Delivery delay due to Hurricane Helene
My condolences to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene.
If you are located in the regions impacted by this natural disaster, there will be disruptions to carriers’ pick-up and delivery of customer orders due to the damage to roadways and other infrastructure. We recommend changing your listing status to inactive if you are unable to ship customer orders.
As the storm’s impact becomes clearer, you have the option to remain active and increase your handling time.
If you have existing orders, we recommend you inform buyers that it will take longer than expected to deliver the order by using buyer-seller messages. To send a message to buyers, go to Communicate with buyers using the Buyer-Seller messaging service.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Stay safe out there!
Delivery delay due to Hurricane Helene
My condolences to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene.
If you are located in the regions impacted by this natural disaster, there will be disruptions to carriers’ pick-up and delivery of customer orders due to the damage to roadways and other infrastructure. We recommend changing your listing status to inactive if you are unable to ship customer orders.
As the storm’s impact becomes clearer, you have the option to remain active and increase your handling time.
If you have existing orders, we recommend you inform buyers that it will take longer than expected to deliver the order by using buyer-seller messages. To send a message to buyers, go to Communicate with buyers using the Buyer-Seller messaging service.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Stay safe out there!
46 replies
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
For those sellers who were unfortunate enough to experience impacts far exceeding any predictions, will Amazon be forgiving of late shipment and similar hits to metrics?
And also, for those who have had their handling time changed to a value lower than they wanted, will they now be able to change it back? Reports are that the people who were "rewarded" for prompt shipping by having their handling time reduced to 1 day do not have the option to return it to 2 days.
Seller_ocWXA2GEIlt38
I am not understanding why Amazon has not announced anything for those impacted by this. I am sorry, but if your a seller who shipped out items 1-3 days or so before this storm hit, those packages in transit can still be delayed. Also, you do not always know your power is going to go out. We never lose power. We get hit with a lot of snow here every year which normally leaves most places without power, and we never lose power, but after this storm passed and everything was over, a few hours later our power went out and was out for three days. Sure I could put a pause on the listings that I have going from that point, but what about what already sold?
Moments like this allow Amazon the chance to show sellers that they do care and unless I have missed something, this was a lost one.
Seller_D6YxW7q3xLb4z
Some place don't have power and internet. There is no way to change the setting of the account.
Seller_xlf3vF516IRli
what about areas we have Shipped TO that are now affected by these delays? will the otdr metric be put on pause for these areas? How does this work for areas exponentially affected? i personally was not affected as a seller/shipper, but i have probably 10+ orders going to areas that maybe were just this last week. i have no way to know what is delayed and whats not delivery wise. i just have to ship and then be affected by this dumb metric because i have AHT exemptions for everything i sell due to them being custom handmade. i cant imagine what bigger sellers are doing. This is once again a prime example of why the otdr metric is a bad bad idea.
Seller_8LDS13Dwga70G
We should not be on the hook for all of these annexes holding packages because of the hurricane or routes being disrupted. Amazon expects us to ship on time. We ship on time and a hurricane hits when they are in route. Customers are already demanding refunds and filing A-Z claims on me. This is not right, us sellers should be exempt from delays causes by natural disasters. Seriously...
Seller_BVHmvnt9foaXY
Ebay has protections in place for sellers, amazon would never..
Please stay safe and thank you for selling on eBay.
Originally posted September 26, 2024:
As Hurricane Helene and its effects approach Florida and the Southeast, our primary concern is that you and your close ones stay safe. However, you may also be concerned about shipping delays for items already shipped or difficulties getting sold items to your carrier.
If your business is impacted, eBay will automatically protect your seller performance, including:
Your Late Shipment Rate (LSR) defects
Your valid tracking upload rate
Item Not Received (INR) cases due to late delivery along with any Negative or Neutral Feedback if you uploaded tracking before the case was opened and have a physical scan from the carrier
We’re continuing to make necessary adjustments to delivery date estimates so that your buyers have accurate expectations.
As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
TaylorR_Amazon
We had an Ask Amazon event yesterday where a few sellers raised questions about metrics. The partner team posted "If there is a major disruption event that impacts all sellers shipping to a specific region, we will not count deliveries that are late as a result in your OTDR. Whether a disruption is considered to be major is a discretionary decision made by Amazon."
You can read more in the event thread: Ask questions about the OTDR policy updates at an Ask Amazon event on October 1st
Seller_PCshC7t8gZjqm
One of the problems is how long it takes Amazon to communicate when such protections are being provided. For instance, I think it was 6 days after the Crowdstrike disaster before Amazon said Sellers wouldn't be responsible. As if the issue wasn't clearly a global problem on day 1. This leads to unneeded stress, lots of forum posts/comments, some Sellers taking drastic actions in an attempt to protect their metrics, etc.
