Amazon sellers: Your Account Health Rating (AHR) is your business lifeline. A low score can lead to account suspension, lost sales, or withheld funds. Here’s what you need to know to protect your account:
- AHR Scale: Ranges from 0–1,000. Healthy accounts score 200–1,000, while scores below 100 are at risk.
- Key Metrics to Watch:
- Order Defect Rate (ODR): Keep under 1%.
- Late Shipment Rate (LSR): Stay below 4%.
- Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate (PFCR): Maintain under 2.5%.
- Valid Tracking Rate (VTR): Ensure 95% or higher.
- Common Risks: Policy violations (e.g., intellectual property issues, authenticity complaints), shipping delays, and poor customer service.
- Quick Action Required: Amazon often gives 3 days to resolve violations or 48 hours to submit a Plan of Action (POA) for serious issues.
Why it matters: Poor account health affects your visibility, sales, and eligibility to sell. Stay proactive – monitor your Account Health Dashboard weekly, resolve issues immediately, and focus on accurate listings, reliable shipping, and excellent customer service.
Understand your Account Health metrics
Policy Violations and Compliance Risks
Maintaining a healthy account requires strict adherence to policies. Repeated or serious violations can result in account suspension, so addressing issues promptly is essential.
Common Policy Violations
Several policy violations frequently lead to account suspensions. Here are some notable examples:
- Intellectual property infringement: In 2024, an FBA account was suspended for selling a gadget featuring a trademarked slogan.
- Authenticity complaints: Also in 2024, a seller faced suspension after listing a supplement that lacked FDA clearance.
- Multiple account violations: In 2022, a seller opened a second account using the same IP address, leading to the suspension of both accounts within a week.
Other common violations include selling restricted products, manipulating ratings, using non-compliant images, keyword stuffing, and making unverified product claims.
"Failing to comply with policies can negatively affect the customer experience and have serious consequences for your business." – Sell on Amazon
Monitoring and Fixing Compliance Issues
Staying on top of compliance issues requires vigilance. The Account Health Dashboard in Seller Central is your primary tool for monitoring violations and warnings. Amazon usually provides a 3-day window to resolve critical violations before deactivating your account.
For managing product compliance, the Manage Your Compliance dashboard is invaluable. It allows you to organize and maintain essential documents, making it easier to respond to Amazon’s requests as your product catalog grows.
If a violation occurs, act immediately. Reed Thompson emphasized the importance of policy compliance in 2025. A well-prepared Plan of Action (POA) is key to resolving serious issues. This plan should:
- Acknowledge the violation.
- Identify the root cause.
- Detail corrective actions taken.
- Outline steps to prevent future violations.
Using automation tools, like AI compliance agents, can simplify tracking policy updates and legal changes in real time. Regularly reviewing Amazon’s policies and keeping detailed records of product changes will also help ensure compliance.
When appealing a violation, provide thorough documentation, such as receipts, invoices, certifications, and any other supporting materials. Address all violations listed on your Account Health page promptly, prioritizing the most severe ones.
Ensuring compliance requires constant monitoring, quick responses, and staying updated on policy changes. Up next, we’ll explore how shipping performance directly impacts your account health.
Order Defect Rate and Negative Feedback
Managing defects in the order process is just as crucial as following Amazon’s policies when it comes to keeping your account in good standing.
Order Defect Rate (ODR) is a key metric that Amazon uses to gauge customer satisfaction. If your ODR gets too high, it could jeopardize your ability to sell on the platform.
Understanding Order Defect Rate (ODR)
ODR represents the percentage of your orders that lead to negative customer experiences within a 60-day period. Amazon calculates this rate based on three factors: negative feedback (1- or 2-star reviews), A-to-Z Guarantee claims, and credit card chargebacks. If your ODR exceeds 1%, you could face serious consequences, including losing the Buy Box, having your account suspended, or even being banned from selling altogether.
With third-party sellers accounting for 59% of paid units sold on Amazon in 2022, keeping your ODR below 1% is essential. Amazon typically gives sellers 17 days to resolve ODR issues, but in some cases, accounts with an ODR of 1% or higher may be immediately deactivated.
