How do you feel when you get your Amazon delivery on time? Great, right? Your goal as an Amazon seller should be to provide the same experience to your customers. This is the key to building a successful Amazon business and the kind of life you are hoping for. In this article, we will discuss in detail how shipping delays affect you as a third-party seller and how to avoid them.
Quick Guide
In 2024, 2 out of 5 U.S. consumers expect their items to arrive within 2-3 days of purchase. Amazon knows this and so constantly strives for customer satisfaction, especially with shipping and delivery.
However, there are still some days when your delivery doesn’t make it on time. If you have ordered regularly on Amazon, there is a big chance you have experienced a delay in your shipments at some point. It happens more often during peak seasons. Christmas, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday have a vastly higher volume of consumers ordering and, therefore, more bottlenecks and shipping delays.
During these busy times, there are a few things you can do to handle Amazon shipping delays as a seller. You should already know all about things like Black Friday deals, Amazon Christmas Gifts, New Year Discounts, and Prime Day deals. Most third-party sellers are well-advanced in creating offers for these events. If you haven’t yet created deals for this, you need to fix that for 2024.
Amazon always wants its customers to get the best service this season. They have a deals page listing all the Amazon Christmas gifts that can arrive on time, specifically at your delivery address. Shipping delays ruin the whole point of holiday gifts when they don’t arrive on time, making customers frustrated and dissatisfied. Who wants a Christmas present that comes on December 27th?
Here are a few reasons why on-time delivery is essential for you as an Amazon third-party seller:
Most buyers on Amazon in 2024 expect their deliveries to arrive in two to three days, with a week as the definitive upper limit.
While Amazon is known for its fast and low-cost shipping, there can be setbacks that are caused by:
Delivery delays can have a serious impact on Amazon sellers' performance:
Customers who are unsatisfied with the seller's service due to delivery delays are most likely to lose trust in you. They will avoid ordering products from the same seller in the future, which can badly affect your listing’s performance.
If you don’t ship and restock the orders on time, you get negative reviews on your listing. Customers depend on these reviews before they decide to buy. As a result, it will significantly impact sales and revenue and cause a sales drop.
Amazon takes customer service and seller policies very seriously. It first sends account violation warnings to sellers who must fulfill their orders on time. If you have multiple order backlogs, Amazon could suspend your seller account temporarily, and if the problem continues, it can even terminate it permanently. Amazon regularly tracks late shipment rates and expects every seller to keep it below 4%.
As a seller, you can avoid shipping delays or at least minimize them in various ways.
Seller Candy can help you monitor and forecast inventory based on sales trends through our analytics team. Connect with our team today to discuss how we help optimize inventory management for sellers.
NOTE: Amazon Buy Shipping provides a straightforward method for managing your shipping processes. You can purchase shipping labels directly from Amazon's platform and simplify the order fulfillment procedure.
To access it in Seller Central:
If ever you find yourself in a problematic situation of delayed shipping from Amazon, take a deep breath—your money has not gone to waste yet. Amazon has various perks in ensuring a satisfying buying experience, albeit with shipping delays.
Thankfully, you may get compensation should your delivery arrive late. However, it is better to know beforehand that there are requirements for you to qualify for redeeming such settlements.
If your order does not arrive on the date promised to you by the seller, you have the option to demand a late-delivery refund, which should cover your shipping costs.
To enjoy this, your order must meet the following qualifications:
Some instances that would nullify the request for a late-delivery refund are unforeseen circumstances that caused late delivery beyond Amazon's control, such as:
A more detailed explanation can be read on Amazon's Guaranteed Delivery Terms and Conditions page.
If your order indeed meets these requirements, here is a step-by-step guide you may follow to get a late-delivery refund from Amazon:
Yes, Amazon Prime still offers two-day shipping to selected products displayed while ordering. However, the shipment delay makes them worry about whether Amazon Prime still provides two-day shipping. There can be multiple reasons why Amazon packages are delivered late, such as an increased volume of orders, especially during holidays. Also, not all products are eligible for Prime two-day shipping like the products that are out-of-stock, shipping to far distances, shipped from third-party sellers, etc.
The estimated time is shown at the time of ordering the product, and the actual time of product delivery depends on the following factors:
Amazon also provides a Prime delivery service, where products are eligible for same-day or two-day shipment and delivered on time. Non-prime members, however, get a standard shipment of two to five days.
Amazon's refund policy states that customers can receive refunds for delivery delays in particular circumstances, but this is not guaranteed. Delivery dates can vary due to weather conditions like storms, transportation, or product stocking issues. Customers can get a refund from Amazon in case of promotional credits or discounts on the next orders. However, it is not guaranteed and depends on Amazon's customer service team to decide which customers are eligible for a refund.
Some things that cause delays in delivery:
The first step is to contact Customer Care through chat or call. If you prefer virtual chat, the messaging assistant will ask, “Do you need help with a recent item?”. Select the item you need a refund for and choose the next steps. You will then be connected with an agent with whom you can share your issue, and the agent will help you request the Amazon shipping delay refund.
Customers with an Amazon Prime membership enjoy free shipping (except for products from third-party sellers). Compensation is provided when shipping is delayed, and shipping costs are involved. You need to contact Amazon customer service to enquire and understand it better.
Your Amazon business success depends on providing an amazing customer experience, which includes on-time delivery of orders. You should find innovative strategies to improve your operations and solve shipping challenges.
Running an Amazon business and providing good customer service at once can be cumbersome.
Seller Candy is an all-in-one Amazon e-commerce service provider that helps you not just survive the holiday season but actually thrive and make your customers happy.
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