FedEx has been giving us a list of zip codes that are receiving No Service along with an estimate of how long that zip code will be out of service--they've sent this every day this week. Yet, we're still receiving Prime orders to those zip codes. Since we can't disable zip codes or regions for Prime, our choice is either disable Prime entirely (drastic action), hope Amazon deems this a global enough problem to protect us, or hope the number of defects are small enough to not matter. eBay, on the other hand, announced Seller Protections on Monday.
TaylorR_Amazon
Hello @Seller_PCshC7t8gZjqm @Seller_BVHmvnt9foaXY @Seller_8LDS13Dwga70G, I was able to confirm with the team today. They provided the following message:
For seller-fulfilled orders that are shipped to or from zones affected by Hurricane Helene, Amazon is adding promise extensions to the delivery date customers see in order to ensure these dates are reflective of possible delays. Additionally, your On-time delivery rate (OTDR) will be protected from late deliveries affected by these major network disruptions.
Seller_R2dP7Hunjcdj0
We recommend changing your listing status to inactive if you are unable to ship customer orders.
So, Amazon recommends we ALL go on "Vacation Mode" rather than take a chance that a Buyer chooses to have their order Delivered to an address that might be delayed due to being in an "Affected area?
So, NO SALES for the 4th QTR because of Hurricanes in the Southeast and Blizzards in the Northeast? THAT is what Amazon suggests on how to avoid their OTDR from falling below 90%?
Well, it IS true that if you Sell NO products, you will have NO orders to Ship, and so be default you will have NO OTDR defects.
Except that neither YOU nor Amazon gets ANY income.
In the BIGGEST selling time of the Year.
THAT is Amazon's BEST suggestion?
Amazon, we Sellers have NO ability to control WHERE an Buyer directs an Amazon Order to be Delivered, and we would NOT even know the Delivery destination until AFTER we receive the order, when the clock has begun on the Ship-By window.
As the storm’s impact becomes clearer, you have the option to remain active and increase your handling time.
But without the ability to change the Handling time for a specific area, we would have to treat EVERY destination with the same elongated Handling Time.
AND without being able to change the Handling Time all at once, a Seller would have to edit each listing manually (Once Again, after we all had to do this recently when Amazon defaulted to 1-Day Handling time).
And for SOME of these affected areas, an extra day or two will NOT make any difference!
So Amazon considers it to be OUR responsibility to VET the current Deliver-ability of EVERY address for EVERY Order BEFORE it ships so we can warn the Buyer of a possible delay? Does Amazon recommend any specific website that can provide this up-to-the-minute info for the accessibility of each Delivery address?
And even IF the Seller contacts the Buyer, NOWHERE does Amazon state that they will be AT ALL forgiving to how these delays will affect a Seller's ODTR!
And Nowhere does it state that Amazon will NOT count it against a Seller who, unable to receive a reply from the Buyer concerning the package being sent into an area with a questionable Delivery status, is forces to either ship the order and take the OTDR "Hit", or Cancel the Order and take the "Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate".
No matter WHAT choice the Seller makes, Amazon will PUNISH them!
The Hurricane-created Delivery Delays was predicted by me as soon as the OTDR was dropped on Sellers, and now we see how Amaozn plans to handle it... They plan to Pass the Responsibility ENTIRELY to the Seller!
JUST WAIT until the Blizzards start hitting, and the OTDR takes a REAL beating!
Amazon, this is a CLEAR indication that the OTDR was a poorly-conceived notion with tremendously destructive consequences to Sellers, and are ALL completely BEYOND the Sellers ability to Control!
Amazon, NOW is the time to ABANDON this OTDR Metric completely! You dropped-it on us, you can just as easily Eliminate it..
Actually, deactivating it is even easier than enacting it!
Kill it! It is the SMART thing to do to prevent irreparable Harm to multiple Sellers of Good Standing through NO Fault of their own.
There are my concerns as requested...
Seller_LImVvUWeyiCfQ
I would consider any event where 160 lives have been lost, and still climbing, to be major, and hope Amazon does the right thing.
Our sympathy and prayers for all who have been impacted by this catastrophic storm.
Seller_LImVvUWeyiCfQ
Amazon, this is a CLEAR indication that the OTDR was a poorly-conceived notion with tremendously destructive consequences to Sellers, and are ALL completely BEYOND the Sellers ability to Control!
Amazon, NOW is the time to ABANDON this OTDR Metric completely! You dropped-it on us, you can just as easily Eliminate it..
hear! hear!
Amazon, if you're concerned about "losing face" by walking back this ill-conceived metric, don't be. Rather, I believe sellers will applaud you for recognizing a mistake and rectifying it.
Seller_r9wMm8LrE5iKj
How is this not yet an "event" that will affect OTDR? Why are promise extensions not part of that calc (I mean: explain how that makes sense, not: quote the documentation to me again)?
I take it regional FBA will be going on vacation as well? We don't want to overpromise to the buyers.
