OTD dropped due to late Royal Mail delivery
Hi,
We sell mainly small amazon handmade items which get sent out via letter post which we purchase via Amazon so this does not affect the VTR.
However sometimes a buyer will purchase a number of items which then needs to go as a large letter, when this happens we use Tracked 48.
On a recent example an order had a promised dispatch date by 09/02/26 with a promised delivery date of 12/02/26 so within the Tracked 48 delivery window. We sent the item on the 09/02/26 via Tracked 48 but it was only delivered on the 14/02/26. The tracking information confirms all the timeframes from when they received it etc so shows the delay is with Royal Mail.
However this has gone against us as a seller on Amazon and when i contacted them they said "i should work with Royal Mail directly and advise them to deliver items on time" im not quite sure Amazon knows that Royal Mail will not listen to little old me and that i have no control over Royal Mail.
Has anyone else had this issue before?
Its making me not want to use any tracked service as it just goes against you.
Thanks
OTD dropped due to late Royal Mail delivery
Hi,
We sell mainly small amazon handmade items which get sent out via letter post which we purchase via Amazon so this does not affect the VTR.
However sometimes a buyer will purchase a number of items which then needs to go as a large letter, when this happens we use Tracked 48.
On a recent example an order had a promised dispatch date by 09/02/26 with a promised delivery date of 12/02/26 so within the Tracked 48 delivery window. We sent the item on the 09/02/26 via Tracked 48 but it was only delivered on the 14/02/26. The tracking information confirms all the timeframes from when they received it etc so shows the delay is with Royal Mail.
However this has gone against us as a seller on Amazon and when i contacted them they said "i should work with Royal Mail directly and advise them to deliver items on time" im not quite sure Amazon knows that Royal Mail will not listen to little old me and that i have no control over Royal Mail.
Has anyone else had this issue before?
Its making me not want to use any tracked service as it just goes against you.
Thanks
14 replies
Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn
It is crazy that Amazon still give this advice out. When you complain to Royal Mail about a tracked item not being delivered on time they just tell you that it is not a guaranteed service.
I would continue to use tracked services most are delivered on time and it gives you more protection against scammers as well as in my experience you get a lot less claims of tracked services.
Seller_zuOiY4WAOuXkP
Wouldn't worry about those. As long as it's sent out on time this will be automatically removed in a week or so.
Glenn_Amazon
Hi there @Seller_Rv2IhBwkp5RSG,
Thanks for reaching out with your concerns. In general as the seller fulfilling this order per Amazon policy you are responsible the delivery arriving on time unless as mentioned by @Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn you use Buy Shipping, Shipping Settings Automation, and Automated Handling Time. You can review the specifics via the On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR) Programme Policy. Thank you for your understanding.
-Glenn
Seller_qBohe13VwPycy
Hello, same situation with us. When I spoke to Amazon, they said it is not their fault the goods were not delivered within your specified window. The eight examples I shared were all delivered and signed for however even though delivery was attempted the next day, the customer did not actually collect until a few days later as we also send everything signed for. So when the information is sent back to Amazon, it looks like you were late even though there is no fault in play. I was recommended to turn off one day shipping and change it to a 2 day service as this should cover you.
Seller_HhZ2pQhvhLtpE
It's an interesting one which I also am suffering from - my late dispatch is 0%, yet my on time delivery is 88.24%, once the item has been left with the courier, the order is now in the hands of the courier to honour the service I've paid for, and if they fail to deliver it's the seller whom is penelised which does not seem fair especially as the courier is an Amazon preferred courier.
Having spoken to SS they said if I use buy Amazon postage this will not affect seller metrics - meanwhile I have to see the 'at risk' warning on my account for 14days.
Seller_dXLgfnAqnae7M
Hi we are having the same problem. We are sending all our item via Dpd and Royal Mail tracked 24. And ODR first drop to 70.5% and yesterday ODR drop to 24.5 % and don’t know why . When we check the defect report same issue the Royal Mail tracking update . It was around 200 parcel out of 1600 parcels were not delivered in time.
Seller_YVcLr86VGVN0T
Same issue. we had a Royal Mail tracked overseas delivery being sent to Ireland which they managed to send via Jamacia, so delivered a week late which again effects our VTR. Seller help no help at all as usual. Same comment about working with Royal Mail to make sure deliveries are on time or use China Post or a more expensive delivery service which means we make no money.
Seller_6bABtHBnJ50Yb
Had this as well with the usual Amazon bot account put on hold until you review the rules, I had to laugh as one of those was to use Amazon Shipping. I go to use Amazon Shipping and the page doesn't exist - every year it gets worse to sell on here
Seller_kSZCywEhJQQ8J
I checked this directly with Royal Mail because one parcel showed “sender dispatched item” only the day after my dispatch, while other parcels had already reached the sorting centre.
Royal Mail confirmed that Tracked 48 is not a guaranteed 48-hour service and they do not offer delay compensation for this type of delay. Their own website also describes Tracked 48 as a delivery aim rather than a guaranteed deadline.
So the issue here seems to be how Amazon measures OTD when the carrier service itself is non-guaranteed. If tracking shows the parcel entered Royal Mail on time, but delivery was delayed within Royal Mail’s network, that looks more like a carrier-performance issue than a seller dispatch failure.
The practical problem is that sellers are then pushed toward Amazon-protected shipping workflows, even where the underlying delay sits outside seller control.
Could a moderator clarify whether Amazon distinguishes between late seller dispatch and late carrier delivery when the tracking shows the parcel was handed to Royal Mail on time?
Could a moderator also clarify whether this delivery rule is applied in the same way to Amazon and third-party sellers?
If a parcel is handed to Royal Mail on time, but Royal Mail delivers late, is that treated as a seller failure only when a third-party seller is involved, or is the same customer-satisfaction logic applied to Amazon’s own deliveries as well?
That distinction matters, especially where the carrier service itself is not guaranteed to arrive within 48 hours
@Glenn_Amazon
