Deactivation On Time Delivery Rate
We have had our seller fulfillment account with Amazon for 10 years and a week ago had our account deactivated due to a fall in our On Time Delivery Rate .
Has anyone successfully challenged Amazon's requirement to use Buy Shipping for 180 days?
I am looking for advice from other sellers who may have been in a similar situation.
I appealed the decision and provided a letter from Royal Mail confirming that the delays were due to issues within their own network and that they were taking steps to address those failures. Despite providing this evidence, Amazon declined my appeal.
Amazon has now advised that the only way my account can be reinstated is if, for the next 180 days, I purchase and use Amazon Buy Shipping labels and approved couriers for all orders.
I fully understand Amazon's focus on the customer experience, and I accept responsibility for meeting the required performance standards. However, I find it frustrating that evidence from the carrier acknowledging fault has not been taken into consideration, particularly as all of our orders were dispatched on time from our premises.
Has anyone else been placed under this requirement? If so:
Were you able to negotiate an alternative resolution?
Did you accept the 180-day Buy Shipping requirement, and if so, how did it work in practice?
Were you able to have your account reinstated through a further appeal?
Did using Amazon Buy Shipping improve your metrics sufficiently to remove the restriction?
I would be grateful to hear from sellers who have experienced this and can share any practical advice.
Thank you
Deactivation On Time Delivery Rate
We have had our seller fulfillment account with Amazon for 10 years and a week ago had our account deactivated due to a fall in our On Time Delivery Rate .
Has anyone successfully challenged Amazon's requirement to use Buy Shipping for 180 days?
I am looking for advice from other sellers who may have been in a similar situation.
I appealed the decision and provided a letter from Royal Mail confirming that the delays were due to issues within their own network and that they were taking steps to address those failures. Despite providing this evidence, Amazon declined my appeal.
Amazon has now advised that the only way my account can be reinstated is if, for the next 180 days, I purchase and use Amazon Buy Shipping labels and approved couriers for all orders.
I fully understand Amazon's focus on the customer experience, and I accept responsibility for meeting the required performance standards. However, I find it frustrating that evidence from the carrier acknowledging fault has not been taken into consideration, particularly as all of our orders were dispatched on time from our premises.
Has anyone else been placed under this requirement? If so:
Were you able to negotiate an alternative resolution?
Did you accept the 180-day Buy Shipping requirement, and if so, how did it work in practice?
Were you able to have your account reinstated through a further appeal?
Did using Amazon Buy Shipping improve your metrics sufficiently to remove the restriction?
I would be grateful to hear from sellers who have experienced this and can share any practical advice.
Thank you
10 replies
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
It has been taken into consideration. The carrier you used has acknowledged fault, meaning that you are responsible for that fault as the one who contracted that courier to deliver your orders.
Using a courier, even Royal Mail, is outsourcing delivery. If you bought a Dell Laptop and it was faulty, you wouldn't expect Dell to direct you to the manufacturer they outsourced production to, as it's still Dell's responsibility.
Unfortunately the OTDR metric hasn't really been enforced for long enough for the info on how Amazon handles appeals to become widely known. All you can do is try to keep appealing and see what happens.
Emet_Amazon
Hello @Seller_GefJGAjR9q1Vx,
Thank you for posting your concerns with the on-time delivery rate.
Amazon has now advised that the only way my account can be reinstated is if, for the next 180 days, I purchase and use Amazon Buy Shipping labels and approved couriers for all orders.
I fully understand Amazon's focus on the customer experience, and I accept responsibility for meeting the required performance standards. However, I find it frustrating that evidence from the carrier acknowledging fault has not been taken into consideration, particularly as all of our orders were dispatched on time from our premises.
As you mentioned, the situation surrounding your on time delivery rate was driven by carrier related issues. I understand that you've been selling for 10 years and that now having your selling privileges removed is rather stressful.