And we in no way will get penalized for increasing our handling time, when the new OTDR metric is designed to minimize it (to the extent that sellers are holding back shipments). Right?
Still waiting to hear what HANDLING time has to do with TRANSIT time, especially if we can't buy faster shipping without losing protections.
Your employer is either stupid or evil, Taylor.
Seller_R2dP7Hunjcdj0
THANK YOU!
This right here was EXACTLY what I was requesting from Amazon.
Well Done!
Delivery delay due to Hurricane Helene
My condolences to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene.
If you are located in the regions impacted by this natural disaster, there will be disruptions to carriers’ pick-up and delivery of customer orders due to the damage to roadways and other infrastructure. We recommend changing your listing status to inactive if you are unable to ship customer orders.
As the storm’s impact becomes clearer, you have the option to remain active and increase your handling time.
If you have existing orders, we recommend you inform buyers that it will take longer than expected to deliver the order by using buyer-seller messages. To send a message to buyers, go to Communicate with buyers using the Buyer-Seller messaging service.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Stay safe out there!
Delivery delay due to Hurricane Helene
My condolences to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene.
If you are located in the regions impacted by this natural disaster, there will be disruptions to carriers’ pick-up and delivery of customer orders due to the damage to roadways and other infrastructure. We recommend changing your listing status to inactive if you are unable to ship customer orders.
As the storm’s impact becomes clearer, you have the option to remain active and increase your handling time.
If you have existing orders, we recommend you inform buyers that it will take longer than expected to deliver the order by using buyer-seller messages. To send a message to buyers, go to Communicate with buyers using the Buyer-Seller messaging service.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Stay safe out there!
Delivery delay due to Hurricane Helene
My condolences to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene.
If you are located in the regions impacted by this natural disaster, there will be disruptions to carriers’ pick-up and delivery of customer orders due to the damage to roadways and other infrastructure. We recommend changing your listing status to inactive if you are unable to ship customer orders.
As the storm’s impact becomes clearer, you have the option to remain active and increase your handling time.
If you have existing orders, we recommend you inform buyers that it will take longer than expected to deliver the order by using buyer-seller messages. To send a message to buyers, go to Communicate with buyers using the Buyer-Seller messaging service.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Stay safe out there!
46 replies
46 replies
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
For those sellers who were unfortunate enough to experience impacts far exceeding any predictions, will Amazon be forgiving of late shipment and similar hits to metrics?
And also, for those who have had their handling time changed to a value lower than they wanted, will they now be able to change it back? Reports are that the people who were "rewarded" for prompt shipping by having their handling time reduced to 1 day do not have the option to return it to 2 days.
Seller_ocWXA2GEIlt38
I am not understanding why Amazon has not announced anything for those impacted by this. I am sorry, but if your a seller who shipped out items 1-3 days or so before this storm hit, those packages in transit can still be delayed. Also, you do not always know your power is going to go out. We never lose power. We get hit with a lot of snow here every year which normally leaves most places without power, and we never lose power, but after this storm passed and everything was over, a few hours later our power went out and was out for three days. Sure I could put a pause on the listings that I have going from that point, but what about what already sold?
Moments like this allow Amazon the chance to show sellers that they do care and unless I have missed something, this was a lost one.
Seller_D6YxW7q3xLb4z
Some place don't have power and internet. There is no way to change the setting of the account.
Seller_xlf3vF516IRli
what about areas we have Shipped TO that are now affected by these delays? will the otdr metric be put on pause for these areas? How does this work for areas exponentially affected? i personally was not affected as a seller/shipper, but i have probably 10+ orders going to areas that maybe were just this last week. i have no way to know what is delayed and whats not delivery wise. i just have to ship and then be affected by this dumb metric because i have AHT exemptions for everything i sell due to them being custom handmade. i cant imagine what bigger sellers are doing. This is once again a prime example of why the otdr metric is a bad bad idea.
Seller_8LDS13Dwga70G
We should not be on the hook for all of these annexes holding packages because of the hurricane or routes being disrupted. Amazon expects us to ship on time. We ship on time and a hurricane hits when they are in route. Customers are already demanding refunds and filing A-Z claims on me. This is not right, us sellers should be exempt from delays causes by natural disasters. Seriously...
Seller_BVHmvnt9foaXY
Ebay has protections in place for sellers, amazon would never..
Please stay safe and thank you for selling on eBay.
Originally posted September 26, 2024:
As Hurricane Helene and its effects approach Florida and the Southeast, our primary concern is that you and your close ones stay safe. However, you may also be concerned about shipping delays for items already shipped or difficulties getting sold items to your carrier.
If your business is impacted, eBay will automatically protect your seller performance, including:
Your Late Shipment Rate (LSR) defects
Your valid tracking upload rate
Item Not Received (INR) cases due to late delivery along with any Negative or Neutral Feedback if you uploaded tracking before the case was opened and have a physical scan from the carrier
We’re continuing to make necessary adjustments to delivery date estimates so that your buyers have accurate expectations.
