🚚 [CLOSED] OTDR Policy Q&A: Join Our Ask Amazon Event (17-24 Sept)
Hi UK Sellers,
Join our Ask Amazon event to discuss and ask questions about the new OTDR policy that was announced via this News article on September 2nd 2025.
❔ What is OTDR?
On Time Delivery Rate (OTDR): The percentage of tracked seller-fulfilled units delivered to customers by the promised delivery date. Starting September 16, 2025, sellers will need to maintain a minimum 90% OTDR when fulfilling Fulfilled by Merchant orders on Amazon.co.uk.
📅 Key Dates to Remember:
- September 16, 2025: OTDR metric goes live on Account Health dashboard
- October 16, 2025: Informative warnings begin
- February 2, 2026: Policy enforcement starts
🔍 Want to learn more? Check out these resources:
- On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR) Programme Policy
- Shipping Settings Automation
- Use Buy Shipping services
- What is the estimated delivery date (EDD)?
📝 How to Participate to this Ask Amazon event:
- Post your questions and feedback in this thread starting now
- Our Partner Team will aim to respond to all questions by Sept 24th (complex queries may require additional time)
Note: This event is for general questions about the policy. For individual account concerns, please contact Seller Support directly.
💡 Your input matters! The questions and feedback shared here will help improve our seller resources and documentation.
Ange
🚚 [CLOSED] OTDR Policy Q&A: Join Our Ask Amazon Event (17-24 Sept)
Hi UK Sellers,
Join our Ask Amazon event to discuss and ask questions about the new OTDR policy that was announced via this News article on September 2nd 2025.
❔ What is OTDR?
On Time Delivery Rate (OTDR): The percentage of tracked seller-fulfilled units delivered to customers by the promised delivery date. Starting September 16, 2025, sellers will need to maintain a minimum 90% OTDR when fulfilling Fulfilled by Merchant orders on Amazon.co.uk.
📅 Key Dates to Remember:
- September 16, 2025: OTDR metric goes live on Account Health dashboard
- October 16, 2025: Informative warnings begin
- February 2, 2026: Policy enforcement starts
🔍 Want to learn more? Check out these resources:
- On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR) Programme Policy
- Shipping Settings Automation
- Use Buy Shipping services
- What is the estimated delivery date (EDD)?
📝 How to Participate to this Ask Amazon event:
- Post your questions and feedback in this thread starting now
- Our Partner Team will aim to respond to all questions by Sept 24th (complex queries may require additional time)
Note: This event is for general questions about the policy. For individual account concerns, please contact Seller Support directly.
💡 Your input matters! The questions and feedback shared here will help improve our seller resources and documentation.
Ange
86 replies
Seller_7VQiMhCLfHHus
Hello,
How will part-tracked (no delivery scan) services from Whistl or TheDeliveryGroup (who mostly use Royal Mail for UK based final mile) be treated.
These are used by many media (book/dvd/cd) sellers to provide services on low value items (such as large letter sized books for around £3 delivered).
These generally do not have a delivery scan, but have pickup and other scans prior to handover to royal mail.
The question applies to both the domestic and international services provided by these companies as they offer similar services into Europe and elsewhere.
Will they be exempted from consideration in the metric, or will we have to switch to more expensive tracked services and put up our prices accordingly?
If we will have to switch to tracked services from these part tracked services, which are about 50p more expensive, has amazon factored in that prices for these items on their marketplace will be significantly higher than elsewhere (given low value items of £2.79 might have to go up to £3.29 this would be an 18% price rise) and the potential impact this might have on their customer satisfaction.
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
For letter post purchased through Buy Shipping, is the inability for them to receive a carrier scan that Amazon can verify going to cause all shipments to be recorded as defects?
Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG
So why aren't sellers that purchase Buy Shipping through Amazon protected against a negative OTDR? Remember WE are paying YOU for this service.
If, as you say Amazon won't count Buy Shipping items that aren't given a final scan then surely the same should be where it gets delivered late?
Thats not our fault, so all a Seller can now do is extend the Handling or Shipping time which completely contradicts Amazons reason for setting up OTDR in the first place!
I'll now buy my Royal Mail Postage through my RM OBA account as there's no longer an incentive to buy shipping through Amazon, and before Amazon/Ange says 'oh but when you use Buy Shipping through Amazon you're protected against an AZ, negative Feedback, well, us Sellers know that doesn't exist either.
Ange_Amazon
Hi @Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ,
Are you saying that some unscanned orders at delivery still count as part of the new OTDR calculation? If this is what you mean, I would need you to share with me a specific example to look into this further.
Let me know.
Ange
Ange_Amazon
Hi @Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG,
The policy's main purpose is to ensure customers receive accurate delivery date promises. Simply exempting buy-shipping orders from OTDR calculations wouldn't achieve this goal, since using buy-shipping alone doesn't guarantee accurate delivery promises to customers. As a seller, you are responsible for setting up correct delivery promises by choosing accurate handling times and transit times.
Ange
Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG
Hi Ange, I appreciate the reply.
But I think you (and Amazon as a whole) are missing the point.
As we know, when a seller sets their Handling and shipping times, it gives the customer the 'deliver by' date. However, some customers are not at home during that delivery period, so the customer chooses themselves to push the delivery back to a date that is convenient for them, so we as sellers are now punished because we have delivered late?
Result - A seller will now add more handling or shipping days resulting in items displaying a longer delivery time.
In regards to me switching from Buy Shipping to RM OBA. When a seller is told that Buy Shipping will exempt a Seller from having to fight an AZ or Neg feedback, that just does not happen.
Too often Sellers are not protected as promised and have to fight Amazon and open a Case i.d. to get it corrected (hopefully).
