller_iGWb1Mzt8ZCnz
I had exactly the same thing , account in great health all metrics are in good standing .
Seller_sSxf9ltVoIMz9
Check ‘Account Health’ then fourth tab at top ‘Delivery Performance’ look down bottom left for ‘On Time Delivery Rate’ - If it is less than 97% then Amazon are ‘padding’ your delivery times . If it is less click on the 'On Time Delivery Rate box and download the report.
I just (yesterday) came out of ‘padding’ because on 19/20th December Royal Mail Tracked 48 were on strike and I only extended my handling by 1 day instead of 2. Amazon very helpfully said that suppliers would not be penalised for non delivery metrics caused by the strike but then effectively penalised me for 30 days by extending the delivery time shown to my customers by 5 days.