As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
TaylorR_Amazon
We had an Ask Amazon event yesterday where a few sellers raised questions about metrics. The partner team posted "If there is a major disruption event that impacts all sellers shipping to a specific region, we will not count deliveries that are late as a result in your OTDR. Whether a disruption is considered to be major is a discretionary decision made by Amazon."
You can read more in the event thread: Ask questions about the OTDR policy updates at an Ask Amazon event on October 1st
Seller_PCshC7t8gZjqm
One of the problems is how long it takes Amazon to communicate when such protections are being provided. For instance, I think it was 6 days after the Crowdstrike disaster before Amazon said Sellers wouldn't be responsible. As if the issue wasn't clearly a global problem on day 1. This leads to unneeded stress, lots of forum posts/comments, some Sellers taking drastic actions in an attempt to protect their metrics, etc.
FedEx has been giving us a list of zip codes that are receiving No Service along with an estimate of how long that zip code will be out of service--they've sent this every day this week. Yet, we're still receiving Prime orders to those zip codes. Since we can't disable zip codes or regions for Prime, our choice is either disable Prime entirely (drastic action), hope Amazon deems this a global enough problem to protect us, or hope the number of defects are small enough to not matter. eBay, on the other hand, announced Seller Protections on Monday.
TaylorR_Amazon
Hello @Seller_PCshC7t8gZjqm @Seller_BVHmvnt9foaXY @Seller_8LDS13Dwga70G, I was able to confirm with the team today. They provided the following message:
For seller-fulfilled orders that are shipped to or from zones affected by Hurricane Helene, Amazon is adding promise extensions to the delivery date customers see in order to ensure these dates are reflective of possible delays. Additionally, your On-time delivery rate (OTDR) will be protected from late deliveries affected by these major network disruptions.
Seller_R2dP7Hunjcdj0
We recommend changing your listing status to inactive if you are unable to ship customer orders.
So, Amazon recommends we ALL go on "Vacation Mode" rather than take a chance that a Buyer chooses to have their order Delivered to an address that might be delayed due to being in an "Affected area?
So, NO SALES for the 4th QTR because of Hurricanes in the Southeast and Blizzards in the Northeast? THAT is what Amazon suggests on how to avoid their OTDR from falling below 90%?
Well, it IS true that if you Sell NO products, you will have NO orders to Ship, and so be default you will have NO OTDR defects.
Except that neither YOU nor Amazon gets ANY income.
In the BIGGEST selling time of the Year.
THAT is Amazon's BEST suggestion?
Amazon, we Sellers have NO ability to control WHERE an Buyer directs an Amazon Order to be Delivered, and we would NOT even know the Delivery destination until AFTER we receive the order, when the clock has begun on the Ship-By window.
As the storm’s impact becomes clearer, you have the option to remain active and increase your handling time.
But without the ability to change the Handling time for a specific area, we would have to treat EVERY destination with the same elongated Handling Time.
AND without being able to change the Handling Time all at once, a Seller would have to edit each listing manually (Once Again, after we all had to do this recently when Amazon defaulted to 1-Day Handling time).
And for SOME of these affected areas, an extra day or two will NOT make any difference!
So Amazon considers it to be OUR responsibility to VET the current Deliver-ability of EVERY address for EVERY Order BEFORE it ships so we can warn the Buyer of a possible delay? Does Amazon recommend any specific website that can provide this up-to-the-minute info for the accessibility of each Delivery address?
And even IF the Seller contacts the Buyer, NOWHERE does Amazon state that they will be AT ALL forgiving to how these delays will affect a Seller's ODTR!
And Nowhere does it state that Amazon will NOT count it against a Seller who, unable to receive a reply from the Buyer concerning the package being sent into an area with a questionable Delivery status, is forces to either ship the order and take the OTDR "Hit", or Cancel the Order and take the "Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate".
No matter WHAT choice the Seller makes, Amazon will PUNISH them!
The Hurricane-created Delivery Delays was predicted by me as soon as the OTDR was dropped on Sellers, and now we see how Amaozn plans to handle it... They plan to Pass the Responsibility ENTIRELY to the Seller!
JUST WAIT until the Blizzards start hitting, and the OTDR takes a REAL beating!
Amazon, this is a CLEAR indication that the OTDR was a poorly-conceived notion with tremendously destructive consequences to Sellers, and are ALL completely BEYOND the Sellers ability to Control!
Amazon, NOW is the time to ABANDON this OTDR Metric completely! You dropped-it on us, you can just as easily Eliminate it..
Actually, deactivating it is even easier than enacting it!
Kill it! It is the SMART thing to do to prevent irreparable Harm to multiple Sellers of Good Standing through NO Fault of their own.
There are my concerns as requested...
