Amazon Marketplace Seller News: Changes in On-Time Delivery Rate System
On February 28th, 2026, Amazon is changing the ways its On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR) system flags products for poor performance. This will likely lead to an increase in suspended listings and potentially even more suspended accounts for sellers.
In this blog, we discuss these changes, Amazon’s built in system for protecting sellers from suspensions, and how to deal with these suspensions as they arise.
Amazon Seller News Today: OTDR Performance Now Leads to Seller Suspensions
Sellers now have a new metric of scrutiny by which Amazon will be enforcing suspensions for. Now, sellers who have a below 90% OTDR will see product listing suspensions. Amazon claims they will target products for suspension that are contributing the most to a low OTDR percentage.
For accounts with an OTDR far below 90%, Amazon will consider complete suspension of all product listings that are fulfilled by the seller. This is large-scale enforcement that could completely shut down some sellers if they are not carefully monitoring their OTDR, and are not prepared to appeal suspensions.
However, there are ways for sellers to protect themselves. By following the steps listed below, Amazon claims sellers will be eligible for protection from listing suspensions.
- Enabling Shipping Settings Automation
- Enabling Automated Handling Time
- Purchasing OTDR Protected Labels for product shipping
These steps are important for creating a more accurate expectation of delivery date for the customer. Purchasing protected shipping labels with these factors can prevent delays from impacting your OTDR as long as the product was shipped on time.
Throughout this year, Amazon has made several key changes that seem to be pushing sellers to use their services for shipping fulfillment. This can be frustrating for sellers who want to remain independent for fulfillment and feel that they are being pressured into Amazon’s services.
How Does OTDR Differ From High Order Defect Rate?
Order Defect Rate (ODR) is how Amazon calculates negative experiences with seller products, including negative customer reviews, chargebacks, and more. Comparatively, On Time Delivery Rate (OTDR) is specifically related to the performance metric for delivering products on time.
The two are similar in that both can lead to product and account deactivation if a seller fails to perform to Amazon’s standards. For ODR the threshold is more than 1% of products being flagged, while OTDR is having a lower than 90% on time delivery rate. In both cases, it is important to plan how you can appeal the removal of your listed products and even account-level action.
Appealing Amazon Product and Account Suspensions
When sellers are hit with suspensions of their products and accounts, appeals are created through Seller Central in the form of a Plan of Action (POA). POAs explain your position and offer evidence to justify your reactivation. Each POA consists of three core areas:
- Root Cause Analysis: What led to the suspension. Typically easily identified in cases of OTDR.
- Immediate Corrective Actions: What you did to correct the reason for suspension. In OTDR, this can mean changing fulfillment strategies or working to ensure more accurate delivery estimation.
- Future Preventative Measures: How you are preventing similar cases from happening in the future. For OTDR, this is often tied to your corrective actions as your actions to ensure more accurate delivery times relate directly to how you will prevent future cases.
For OTDR appeals, submission is done under the Seller Performance section of your seller dashboard.
Amazon Sellers Lawyer: Amazon Suspension Appeals & Keeping You Up To Date On Seller News
If low OTDR is causing your account to see product deactivations, contact us today! Amazon Sellers Lawyer has been focusing exclusively on e-commerce seller issues since 2016. We are available 24/7 through our online form and contactable by phone at 212-256-1109
About the Author
CJ Rosenbaum, Esq.
CJ Rosenbaum is the founding partner of Amazon Sellers Lawyer. He’s been practicing law since 1995, and since 2016 his firm has focused exclusively on Amazon sellers – issues like suspensions, intellectual property disputes, and love inventory.
CJ has written six books on Amazon seller legal issues including the Amazon Sellers’ Guide to Copyright Law. He has spoken at major industry events like the Prosper Show, Global Sources Summit, Retail Global. CJ also works with the Amazon Sellers Lawyer team to provide free content for Amazon sellers. This is available through their online blog and YouTube channel, frequently covering major Amazon updates and important topics relevant to the seller space.
Through BrandProtectionAmazon.com, the firm also supports brands in protecting their products. This gives the team the unique opportunity to learn from case wins on both sides of the fence, strengthening protection for both the sellers and brands that Rosenbaum & Segall P.C. represents.
Amazon repeatedly rejecting your Plan of Action? Amazon Sellers Lawyer handles suspension appeals and account reinstatement cases – including arbitration against Amazon when they’re withholding seller money. Contact us to discuss your situation and figure out the best path forward.