Amazon Seller Support

Am I required to include tracking information?

Delivery confirmation or tracking information, while not required, is beneficial to buyers. Including tracking 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 it when confirming the shipment of your items.

 

Signature confirmation is encouraged for high-value items because it helps verify the items reached the buyer. If an A-to-z Guarantee claim is filed for non-receipt, and signature confirmation verifies 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.

Important announcements for sellers: Where to find them

Occasionally we hear from sellers who aren't aware of an update for seller accounts, so here's a quick how-to for finding our announcements and technical notifications:

Announcements of changes

Scroll through the center section of your seller account home page to find the "Headlines" section, or just search (Ctrl/F) on "headlines" to get right to the announcements.

We leave most announcements up for two weeks, but for staying on top of the news, we recommend scanning the headlines for new announcements once or twice a day.

Technical notifications

If we have a technical issue to report, or if something else is happening that could affect sellers (extreme weather, for example), we post technical notifications near the top of your home page.

Checking for a technical notification can help you save time, sidestep worry, and take effective action in these and other types of situations: 

• You experience a technical problem while using your seller account and you wonder if the problem is based in your seller account or in your own system
• You hear of a situation that could affect shipping, and you wonder if Amazon has provided any related information

We update technical notifications as a situation changes, and we remove them when the issue is resolved.

Essential step in processing your orders: Confirm the shipments

Confirming that you've shipped an order is one of the essential steps toward being paid for that order.

Here's how it works

You receive an order, send the item to the buyer, and confirm the shipment. For most orders, your shipment confirmation kicks off this payment and notification process: 

• We charge the buyer for the order. 
• We credit your seller account for the order, less applicable fees.  
• We send a shipping confirmation e-mail to the buyer. 
• We update the buyer's Amazon account with the shipping information and the buyer can then see the shipment status online.

Important reminder

If you do not confirm shipment of an order within 30 days after the customer places it, we may automatically cancel that order, and will not credit your seller account for the order.

So, please confirm your shipments on time. We want you to succeed as an Amazon seller.

For more information, search on "confirming shipments" in seller Help.

 

What is a Concession?

Sellers can always issue partial or full refunds for order costs, but the Amazon system also allows sellers to compensate buyers for order issues as an alternative to or in addition to refunding order amounts. Buyer credits that exceed the order total are called concessions. There are situations where you may want to issue funds to the buyer beyond the cost of the item(s) and shipping amount. For example, if a buyer receives a defective item and you want to compensate them for return shipping along with the order refund, you could issue a concession.

Concessions can be issued as partial refunds, with partial refunds, or along with full refunds. There are limits on the total amount sellers may provide to buyers when they issue order refunds and concessions. An order refund can't exceed the total amount originally paid by the buyer; however, the amount allowed in concessions may exceed the total cost of the order itself. Amazon displays the concession maximum for each item in an order using a formula that calculates the higher of the following two numbers:

Limit 1: 50% of the sum of original buyer-paid shipping plus product price
Limit 2: Twice the original buyer-paid shipping, plus $10 plus $20

To issue a concession:

1. Log into your seller account.
2. Go to your orders section and bring up the details of the specific order you want to refund.
3. Click the "Refund order" button on the Order Details page.
4. Choose the tab that fits your refund: Full (which is the default page) or Partial Refund (which is a tab below the order number).
5. Use the pop-up menu to select the appropriate Reason for Refund. 
6. Enter the amount of the return shipping and/or other concession into the Amount to Refund box.
   You will receive a pop-up asking you to confirm the concession.
7. Add a memo to the buyer. 
   This is optional but highly recommended, allowing up to 255 characters.
8. Click the Submit Refund button.

Additional facts to note about concessions:

• It can take 15 minutes for the data to be updated in the order to reflect the refund in your seller account.
• Buyers will see a concession amount as a different entry than a partial or full refund on their payment statement.
• Concessions do not contribute to the refund percentage in your seller performance metrics. If one or more products in an order are fully refunded, then the order is counted as a refunded order and is included in your Refund Rate.

If you would like a more in-depth look at concessions, please access the Help section of your seller account and search for concessions.

Shipments to FPO and APO addresses are considered U.S. domestic shipments

The U.S. Military Postal Service (MPS) works with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to deliver military mail worldwide. 

Most USPS special services are available for MPS mail. Postage rates are typically equivalent to U.S. domestic postage rates. Shipments to these addresses should only require postage for reaching their destination within the United States.

The abbreviations APO (Army Post Office or Air Force Post Office) and FPO (Fleet Post Office: Navy or Marine Corps) are used as the city abbreviations for military mail. APOs and FPOs do have some special mailing requirements and restrictions. For more information, please review USPS guidelines, including Military Addressing Tips.

Shipping setting defaults, options, and the ability to set exceptions, vary by seller account type and product type. For more information search on "shipping settings" in seller Help.

Buyer Feedback Matters

Before customers decide to buy a product, they often want some assurance that other customers have been well served by the seller. A seller's high feedback rating can give customers the peace of mind they want before buying.

When you review your feedback, you'll notice that buyers care a lot about the answers to these questions:

• Was the order delivered on time?
• Was the item packed appropriately?
• Was the item exactly as described on the website?
• Did the seller respond promptly and helpfully to inquiries?

If you can answer "yes" to the above questions for almost all of your orders, congratulations!

Many sellers get negative feedback at some point. If it happens to you, don't take offense, but do take action:

• Investigate the feedback to figure out the root cause of the problem.

• Work with the buyer to solve the problem and improve the experience, by issuing a refund, shipping a replacement item, or even sending a complimentary gift certificate.

Remember, if you solve the problem, you can ask the buyer to remove the feedback. The buyer is under no obligation to do so, but it can't hurt to politely ask one time.

Monitor your feedback regularly to keep on top of issues, and try to maintain 95% positive feedback and a 4.5 or higher overall rating.

Expert Tip: Include delivery confirmation or 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 delivery. 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.