Reducing Defects and Managing Feedback
Preventing problems before they occur is the best way to maintain a healthy ODR. Here’s how you can minimize defects and handle feedback effectively:
- Focus on Quality Control: Regularly inspect your products and review return reasons to identify and fix recurring issues. Problems like damaged packaging or missing accessories often lead to negative feedback.
- Ensure Accurate Listings: Keep your product listings detailed and up-to-date. Use clear descriptions, high-quality images, and precise specifications to align customer expectations with what they receive.
- Streamline Fulfillment: Offer realistic shipping estimates, work with reliable carriers, and aim to process orders quickly. Delays can result in A-to-Z claims or negative reviews.
- Provide Excellent Customer Service: Respond to customer inquiries within 24 hours and offer practical solutions, such as refunds or replacements. A professional and empathetic approach can often turn a bad situation into a positive outcome.
When negative feedback does happen, address it immediately. Acknowledge the customer’s concerns, propose personalized solutions, and follow up to ensure the issue is resolved. Use Amazon’s Feedback Manager to track reviews and reach out to buyers who leave unsatisfactory feedback. If a comment violates Amazon’s policies or contains inaccuracies, you can request its removal through the Feedback Manager.
Daily monitoring is key, especially during busy sales periods when even a small uptick in defects can push your ODR over the 1% threshold. Setting up alerts in Seller Central can help you catch and resolve issues early.
If high ODR results in the deactivation of your seller-fulfilled offers, you might qualify to take Amazon’s ODR quiz to avoid suspension. By maintaining consistent product quality, accurate listings, and reliable fulfillment, you can protect your ODR and your selling privileges.
Shipping Performance and Late Shipment Risks
Keeping your shipping performance on point is crucial for safeguarding your account health. It’s not just about getting orders out the door – your ability to meet shipping expectations directly affects your eligibility to sell, your sales performance, and even your chances of winning the Buy Box. Falling short here can lead to account suspension and hurt your bottom line.
Shipping Metrics and Their Impact
Amazon tracks several key shipping metrics to gauge performance, and slipping up on any of these can have serious consequences:
- Late Shipment Rate (LSR): This metric measures the percentage of seller-fulfilled orders shipped after the expected ship date over 10- or 30-day periods. Amazon requires sellers to maintain an LSR below 4% to stay eligible to sell on the platform. Exceeding this limit could lead to the deactivation of your seller-fulfilled offers.
- On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR): Starting September 25, 2024, Amazon expects sellers to maintain an OTDR of at least 90%, with 95% or higher being the recommended target for seller-fulfilled orders.
- Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate (PFCR): This rate should stay under 2.5% to avoid account deactivation and under 0.5% for access to Premium Shipping.
- Valid Tracking Rate (VTR): Sellers need to achieve a VTR of at least 95%.
These metrics aren’t just numbers – they’re the foundation of your account’s health. For example, the LSR is determined by the confirmed shipment date, not the delivery date. Missing deadlines here can hurt your Buy Box eligibility, invite negative reviews, and even lead to account suspension. Additionally, poor shipping performance can drag down your visibility in Amazon’s search rankings.
Meeting Fulfillment Standards
To stay on top of your shipping game, you need a clear plan and consistent execution. Here’s how you can meet Amazon’s fulfillment standards:
- Set realistic handling times: Make sure your handling times reflect your actual processing speed to avoid unnecessary delays.
- Streamline order processing: Focus on efficient picking, packing, and shipping. Confirm shipments as soon as they’re handed off to the carrier.
- Monitor metrics daily: Use Amazon Seller Central to track your shipping metrics and set alerts for when your LSR approaches the 4% threshold.
- Maintain accurate inventory: Prevent stockouts by keeping inventory levels up to date. Inventory management tools can help you predict demand and avoid delays.
- Work with reliable shipping partners: Choose carriers that consistently perform well, upload tracking numbers promptly, and ensure shipments are scanned properly.
- Communicate with customers: If delays occur, inform customers early and provide updates to manage their expectations.
- Use Amazon’s tools: Features like Shipping Settings Automation, Automated Handling Time, and Amazon Buy Shipping can help improve accuracy and streamline your process.
If your account is suspended due to a high LSR, you’ll need to prepare a detailed Plan of Action. This document should explain what caused the issue, outline the steps you’ve taken to fix it, and describe how you’ll prevent it from happening again.