Seller_LImVvUWeyiCfQ
I would consider any event where 160 lives have been lost, and still climbing, to be major, and hope Amazon does the right thing.
Our sympathy and prayers for all who have been impacted by this catastrophic storm.
Seller_LImVvUWeyiCfQ
Amazon, this is a CLEAR indication that the OTDR was a poorly-conceived notion with tremendously destructive consequences to Sellers, and are ALL completely BEYOND the Sellers ability to Control!
Amazon, NOW is the time to ABANDON this OTDR Metric completely! You dropped-it on us, you can just as easily Eliminate it..
hear! hear!
Amazon, if you're concerned about "losing face" by walking back this ill-conceived metric, don't be. Rather, I believe sellers will applaud you for recognizing a mistake and rectifying it.
Seller_r9wMm8LrE5iKj
How is this not yet an "event" that will affect OTDR? Why are promise extensions not part of that calc (I mean: explain how that makes sense, not: quote the documentation to me again)?
I take it regional FBA will be going on vacation as well? We don't want to overpromise to the buyers.
And we in no way will get penalized for increasing our handling time, when the new OTDR metric is designed to minimize it (to the extent that sellers are holding back shipments). Right?
Still waiting to hear what HANDLING time has to do with TRANSIT time, especially if we can't buy faster shipping without losing protections.
Your employer is either stupid or evil, Taylor.
Seller_R2dP7Hunjcdj0
THANK YOU!
This right here was EXACTLY what I was requesting from Amazon.
Well Done!
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
For those sellers who were unfortunate enough to experience impacts far exceeding any predictions, will Amazon be forgiving of late shipment and similar hits to metrics?
And also, for those who have had their handling time changed to a value lower than they wanted, will they now be able to change it back? Reports are that the people who were "rewarded" for prompt shipping by having their handling time reduced to 1 day do not have the option to return it to 2 days.
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
For those sellers who were unfortunate enough to experience impacts far exceeding any predictions, will Amazon be forgiving of late shipment and similar hits to metrics?
And also, for those who have had their handling time changed to a value lower than they wanted, will they now be able to change it back? Reports are that the people who were "rewarded" for prompt shipping by having their handling time reduced to 1 day do not have the option to return it to 2 days.
Seller_ocWXA2GEIlt38
I am not understanding why Amazon has not announced anything for those impacted by this. I am sorry, but if your a seller who shipped out items 1-3 days or so before this storm hit, those packages in transit can still be delayed. Also, you do not always know your power is going to go out. We never lose power. We get hit with a lot of snow here every year which normally leaves most places without power, and we never lose power, but after this storm passed and everything was over, a few hours later our power went out and was out for three days. Sure I could put a pause on the listings that I have going from that point, but what about what already sold?
Moments like this allow Amazon the chance to show sellers that they do care and unless I have missed something, this was a lost one.
Seller_ocWXA2GEIlt38
I am not understanding why Amazon has not announced anything for those impacted by this. I am sorry, but if your a seller who shipped out items 1-3 days or so before this storm hit, those packages in transit can still be delayed. Also, you do not always know your power is going to go out. We never lose power. We get hit with a lot of snow here every year which normally leaves most places without power, and we never lose power, but after this storm passed and everything was over, a few hours later our power went out and was out for three days. Sure I could put a pause on the listings that I have going from that point, but what about what already sold?
Moments like this allow Amazon the chance to show sellers that they do care and unless I have missed something, this was a lost one.
Seller_D6YxW7q3xLb4z
Some place don't have power and internet. There is no way to change the setting of the account.
Seller_D6YxW7q3xLb4z
Some place don't have power and internet. There is no way to change the setting of the account.
Seller_xlf3vF516IRli
what about areas we have Shipped TO that are now affected by these delays? will the otdr metric be put on pause for these areas? How does this work for areas exponentially affected? i personally was not affected as a seller/shipper, but i have probably 10+ orders going to areas that maybe were just this last week. i have no way to know what is delayed and whats not delivery wise. i just have to ship and then be affected by this dumb metric because i have AHT exemptions for everything i sell due to them being custom handmade. i cant imagine what bigger sellers are doing. This is once again a prime example of why the otdr metric is a bad bad idea.
Seller_xlf3vF516IRli
what about areas we have Shipped TO that are now affected by these delays? will the otdr metric be put on pause for these areas? How does this work for areas exponentially affected? i personally was not affected as a seller/shipper, but i have probably 10+ orders going to areas that maybe were just this last week. i have no way to know what is delayed and whats not delivery wise. i just have to ship and then be affected by this dumb metric because i have AHT exemptions for everything i sell due to them being custom handmade. i cant imagine what bigger sellers are doing. This is once again a prime example of why the otdr metric is a bad bad idea.