You mentioned providing as letter from Royal Mail explaining the delays, however we cannot accept this type of document. As mentioned by @Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ, when you pick your carriers, you take responsibility for ensuring they can deliver the order on time. If carrier delays occur, you will need to come up with remedies, not the carrier.
This is typically an unusual request unless the account has previously experienced issues with the on time delivery rate. Can you advise if you were required to appeal or acknowledge ODTR issues in the past? Reoccurring issues are treated as bit differently, and with a more strict approach.
Has anyone else been placed under this requirement? If so:
Were you able to negotiate an alternative resolution?
Did you accept the 180-day Buy Shipping requirement, and if so, how did it work in practice?
Were you able to have your account reinstated through a further appeal?
Did using Amazon Buy Shipping improve your metrics sufficiently to remove the restriction?
We can normally accept an explanation that includes how and why something occurred, such as why Royal Mail experienced these delays. You can include your letter as an attachment supporting your root cause identification. We will also need you to explain how you immediately resolved these issues and stopped them from continuing. Finally, we will need a detailed explanation of how you will prevent future occurrences.
So you're aware, preventing future occurrences and prior issues go hand in hand. If we've previously requested an explanation or acknowledgement of the issue, you will need to find a new, more reliable solution, as the current one is not working as intended.
I would like to offer additional support with your appeal. If you are comfortable, you can share your updated explanation here, or if you've submitted the explanation to a case, post the case ID here for review and any feedback.
The forums community and I are here to support you. Please let us know how we can help you from this point forward.
Emet.
Seller_IljBdhWypMNhx
I assue that you have a Click and Drop account, integrate that within amzon and use buy shipping, that will use the rate you negotiated with RM. So different mail bags and paperwork but that will protect your OTDR. It is a bit of a pain to process them that way but if that is the only way forward...
Seller_xU4h6ZbAduf0O
As you are using Royal Mail as your courier, is there any specific reason why you do not want to use buy shipping?
Apart from major bulk discount, everything stays the same, including average weight and your annual postings, as it is all through your RM account number.
Integrating your Royal Mail account into Amazon allows you to keep your negotiated Royal Mail rates and gives you the protections on your OTDR as well as VTR and a few other protections from negative feedback over courier deliveries.
All your buy shipping mail can go in the same bags as your Click & Drop mail as long as it is the same stream, ie T24 RM48 etc.
There is no need to separate Amazon mail from your other mail, just the need to download the end of day manifest for your postman to scan as well as your C&D manifest.
Although it is very maddening that Amazon have deactivated you for using Royal Mail, but will reactivate you if you use Royal Mail through their Buy Shipping settings.
Nothing has changed, same company, same staff, same network, same everything except Amazon has it run through them for whatever reason they have decided.
But unfortunately, it is their sandbox and their rules.
If you send out Amazon Prime, it is contractual for you to use Buy Shipping in order to be able to ship Prime.
Personally, i prefer Buy Shipping over C&D as it is more stable, especially at Christmas when C&D goes offline several times for hours, causing stress not being able to produce any labels.
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
As you are using Royal Mail as your courier, is there any specific reason why you do not want to use buy shipping?
Apart from major bulk discount, everything stays the same, including average weight and your annual postings, as it is all through your RM account number.
Not if it's just regular first or second class. That's only true for account services like Tracked or CRL. For regular first or second class, you pay through Amazon rather than your own RM account, so you pay their prices which typically match the public prices for RM at Post Office or on the RM website.
Seller_lnQKaZJGTX769
Same issue here.
I agreed with everything Amazon asked
get the dumb message.
We completed our evaluation of your submission. We do not have enough information to remove the violation at this time.
I asked them what i have missed, (8 Times) no Reply. lost the will.
now got asked to confirm in uK for VAT......aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh
Seller_RjoXIAaXszSRE
Can I ask, were all your other metrics OK, valid tracking etc? its worrying that they can do that. What did your OTDR go down to?
