Buyer received package missing items. She ordered and I sent 4 bottles, she only received 2. Damage is noted in the UPS tracking and weight scans show reduced weight when USPS received it from UPS (sent UPS Ground Saver).
I advised her to file an A-Z Claim for a refund with these steps:
Select Problem with Order.
Select your problem - item not received or never arrived.
Enter comment about missing items
Select Request Refund.
She chose Package didn’t arrive. There is no comment box or Request Refund option.
She sent me this screenshot. The tracking is shown on the right, as delivered, as if to dispute her claim of not received.
Normally, we have no contacts. Recently, we had two. One where the customer asked a question before purchasing. Another asking a question about an item the bought a year ago. Both were answered in a single reply.
That sent our Buyer Contact Rate up to just under 5%. It’s back down to 2%. Should be back to 0% within a week or two.
While the claim was pending, I uploaded a screenshot of the UPS tracking that showed damaged package.
She was denied the claim! She cannot appeal. I opened a case, talked to 2 different support reps (I got cut off on both calls), received this response:
This claim does not impact your Order Defect Rate (ODR). It may take up to 3 days for the claim to be removed from your ODR.
Learn more about how A-to-z Claims impact ODR here
What to do next: No further action required
The claim associated with your order 112-9XXXXXX-7XXXXXX is closed and can no longer be reopened or appealed. Selling Partner Support will not be able to provide any further information on this claim.
Package didn’t arrive is the reason to use if part of the order is missing. Tracking showed delivered but only half of the order was there.
UPS tracking noted package damage.
She should have been granted this claim.
Claim should have been funded by Amazon because I buy their shipping.
I think it was auto-denied due to tracking showing it delivered. She did comment that the box was damaged and items were missing but apparently that was ignored. Seller support cannot comprehend this level of complexity. They asked why don’t I just refund her (because I should be covered too under Buy Shipping Guarantee - which went way over their heads).
What a crock of s - - - . Bogus guarantees and no way to get wrongful denials overturned.
Amazon screwed the customer, against their own policy. It’s not the first time, and they will be delighted to throw you under the bus should the buyer become justifiably upset.
As far as Amazon policy or procedures are concerned, there is nothing you need to or are able to do at this point, unless the buyer files a chargeback.
As a matter of principle and customer service, if the buyer messages you again, you can offer them a discount on additional purchases to make up for the missing items, but there is at least a middling chance that could upset them even more.
Amazingly the buyer has remained pleasant and understanding throughout this ordeal. Her first contact was August 17th, she had to wait 48 hrs and then had trouble figuring out how to file the claim.
There have now been 23 messages between us. She has been immensely patient and I let her know I appreciate it.
I’ve offered to send her replacements or a refund, waiting for her to respond which. And I will give her a discount on a future order for her trouble.
They screwed us both because I was supposed to be covered under the Buy Shipping policy too.
These orders are securely boxed and taped. Something extreme happened in UPS custody to result in half the contents missing. Or theft. This shouldn’t be a loss for the buyer or for me.
I will either be refunding her or sending replacements, waiting to hear which she wants. So UPS negligence is costing me. And since I buy their shipping under the Amazon BS guarantee, it should be covered by Amazon but I think an A to Z refund is required to file for the BS guarantee.
Yes, and I’m usually the drum beater on that issue. This is especially true when Amazon has a metric target.
In this case, I don’t think it’s likely to become an enforced metric. While most orders for most items are seamless and contact with the buyer is a sign something is wrong, that is not always true. LTL orders, custom orders, etc require contact, even before the items ship, and a back and forth is often required to get the details down.
Of course when something does go wrong, it often takes multiple messages to resolve the issue.
Also, sellers have no control over when or how often buyers send them messages, and once a buyer does message a sellers, there is actual harm in incentivizing sellers to not answer or limit answers to avoid a metric spike. Yes, I know Amazon couldn’t care less about things like reality and what sellers can and cannot control, but in this case, I think it’s unlikely
I’d like to have your optimism re: Amazon and any sort of logic.
On that note, did anyone notice the Business Hour Delivery Rate went from >90% to now >95%? I swear it was 90% just a month ago… not that I’ll ever be close to either number.
PS: The tooltip for that number states this:
We recommend that sellers maintain a BHDR greater than 95% in order to maintain customer trust, however there is no penalty for not meeting the performance target at this time.
For Amazon Business customers, receiving shipments during operating hours is essential to packages getting received securely and on time, with fewer re-delivery attempts. To help ensure reliable delivery within a business customer’s hours, we’re introducing a new Business Hour Delivery Rate requirement to seller-fulfilled shipments in our US store.
Starting September 30, 2026, you’ll need to maintain a Business Hour Delivery Rate of 90% or higher. This is measured using the existing Business Hour Delivery Rate metric, which tracks the percentage of your seller-fulfilled shipments delivered to Amazon Business customers within their operating hours over a rolling 14-day period.
If your Business Hour Delivery Rate is below 90% on September 30, we’ll notify you and provide recommendations on how to improve. If your rate doesn’t improve by October 30, your seller-fulfilled offers may be deactivated for Amazon Business customers. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and retail offer eligibility will not be impacted.
Using reliable carriers and setting accurate handling and transit times is the best way to meet the requirement. You can also enable Automated Handling Time, Shipping Settings Automation, and Amazon Buy Shipping as shipments fulfilled using all three of these tools are guaranteed to meet the Business Hour Delivery Rate requirement.
To review your business hour delivery rate, go to Account Health.