Seller_8LDS13Dwga70G
We should not be on the hook for all of these annexes holding packages because of the hurricane or routes being disrupted. Amazon expects us to ship on time. We ship on time and a hurricane hits when they are in route. Customers are already demanding refunds and filing A-Z claims on me. This is not right, us sellers should be exempt from delays causes by natural disasters. Seriously...
Seller_8LDS13Dwga70G
We should not be on the hook for all of these annexes holding packages because of the hurricane or routes being disrupted. Amazon expects us to ship on time. We ship on time and a hurricane hits when they are in route. Customers are already demanding refunds and filing A-Z claims on me. This is not right, us sellers should be exempt from delays causes by natural disasters. Seriously...
Seller_BVHmvnt9foaXY
Ebay has protections in place for sellers, amazon would never..
Please stay safe and thank you for selling on eBay.
Originally posted September 26, 2024:
As Hurricane Helene and its effects approach Florida and the Southeast, our primary concern is that you and your close ones stay safe. However, you may also be concerned about shipping delays for items already shipped or difficulties getting sold items to your carrier.
If your business is impacted, eBay will automatically protect your seller performance, including:
Your Late Shipment Rate (LSR) defects
Your valid tracking upload rate
Item Not Received (INR) cases due to late delivery along with any Negative or Neutral Feedback if you uploaded tracking before the case was opened and have a physical scan from the carrier
We’re continuing to make necessary adjustments to delivery date estimates so that your buyers have accurate expectations.
As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
Seller_BVHmvnt9foaXY
Ebay has protections in place for sellers, amazon would never..
Please stay safe and thank you for selling on eBay.
Originally posted September 26, 2024:
As Hurricane Helene and its effects approach Florida and the Southeast, our primary concern is that you and your close ones stay safe. However, you may also be concerned about shipping delays for items already shipped or difficulties getting sold items to your carrier.
If your business is impacted, eBay will automatically protect your seller performance, including:
Your Late Shipment Rate (LSR) defects
Your valid tracking upload rate
Item Not Received (INR) cases due to late delivery along with any Negative or Neutral Feedback if you uploaded tracking before the case was opened and have a physical scan from the carrier
We’re continuing to make necessary adjustments to delivery date estimates so that your buyers have accurate expectations.
As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
TaylorR_Amazon
We had an Ask Amazon event yesterday where a few sellers raised questions about metrics. The partner team posted "If there is a major disruption event that impacts all sellers shipping to a specific region, we will not count deliveries that are late as a result in your OTDR. Whether a disruption is considered to be major is a discretionary decision made by Amazon."
You can read more in the event thread: Ask questions about the OTDR policy updates at an Ask Amazon event on October 1st
TaylorR_Amazon
We had an Ask Amazon event yesterday where a few sellers raised questions about metrics. The partner team posted "If there is a major disruption event that impacts all sellers shipping to a specific region, we will not count deliveries that are late as a result in your OTDR. Whether a disruption is considered to be major is a discretionary decision made by Amazon."
You can read more in the event thread: Ask questions about the OTDR policy updates at an Ask Amazon event on October 1st
Seller_PCshC7t8gZjqm
One of the problems is how long it takes Amazon to communicate when such protections are being provided. For instance, I think it was 6 days after the Crowdstrike disaster before Amazon said Sellers wouldn't be responsible. As if the issue wasn't clearly a global problem on day 1. This leads to unneeded stress, lots of forum posts/comments, some Sellers taking drastic actions in an attempt to protect their metrics, etc.
FedEx has been giving us a list of zip codes that are receiving No Service along with an estimate of how long that zip code will be out of service--they've sent this every day this week. Yet, we're still receiving Prime orders to those zip codes. Since we can't disable zip codes or regions for Prime, our choice is either disable Prime entirely (drastic action), hope Amazon deems this a global enough problem to protect us, or hope the number of defects are small enough to not matter. eBay, on the other hand, announced Seller Protections on Monday.
Seller_PCshC7t8gZjqm
One of the problems is how long it takes Amazon to communicate when such protections are being provided. For instance, I think it was 6 days after the Crowdstrike disaster before Amazon said Sellers wouldn't be responsible. As if the issue wasn't clearly a global problem on day 1. This leads to unneeded stress, lots of forum posts/comments, some Sellers taking drastic actions in an attempt to protect their metrics, etc.
FedEx has been giving us a list of zip codes that are receiving No Service along with an estimate of how long that zip code will be out of service--they've sent this every day this week. Yet, we're still receiving Prime orders to those zip codes. Since we can't disable zip codes or regions for Prime, our choice is either disable Prime entirely (drastic action), hope Amazon deems this a global enough problem to protect us, or hope the number of defects are small enough to not matter. eBay, on the other hand, announced Seller Protections on Monday.