Amazon emphasizes the importance of creating a positive customer experience. Falling short on shipping performance can hurt your Account Health Rating and, in some cases, lead to account suspension or deactivation. Staying proactive and consistent is the key to avoiding these risks.
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Customer Service Metrics and Performance Notifications
Keeping your Amazon account in good standing hinges on delivering excellent customer service. Poor service can harm your reputation, lead to account suspension, and ultimately result in lost sales. To ensure sellers maintain high standards, Amazon evaluates several key metrics. Below, you’ll find an overview of these metrics and tips to help you maintain top-tier service.
Key Customer Service Metrics
Amazon uses the following metrics to gauge your performance and ensure a positive customer experience:
- Order Defect Rate (ODR): This must stay below 1% to meet Amazon’s expectations.
- Cancellation Rate: Tracks how often orders are canceled after being placed. Your cancellation rate should remain under 2.5%.
- Return Dissatisfaction Rate (RDR): Measures customer satisfaction with your return process. To stay compliant, keep this rate below 10% by processing returns quickly and communicating clearly with customers.
- Response Time to Customer Inquiries: Sellers are required to respond to all buyer messages within 24 hours.
Handling Performance Notifications
If you receive a performance notification, it’s essential to act quickly and thoughtfully. Here’s how to handle it:
- Review the Notification Thoroughly: Carefully read the notification to understand the issue, the products involved, the required actions, and any deadlines .
- Identify the Root Cause: Analyze customer feedback, return requests, and product listings to pinpoint the problem.
- Submit a Plan of Action (POA): Most notifications will ask for a POA. This should include a clear explanation of the issue, immediate steps to address it, and long-term measures to prevent recurrence .
Prompt action on these notifications can help you avoid penalties like account suspension or reduced product visibility.
Improving Customer Satisfaction
Being proactive about customer service can save you from performance issues down the line. Consistently delivering great service not only protects your account but also strengthens your reputation. Here are some best practices to consider:
- Stay on Top of Messages: Respond to inquiries quickly – ideally within 24 hours. To ensure you never miss a message, set up email forwarding or push notifications. For larger operations, assign customer service tasks to team members using sub-user accounts.
- Communicate Clearly and Personally: While templates can save time, tailor your responses to address individual customer concerns.
- Focus on Product and Process Quality: Avoid misunderstandings by providing accurate product descriptions. Implement strict quality checks, process refunds promptly, and carefully manage inventory to reduce cancellations.
How Emplicit Supports Account Health Management
Managing an Amazon account requires constant attention to detail. Sellers often find themselves overwhelmed by Amazon’s intricate policies, performance metrics, and strict requirements. Missteps can lead to costly penalties or even account suspensions. That’s where Emplicit steps in, bridging the gap between Amazon’s complex demands and actionable solutions to ensure compliance.
Emplicit focuses on spotting potential risks early and implementing strategies to address them before they escalate. Their proactive approach helps sellers maintain compliance across all areas of their Amazon business, keeping accounts healthy and operational.
Emplicit’s Key Services
Emplicit offers a range of services tailored to the unique challenges of Amazon account management. Their dedicated team oversees inventory and compliance, ensuring your account stays protected. By constantly monitoring key performance indicators, they help maintain your Order Defect Rate (ODR) well below Amazon’s critical 1% threshold, which can otherwise lead to account suspension. They address potential contributors to ODR issues, such as negative feedback, A-to-Z Guarantee claims, and credit card chargebacks, before they become significant problems.
Navigating Amazon’s ever-changing policies can be daunting, especially for US-based sellers focused on scaling their businesses. Emplicit’s compliance experts provide tailored strategies to help sellers adapt quickly and effectively. Their guidance ensures that when challenges arise, they’re addressed promptly and efficiently, minimizing disruptions to your business.
Risk Management with Emplicit
Successful account management hinges on staying ahead of risks. Emplicit uses insights from metrics like the Order Defect Rate and shipping performance to create strategies specific to your business. This includes refining product listings for accuracy, setting up quality control processes, and implementing strong returns management systems – all aimed at improving customer satisfaction and reducing negative feedback.