And now, when we purchase Buy Shipping (lining Amazons pockets) are we hit again? Why would any seller want to line the pockets of Amazon, I will give my hard earned money to RM. There is no longer any benefit whatsoever to myself buying Amazon Buy Shipping.
Most customers are ok if the item arrives a day late, through no fault of the seller, maybe the customer was not in, there was no 'safe place' to leave the parcel.
But as I have said, to satisfy Amazons demands to make sure we meet OTDR all sellers will now have to review and extend their shipping and handling times.
Amazon say the reason behind OTDR is to benefit an Amazon customer, so that they can determine where to shop, to increase faster delivery, but in reality when sellers extend their delivery times, it is going to do the opposite.
It's a shame Amazon have not thought this through, not bench tested it, I really think Amazon need to review the use of OTDR and what impact it is going to have.
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
Not exactly. I don't want to call them "unscanned", because that's how we refer to a tracked or partially tracked service that doesn't receive a scan that it should.
What I'm talking about are the services that are intended to be untracked from start to finish. Several of these services are purchasable through Buy Shipping. Since they're untracked, when purchased through Buy Shipping they are excluded from the VTR metric, however it seems like it may be the case that they aren't being excluded from the OTDR metric.
I can't give a specific example because we only use fully tracked services, but some people who have been struggling with their OTDR since account health was updated do use those services, and although I haven't seen their reports to confirm it, it seems to me that their low OTDR score (in some cases below 50%) would be explained by these units being counted in the metric.
Seller_HetZ8jdM3gAgI
"As a seller, you are responsible for setting up correct delivery promises by choosing accurate handling times and transit times."
For the most part we do. As sellers we cant control the postman who calls in sick and causes a delay to a package, or when a motorway is shut due to a serious incident causing parcels to miss a connection and incur a 24 hour delay.
Sellers can do everything in their power to get a package picked, packed and dispatched on time or early and an event that they can't predict for a company that they cant control causes a delay Amazon are now looking to punish them for with damaged metrics.
Noor_Amazon_
Hi @Seller_HetZ8jdM3gAgI,
To make sure you are able to fulfill the accurate delivery date promises, you can discuss with your carrier to understand the estimated timelines for at least 90% of the volume. For any circumstances you believe an appeal would be relevant, you can follow the steps mentioned my reply to your other comment.
Regards,
Noor
Noor_Amazon_
Hello @Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ,
As per the policy, the OTDR is calculated for tracked units with a valid delivery scan. In the absence of a delivery scan, the order/units will not appear in the OTDR calculation.
If there's a particular example that needs a deeper look, I'd need the details to request further information from the team accordingly.
Regards,
Noor
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
This reply completely ignores my comment and is totally irrelevant to the question I asked.
Seller_HwaQlgFnhSuGS
Sorry, but is that is the case then why do Amazon insist on constantly automatically switching on SSA, with no OPT OUT?
Our next "Auto Switch" is on the 29th of September, only a few months after the last "Auto Switch".
We are better placed to make our delivery promises and yet Amazon overrule this.
Seller_tQCfsb3zoC4AP
this will be the final nail in my Amazon coffin (as if it is not already nailed shut]
I am in Northern Ireland and thanks to Brexit rules all goods shipped from here to England Scotland or Wales has to go through customs so all deliveries to the Uk are very random depending on how quick or slow they get customs clearance in the one post bag I could have goods delivered the next day while others in the same bag could take 16/18 days to arrive.
So my ODR is going to be unworkable under your new system.
The only way it could be achieved would be a massive price increase to send goods special delivery which would lead to massive complaints from customers saying bought a £2.49 product but was charged £8.50 for delivery.
Or use courier services for heavier items that will be double the costs of my other sales channels leading to Amazon saying on the catalogue pages Cheaper elsewhere and give me a pricing violation.
Just for once would love to see just one change that would be a benefit for sellers.
Instead of the constant hostility towards 3rd party sellers
Seller_HetZ8jdM3gAgI
What tools will be made available for sellers to appeal ODTR penalties in the event that the reason for late delivery is beyond their control? IE; customer not available for delivery attempt and package not left by the carrier, serious weather delays carrier vehicles on the way to their national hubs causing a delay or an extreme weather event such as snow, hurricane or flooding that delays packages?
Seller_ZVAz3d5lZuGid
This new OTDR policy is really totally out of the seller's control - none of us can possibly give an accurate delivery date promise, for the reasons given in many of the posts, such as severe weather disruption, floods, accidents on the motorway/roads network etc. etc. Where I live, the roads can be closed for 12/24 hrs in the event of a serious accident which would obviously delay any deliveries, and being in the highlands of Scotland, the weather can have a huge impact - which again it totally outwith seller's control.
Seller_YggczqLpELtNd
Hello everyone,
Recently my OTDR rate has dropped to 7.48%, but the main reason for this is delays caused by the shipping carrier, not by me as a seller. Unfortunately, the system doesn’t differentiate between seller responsibility and courier responsibility, which makes the situation very unfair for sellers who are trying their best to provide excellent service.
I always dispatch my orders on time, but if the carrier delivers late, the penalty still reflects on my account. This not only damages my metrics but also doesn’t reflect the reality of my performance.
I believe Amazon should review this policy and provide better protection for sellers when delays are caused by third-party couriers. Sellers should not be penalized for something completely out of their control.
Has anyone else faced the same issue? How do you manage OTDR when carrier delays happen?
Thanks in advance for your insights.
Seller_6A9BM76EEV5EG
Could you not just get the OTDR rates from the couriers directly then all that leaves is the seller to make sure they are shipped on time. Save a lot of hassle (unless I am missing something)