TaylorR_Amazon
Hello @Seller_PCshC7t8gZjqm @Seller_BVHmvnt9foaXY @Seller_8LDS13Dwga70G, I was able to confirm with the team today. They provided the following message:
For seller-fulfilled orders that are shipped to or from zones affected by Hurricane Helene, Amazon is adding promise extensions to the delivery date customers see in order to ensure these dates are reflective of possible delays. Additionally, your On-time delivery rate (OTDR) will be protected from late deliveries affected by these major network disruptions.
TaylorR_Amazon
Hello @Seller_PCshC7t8gZjqm @Seller_BVHmvnt9foaXY @Seller_8LDS13Dwga70G, I was able to confirm with the team today. They provided the following message:
For seller-fulfilled orders that are shipped to or from zones affected by Hurricane Helene, Amazon is adding promise extensions to the delivery date customers see in order to ensure these dates are reflective of possible delays. Additionally, your On-time delivery rate (OTDR) will be protected from late deliveries affected by these major network disruptions.
Seller_R2dP7Hunjcdj0
We recommend changing your listing status to inactive if you are unable to ship customer orders.
So, Amazon recommends we ALL go on "Vacation Mode" rather than take a chance that a Buyer chooses to have their order Delivered to an address that might be delayed due to being in an "Affected area?
So, NO SALES for the 4th QTR because of Hurricanes in the Southeast and Blizzards in the Northeast? THAT is what Amazon suggests on how to avoid their OTDR from falling below 90%?
Well, it IS true that if you Sell NO products, you will have NO orders to Ship, and so be default you will have NO OTDR defects.
Except that neither YOU nor Amazon gets ANY income.
In the BIGGEST selling time of the Year.
THAT is Amazon's BEST suggestion?
Amazon, we Sellers have NO ability to control WHERE an Buyer directs an Amazon Order to be Delivered, and we would NOT even know the Delivery destination until AFTER we receive the order, when the clock has begun on the Ship-By window.
As the storm’s impact becomes clearer, you have the option to remain active and increase your handling time.
But without the ability to change the Handling time for a specific area, we would have to treat EVERY destination with the same elongated Handling Time.
AND without being able to change the Handling Time all at once, a Seller would have to edit each listing manually (Once Again, after we all had to do this recently when Amazon defaulted to 1-Day Handling time).
And for SOME of these affected areas, an extra day or two will NOT make any difference!
So Amazon considers it to be OUR responsibility to VET the current Deliver-ability of EVERY address for EVERY Order BEFORE it ships so we can warn the Buyer of a possible delay? Does Amazon recommend any specific website that can provide this up-to-the-minute info for the accessibility of each Delivery address?
And even IF the Seller contacts the Buyer, NOWHERE does Amazon state that they will be AT ALL forgiving to how these delays will affect a Seller's ODTR!
And Nowhere does it state that Amazon will NOT count it against a Seller who, unable to receive a reply from the Buyer concerning the package being sent into an area with a questionable Delivery status, is forces to either ship the order and take the OTDR "Hit", or Cancel the Order and take the "Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate".
No matter WHAT choice the Seller makes, Amazon will PUNISH them!
The Hurricane-created Delivery Delays was predicted by me as soon as the OTDR was dropped on Sellers, and now we see how Amaozn plans to handle it... They plan to Pass the Responsibility ENTIRELY to the Seller!
JUST WAIT until the Blizzards start hitting, and the OTDR takes a REAL beating!
Amazon, this is a CLEAR indication that the OTDR was a poorly-conceived notion with tremendously destructive consequences to Sellers, and are ALL completely BEYOND the Sellers ability to Control!
Amazon, NOW is the time to ABANDON this OTDR Metric completely! You dropped-it on us, you can just as easily Eliminate it..
Actually, deactivating it is even easier than enacting it!
Kill it! It is the SMART thing to do to prevent irreparable Harm to multiple Sellers of Good Standing through NO Fault of their own.
There are my concerns as requested...
Seller_R2dP7Hunjcdj0
We recommend changing your listing status to inactive if you are unable to ship customer orders.
So, Amazon recommends we ALL go on "Vacation Mode" rather than take a chance that a Buyer chooses to have their order Delivered to an address that might be delayed due to being in an "Affected area?
So, NO SALES for the 4th QTR because of Hurricanes in the Southeast and Blizzards in the Northeast? THAT is what Amazon suggests on how to avoid their OTDR from falling below 90%?
Well, it IS true that if you Sell NO products, you will have NO orders to Ship, and so be default you will have NO OTDR defects.
Except that neither YOU nor Amazon gets ANY income.
In the BIGGEST selling time of the Year.
THAT is Amazon's BEST suggestion?
Amazon, we Sellers have NO ability to control WHERE an Buyer directs an Amazon Order to be Delivered, and we would NOT even know the Delivery destination until AFTER we receive the order, when the clock has begun on the Ship-By window.
As the storm’s impact becomes clearer, you have the option to remain active and increase your handling time.
But without the ability to change the Handling time for a specific area, we would have to treat EVERY destination with the same elongated Handling Time.
