VTR issues - PLEASE HELP
I am having huge issues with the VTR system that is causing real issues within my business at the moment.
My VTR rate has dropped to a low of 65% even though I am using a validated carrier and everything is fully tracked and all items showing defects have been delivered.
I am currently on the phone to seller support who will not help me regarding this issue so I am reaching out as a last resort.
This issue has only just started to occur. Nothing has changed from my side as I am still using the same software to ship my items and the same courier with the same format. The system has now just started to pick up and state that the item fails valid tracking.
The CS agent stated that this was due to me not manually selecting the shipping provider from the drop down menu but this makes no sense as the carrier is selected from the drop down when the info is sent over from ShipStation. The systems are just not communicating now for some reason.
I have also tracked all items on the list and they all show successful delivery.
Please help me!
VTR issues - PLEASE HELP
I am having huge issues with the VTR system that is causing real issues within my business at the moment.
My VTR rate has dropped to a low of 65% even though I am using a validated carrier and everything is fully tracked and all items showing defects have been delivered.
I am currently on the phone to seller support who will not help me regarding this issue so I am reaching out as a last resort.
This issue has only just started to occur. Nothing has changed from my side as I am still using the same software to ship my items and the same courier with the same format. The system has now just started to pick up and state that the item fails valid tracking.
The CS agent stated that this was due to me not manually selecting the shipping provider from the drop down menu but this makes no sense as the carrier is selected from the drop down when the info is sent over from ShipStation. The systems are just not communicating now for some reason.
I have also tracked all items on the list and they all show successful delivery.
Please help me!
21 replies
Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh
When you say the same info is showing - is this in Manage Orders?
Because it only really matters what is on the VTR defect report.
Seller_Y9Zn1MG946vRc
Yes, this has been happening to me for months. My VTR is just over 80% although every single item I post is tracked. I use the Royal Mail API. I noticed when I checked the the shipping details on the completed orders, the shipping service is showing as different from the one that I actually use.
I received multiple warnings from Amazon about the VTR rate, but when I contacted CS, the warnings stopped, although they didn't know what the problem was and said they would look into it. I can only assume they are receiving complaints from multiple sellers otherwise they would have taken action re my low VTR.
It's exactly as you say, the systems don't seem to be communicating properly. I even tried manually adding the correct shipping details to the completed orders, but it doesn't change the VTR so that was a waste of time.
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
That's not true at all. Parcels can have valid tracking even if they never get delivered, so long as there are carrier scans prior to delivery. Deliveries being late has nothing to do with VTR.
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
First of all, that has always been the case.
Secondly, the Promised Delivery Date has nothing to do with its successful delivery. That's just the day after the delivery window you're given as the seller to deliver it to the buyer.
Third, they were saying that's what decides WHEN the order falls into the date range to be CONSIDERED for VTR. It has nothing to do with whether or not the shipment counts as valid. Here:
That says shipments that had a promised delivery date between those dates form a part of the calculation. They can be valid or invalid and that has nothing to do with whether they were delivered on time or not. Our OTDR is only 99%, so if you were right, we couldn't have 100% VTR.
Lastly, a shipment is considered valid even if it gets lost so long as it has had at least 1 carrier scan along its journey. If you're using fully tracked services, they only need to have been scanned into the depot to be classed as Valid.
The only time delivery scans come into it at all is if it hasn't had any other scans, such as with the CRL services RM24 and RM48. They only have delivery confirmation, not full tracking, so they'll be invalid without a delivery scan.
Larry_Amazon
Hello @Seller_HJmQkud4PJno9,
This is Larry from Amazon. Thank you for bringing this to our attention regarding your Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) concerns. I understand you're experiencing issues with your VTR performance despite using validated carriers and tracking information.
Based on your description,
My VTR rate has dropped to a low of 65% even though I am using a validated carrier and everything is fully tracked and all items showing defects have been delivered.
I am currently on the phone to seller support who will not help me regarding this issue so I am reaching out as a last resort.
This issue has only just started to occur. Nothing has changed from my side as I am still using the same software to ship my items and the same courier with the same format. The system has now just started to pick up and state that the item fails valid tracking.
I notice a few key points that we should address:
Your current VTR rate is at 65%, which is below the required threshold
You're using ShipStation for shipping management
All items show successful delivery when tracked manually
Here are the steps you should take to resolve this issue:
Review your recent performance notifications in Seller Central for specific order IDs showing VTR defects
Verify that your ShipStation integration is properly configured with your Seller Central account
Ensure your tracking numbers follow the correct format required by Amazon
Double-check that the carrier selected in ShipStation matches exactly with the carrier options in Seller Central
For future orders, consider downloading the "Valid Tracking Rate Report" from Seller Central to monitor affected orders in real-time
If you continue to experience technical issues with ShipStation integration, I recommend reaching out to their technical support team as well, as this could be an API communication issue.
Please let us know if you need any additional clarification or support.
Best regards,
Larry
