Are you an Amazon seller and worried about keeping your account healthy without being deactivated? Success on the platform requires understanding the Seller Performance Standards that Amazon sets.

Amazon has over 1.9 million active sellers striving to meet its strict performance requirements. Understanding these standards is necessary to determine how your account is viewed in search results and how visible the platform is to other users. Here is what you should know:

What are Amazon’s Seller Performance Standards?

Amazon has set certain standards and measures to ensure that sellers meet service quality standards and prioritize customer satisfaction.

Amazon evaluates sellers based on the following key areas of Amazon seller performance metrics:

• Order Defect Rate (ODR): Reflects orders with defects, such as negative feedback, A-to-Z claims, or credit card chargebacks. Your ODR should always be below 1%; exceeding this limit can result in suspension.
• Policy Compliance: Measures adherence to Amazon’s policies, where violations harm account health.
• Shipping Performance: Evaluates the quality and punctuality of the seller’s shipping and tracking services, focusing on timely delivery and accurate tracking.

How Can You Improve Your Amazon Account Health?

Maintaining a healthy Amazon seller account involves proactive measures and attention to detail:

• Monitor Metrics Regularly: Keep checking your Seller Dashboard to monitor your seller performance.
• Customer Communication: It’s important to reply to customer queries quickly and resolve them promptly enough to avoid bad reviews.
• Inventory Management Optimization: You can avoid order cancellations and shipment delays by keeping your inventory level accurate.
• Utilization of FBA Services: Take advantage of Fulfillment by Amazon for faster and more reliable delivery to improve customer experience to a greater extent.
• Stay Policy Compliant: Regularly review Amazon’s policies and ensure your listings and practices align with them. Avoid prohibited practices, such as incentivizing reviews or manipulating search rankings, which can trigger policy violations.
• Optimize Shipping Performance: Meet or exceed Amazon’s expectations for on-time delivery, valid tracking rates, and low cancellation rates. Use reliable carriers and ensure your processing and dispatch times are accurate to avoid late shipments and poor shipping metrics.
• Proactively Resolve Issues: Regularly review the Account Health page to catch and address issues early. Respond promptly to Amazon notifications about potential issues. Use Amazon’s “Appeal” function effectively by providing clear, factual explanations and corrective actions if issues arise.
• Leverage Account Health Assurance (if eligible): If you’re part of the AHA program, respond within 72 hours to any outreach from Amazon account health specialists. Their guidance can help you quickly address account issues before they escalate.
• Stay Updated on Amazon’s Best Practices: Participate in Amazon’s webinars and read updates on seller forums to stay informed about new compliance requirements and performance standards.
• Maintain High-Quality Listings: Ensure accurate product descriptions, quality images, and clear specifications to avoid misleading customers and reduce returns or complaints.
• Set Up Alerts for Account Health Metrics: Enabling notifications for changes in your AHR can help you address issues immediately and keep your account in the “Healthy” range.

What Happens If Your Amazon Seller Account Health Declines?

Understanding the consequences of poor account health is essential to mitigating risks:

• Warnings and Notifications: Amazon notifies sellers of performance issues and provides opportunities to improve.
• Account Suspension: Continued poor performance can lead to temporary or permanent suspension of selling privileges.
• Appeal Process: Sellers can appeal for account reinstatement by submitting a plan of action (POA) highlighting the corrective measures. Amazon team reviews the POA and reinstates the account if they are satisfied with the response.

How can Amazon Seller Account Health Assurance Help?

Amazon Account Health Assurance (AHA) is a free program designed to help sellers avoid account suspension. Under the Account Health Assurance (AHA) program, an Amazon team member will proactively collaborate one-on-one with sellers whose accounts are potentially at risk. Instead of an immediate suspension, a time frame of 72 hours is provided to the sellers to resolve the issues.

Professional sellers who have been active for at least a year and have a valid emergency contact number are eligible for the AHA program. To be enrolled in this program, the sellers need to maintain an AHR score of 250 or higher for at least six months, with no more than 10 days falling below 250.

Final Thoughts

It is really important to maintain compliance with Amazon’s Seller Performance Standards when it comes to long-term success on the platform. With thorough awareness of these standards, close attention to your metrics, and an active approach to enhancing performance, securing your seller account would be easy as a trusted seller on the online marketplace.

Ready to improve your Amazon account health? Start monitoring your metrics today and implement strategies to enhance your seller performance. Your success on Amazon begins with maintaining a healthy account!

Remember, Being cautious and responsive is important for surviving in today’s highly competitive e-commerce place.