AND without being able to change the Handling Time all at once, a Seller would have to edit each listing manually (Once Again, after we all had to do this recently when Amazon defaulted to 1-Day Handling time).
And for SOME of these affected areas, an extra day or two will NOT make any difference!
So Amazon considers it to be OUR responsibility to VET the current Deliver-ability of EVERY address for EVERY Order BEFORE it ships so we can warn the Buyer of a possible delay? Does Amazon recommend any specific website that can provide this up-to-the-minute info for the accessibility of each Delivery address?
And even IF the Seller contacts the Buyer, NOWHERE does Amazon state that they will be AT ALL forgiving to how these delays will affect a Seller's ODTR!
And Nowhere does it state that Amazon will NOT count it against a Seller who, unable to receive a reply from the Buyer concerning the package being sent into an area with a questionable Delivery status, is forces to either ship the order and take the OTDR "Hit", or Cancel the Order and take the "Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate".
No matter WHAT choice the Seller makes, Amazon will PUNISH them!
The Hurricane-created Delivery Delays was predicted by me as soon as the OTDR was dropped on Sellers, and now we see how Amaozn plans to handle it... They plan to Pass the Responsibility ENTIRELY to the Seller!
JUST WAIT until the Blizzards start hitting, and the OTDR takes a REAL beating!
Amazon, this is a CLEAR indication that the OTDR was a poorly-conceived notion with tremendously destructive consequences to Sellers, and are ALL completely BEYOND the Sellers ability to Control!
Amazon, NOW is the time to ABANDON this OTDR Metric completely! You dropped-it on us, you can just as easily Eliminate it..
Actually, deactivating it is even easier than enacting it!
Kill it! It is the SMART thing to do to prevent irreparable Harm to multiple Sellers of Good Standing through NO Fault of their own.
There are my concerns as requested...
Seller_LImVvUWeyiCfQ
I would consider any event where 160 lives have been lost, and still climbing, to be major, and hope Amazon does the right thing.
Our sympathy and prayers for all who have been impacted by this catastrophic storm.
Seller_LImVvUWeyiCfQ
I would consider any event where 160 lives have been lost, and still climbing, to be major, and hope Amazon does the right thing.
Our sympathy and prayers for all who have been impacted by this catastrophic storm.
Seller_LImVvUWeyiCfQ
Amazon, this is a CLEAR indication that the OTDR was a poorly-conceived notion with tremendously destructive consequences to Sellers, and are ALL completely BEYOND the Sellers ability to Control!
Amazon, NOW is the time to ABANDON this OTDR Metric completely! You dropped-it on us, you can just as easily Eliminate it..
hear! hear!
Amazon, if you're concerned about "losing face" by walking back this ill-conceived metric, don't be. Rather, I believe sellers will applaud you for recognizing a mistake and rectifying it.
Seller_LImVvUWeyiCfQ
Amazon, this is a CLEAR indication that the OTDR was a poorly-conceived notion with tremendously destructive consequences to Sellers, and are ALL completely BEYOND the Sellers ability to Control!
Amazon, NOW is the time to ABANDON this OTDR Metric completely! You dropped-it on us, you can just as easily Eliminate it..
hear! hear!
Amazon, if you're concerned about "losing face" by walking back this ill-conceived metric, don't be. Rather, I believe sellers will applaud you for recognizing a mistake and rectifying it.
Seller_r9wMm8LrE5iKj
How is this not yet an "event" that will affect OTDR? Why are promise extensions not part of that calc (I mean: explain how that makes sense, not: quote the documentation to me again)?
I take it regional FBA will be going on vacation as well? We don't want to overpromise to the buyers.
And we in no way will get penalized for increasing our handling time, when the new OTDR metric is designed to minimize it (to the extent that sellers are holding back shipments). Right?
Still waiting to hear what HANDLING time has to do with TRANSIT time, especially if we can't buy faster shipping without losing protections.
Your employer is either stupid or evil, Taylor.
Seller_r9wMm8LrE5iKj
How is this not yet an "event" that will affect OTDR? Why are promise extensions not part of that calc (I mean: explain how that makes sense, not: quote the documentation to me again)?
I take it regional FBA will be going on vacation as well? We don't want to overpromise to the buyers.
And we in no way will get penalized for increasing our handling time, when the new OTDR metric is designed to minimize it (to the extent that sellers are holding back shipments). Right?
Still waiting to hear what HANDLING time has to do with TRANSIT time, especially if we can't buy faster shipping without losing protections.
Your employer is either stupid or evil, Taylor.
Seller_R2dP7Hunjcdj0
THANK YOU!
This right here was EXACTLY what I was requesting from Amazon.
Well Done!
Seller_R2dP7Hunjcdj0
THANK YOU!
This right here was EXACTLY what I was requesting from Amazon.
Well Done!