If performance notifications arise – whether they involve policy violations, poor metrics, or customer complaints – Emplicit provides expert advice to resolve these issues quickly. Their approach emphasizes accountability for the customer experience, ensuring listings are clear and documentation is thorough. This turns warnings into opportunities to identify and correct underlying problems.
Emplicit’s focus isn’t just on solving immediate issues but on building long-term compliance systems. Regular monitoring of Seller Central metrics and keeping a close eye on spikes in negative feedback, A-to-Z claims, or chargebacks ensures that potential problems are identified and addressed early. Their goal is to create a sustainable framework for account health, allowing sellers to focus on growing their businesses without unnecessary setbacks.
Maintaining a Healthy Amazon Account
Keeping your Amazon account in good standing requires continuous attention and smart management. From policy violations to shipping delays, even small missteps can quickly snowball into bigger problems. To thrive on Amazon, you need both great products and a strong focus on following the rules.
Key Takeaways
Certain risks on Amazon demand immediate attention. Policy violations, for instance, can lead to sudden account suspensions. To avoid this, aim to maintain these key metrics: an Order Defect Rate (ODR) below 1%, a Late Shipment Rate (LSR) under 4%, and a Cancellation Rate below 2.5%.
Make it a habit to check your Account Health Dashboard weekly. Address any warnings right away to prevent them from escalating. Also, ensure a Valid Tracking Rate of at least 95% and respond to customer messages within 24 hours to keep things running smoothly.
Delivering top-notch customer service plays a huge role in keeping your account healthy. This includes accurate product listings, well-organized inventory, and quickly resolving customer concerns. Consistently applying these practices helps lower defect rates and keeps your account in good shape, paving the way for long-term strategies.
Final Thoughts
Proactive account management is the cornerstone of long-term success on Amazon. With policies that change often, staying informed through seller updates, policy notifications, and regular audits is essential to avoid unexpected violations.
Sometimes, professional guidance can make all the difference. Experts can help you navigate compliance challenges and steer clear of costly account suspensions. Given Amazon’s strict enforcement of its rules – including immediate account deactivation for harmful activities – having the right support can protect your business.
FAQs
What steps can I take to quickly improve my Amazon Account Health Rating if it drops below the safe level?
If your Amazon Account Health Rating dips below the safe threshold, it’s crucial to address key issues immediately to regain good standing. Begin by tackling any flagged policy violations or negative customer feedback listed in your Account Health dashboard. Make sure to provide top-notch customer service by responding to inquiries promptly and professionally, and ensure all orders are shipped on time to avoid penalties for late shipments.
Boosting recent sales activity can also improve your rating, as Amazon evaluates your performance trends over time. Keep a close eye on metrics like order defect rates and performance notifications to catch potential problems early. By staying proactive, resolving issues quickly, and adhering to Amazon’s policies, you can safeguard your account and set yourself up for long-term success.
What should I do if Amazon sends me a performance notification about a policy violation?
If Amazon sends you a performance notification about a policy violation, the first step is to carefully go through the message. Focus on the details, such as the specific policy in question and any examples they provide to illustrate the issue.
Once you understand the problem, dig into what caused the violation. After identifying the root cause, you’ll need to draft a clear and structured Plan of Action (POA). This should include:
- The root cause: Explain why the violation occurred.
- Resolution steps: Detail the actions you’ve taken to fix the issue.
- Preventative measures: Outline how you’ll avoid similar problems in the future.
Submit your POA through Amazon Seller Central, along with any required documents like invoices or compliance proof. Make sure your appeal is professional, straightforward, and directly addresses the violation. Acting quickly and thoughtfully can go a long way in protecting your account health and seller performance.
How does keeping a low Order Defect Rate (ODR) help me win the Buy Box on Amazon?
A low Order Defect Rate (ODR) plays a crucial role in increasing your chances of securing the Amazon Buy Box. Amazon’s algorithm favors sellers who consistently provide a great customer experience, and a low ODR is a clear signal that you deliver reliable service, accurate order fulfillment, and quality products.
Keeping your ODR low proves to Amazon that you meet their high expectations for customer satisfaction. This not only improves your Buy Box eligibility but also safeguards your account’s health, setting you up for sustained success on the platform.