Amazon Seller Support

Having trouble accessing a section in your seller account?

If you are having trouble accessing a specific section in your seller account, it may be due to a known technical issue.

Did you know that we post Technical Notifications on your seller account home page when Amazon has a planned outage or a technical issue? These notifications appear in the top middle section of your seller account home page.

The home page also has announcements about launches and other changes that may affect your seller account.

Next time you have trouble accessing a section in your seller account, check for a technical notification. If you see a notification about a particular issue, you'll know that we are already looking into it. You can also check back periodically for posted updates.

-Akhila

Preventing Stock-outs

Managing your inventory levels is an important part of selling on Amazon. A high number of pre-fulfillment order cancellations can have a negative impact on your Customer Metrics. Canceling orders due to lack of inventory causes a poor buying experience which can also result in negative feedback.

When a seller cancels an order prior to fulfillment, we have found this is usually because the seller does not have the item in stock. This article will cover the most common causes of stock-outs and how to prevent them.

I would like to start off by providing some insight into our order and feed processing systems.

• Inventory updates submitted via Product Data Feeds are processed sequentially. When 10 inventory update files are submitted in rapid succession. The first must run through to completion before the second is processed. The second must complete before the third is processed and so forth.
• File size, or number of SKU updates to be processed, impacts the time necessary to complete the processing. Small files can complete processing in a manner of seconds. On the other hand, extremely large files can take 15+ minutes to complete.
• Amazon systems automatically decreases inventory counts when an order is placed.
• There is a 30 to 90 minute window when an order is place to the time the order will show up on your orders page as ready to fulfill.
• If the order takes longer due to payment or other clarification the order will display as pending with no shipping details.
• Order Cancellations with a cancellation reason other than “No Inventory” will automatically increment inventory counts. Please refer to blog post ”Reason for cancellation – inside canceling an order” for more information

If you ever forget the password to access your selling account…

It is really simple to regain access to Seller Central when you actually forget the password for your account. All you have to do is click the "Forgot your password?" link that shows up under the Seller Central "Sign in" button:

You can also use the link below to reset the password for your Seller Central account:

http://www.amazon.com/password

Then you will be prompted to enter the email address associated with your selling account. Just enter the email address and click "Continue." You should then see a message that says we've sent an e-mail to the address you entered. The email message will have a link to a page where you can easily create a new password.

Note: We encourage you to use our self-service password reset functionality. It will allow you to restore your account access immediately.

Additionally, if you still have access to your account, but you want to change your password, you can change it quickly by logging in to your account and following these steps:

1. Click "Your Account" at the top of our Welcome page.

2. In the Account Settings section, under the heading Personal Information, select "Change your name, e-mail address, or password."

3. Enter your *old* e-mail address and password to sign in.

4. On the next page, enter your old password in the "Old password" box, and enter your new password in both the "New password" and "Re-enter password" boxes.

5. Click the Save Changes button.

-Giri

Using Your Customer Metrics and Notifications Pages

When Amazon needs to relay important information about your seller account to you, the Seller Performance team may notify you via e-mail.

The Seller Performance team may write to you about a variety of issues. For example, they may ask you for additional information on recent orders, such as tracking numbers for orders you have shipped. If your selling privileges have been suspended, they may ask you to provide detailed information on what steps you are taking to ensure that you will provide a good shopping experience for buyers in the future. The performance data in your Customer Metrics section can help you identify customer service issues you may have so you can answer the questions from the Seller Performance team.

When you receive an e-mail from Seller Performance, it is important that you read it in its entirety and, on some occasions, respond to it. E-mails from Seller Performance are copied into the Notifications page of the Customer Metrics section of your seller account for your convenience. You can write back to Seller Performance directly from the Notifications page or follow the instructions in the e-mail you receive.

 

- Cory

Did you know…about search?

Having trouble finding your listings? Here are some facts about how search works on Amazon.com.

• With the exception of these stores: Books, DVD, Music, Grocery, software/video games. A product needs an active offer with inventory to be searchable for Amazon.com.
• A product will not be searchable if a product’s Launch Date is set in the future. Products should be searchable within 24 hours after the Launch Date.
• Products will not be searchable in the Apparel, Shoe and Watch stores if they do not have a UPC or EAN
• Check if the product is in the correct category and has the correct item-type keyword, if you are using feeds. Mis-assigned items may not get indexed.
• Sales influences search result ranking. If your product does not display in the All Department search, try searching for your item using the listing’s full title and selecting the item’s specific category, such as Books, Home Improvement.
• A variation parent listing is not searchable, only the child listings.

Do I need to include tracking information?

Delivery confirmation or tracking information, while not required, is beneficial to buyers. Including traceable information for your shipments can help buyers verify the status of their packages and anticipate the delivery of their items. If you use tracking information, be sure to enter this information when confirming the shipment of your items.

 

Signature confirmation is encouraged for high-value items because it helps you verify that your items have reached the buyer. If an A-to-z Guarantee claim is filed for non-receipt, and signature confirmation verifies that your item was delivered to the buyer or another recipient on behalf of the buyer, the A-to-z Guarantee team may deny the claim.

- Aly

Reason for cancellation - inside cancelling an order

If you find that you are unable to fulfill the order or any portion of the order before it has been confirmed, it will be necessary to cancel the order. When canceling an order you will be asked to provide a “Reason for Cancellation.” It is important to select an appropriate reason code because it will have an impact on your inventory counts. When a buyer places an order, a reserve is placed on the associated SKU and the inventory count is decremented. If the buyer contacts you and asks you to cancel their order, selecting “Buyer Canceled” as a reason code will automatically restore the inventory and make the item available for another buyer to purchase.

However, if you are unable to fulfill the item for lack of inventory, selecting “No Inventory” as a reason code the inventory count is not restored.

Reason for Cancellation & Inventory Impact

The following “Reason Codes” are available when cancelling orders and the associated inventory impact is listed after each.

 

-Ralph