New handling time requirement for seller-fulfilled products

Selling on Amazon FBM
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More fresh BS

Hello,

We are writing to inform you about a new handling time requirement going into effect on June 29, 2026. There is no action required from you because you have Automated Handling Time (AHT) enabled for your account.

Fast and accurate delivery builds customer trust and is a key factor in purchase decisions. Our data shows that over 87% of seller-fulfilled orders received in the US are handled within one day. However, many sellers set longer SKU-specific handling times than needed, leading to overestimated delivery promises. In fact, every one day improvement in promised delivery time leads to an average 5% increase in sales. Hence, we’re implementing a new handling time requirement to help you set the most accurate delivery promises possible.
Starting June 29, 2026, all sellers must maintain accurate handling time for their seller-fulfilled SKUs. Your handling time is considered accurate when the actual handling time consistently matches your configured handling time for each SKU. This can be achieved in two ways:

  • (Recommended) Automated Handling Time (AHT): AHT sets SKU handling time based on recent shipping history and provides late shipment rate (LSR) protection, allowing sellers to comply with our order management policies without monitoring individual SKUs.
  • Maintain accurate SKU-specific handling time: Sellers can also set their own handling time at the SKU-level. We’ll monitor these SKUs for accuracy over 30 days. If an SKU is consistently shipped faster than stated by at least one day, it will be flagged. If accurate handling time is not provided, it will move to Amazon-managed handling time with LSR protection for 180 days.

As mentioned, there is no action required of you because you have AHT enabled. To learn more about the new handling time requirement, visit Modify handling time.

This requirement does not apply to custom, handmade, and Heavy & Bulky less-than-truckload shipments.

The Amazon Services team

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We just got the exact same email 12 minutes ago …

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I just got this too.

I am angry-face.

You punish us for late delivery for issues outside our control, then punish us for leaving even the slightest leeway to deal with those issues. Why even bother with metrics? Just send daily threats to shut us down and be done with it.

4

In the past, when we’ve complained about Amazon changing our handling time, we’ve been told “Set it at the SKU level”.

Now they’re saying that even that won’t work.

And to make it even worse, old threshold for being punished was 2 days; now it’s only 1!

WTF can’t Amazon just let us run our own businesses???

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lol I was reading this sentence waiting for a big number at the end… 5%!? Really? Wtf.

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I don’t think it has anything to do with sales conversion. I think it has to do with increasing pressure on their marketshare from competitors, and since they can’t promise faster FBA shipping (they can’t meet faster promises without spending a lot more money) they are leaning on FBM sellers to pick up the slack, and then punishing us for not meeting their promises.

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Mine was slightly different since I don’t have AHT enabled.

My custom items, of which I only sell those custom items, take several days to produce.

And guess what, maybe I don’t give a ■■■■ about increasing my sales 5%.

I UNDER PROMISE AND OVER DELIVER ON PURPOSE!!!

POUND SAND AMAZON!!!

Email

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This is what you should do now and should have been doing.

No … if you set your handle time to 2 days, then ship it following a 2 day handle time AND NEVER EVER ship an order before the last ship by date on the order. We have been doing this since the Sept 2025 change and have no problems.

Not what was said. Most sellers ship in 1 day. That is all Amazon was saying. However, there will be focus on those who have a longer handle time who tend to set a long handle time but then turn around and ship early. If you do this, then Amazon will put your account on AHT. This is the same as when this first came around in Sept 2025.

This is just another shot across the bow to warn sellers that they are focusing on it again.

9

LOL!!!

THEN WHY THE HELL DID BOTH OF US GET THIS Sugar Honey Iced Tea?

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We just got the email! Pain in the A—. We went thru all this at least a year ago. Had an employee run our inventory, which admittedly had 1-3 day handling, making them all a standardized 2-day handling..

On the Fulfillment Insights Dashboard, reflects 2.2 days, which I suppose has to do w/ our not shipping on Sunday. Think we’be shipped am order late 1 time in nearly 15 years!!

TPTB will do anything to force vendors to join AHT. Poo or Phew on them!!

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Emphasis mine.

Your workaround is just that, a workaround. The actual policy, with the understanding that sellers do not deliberately delay shipments to juice metrics, is what @Picks_by_Nisha is saying. The fact is that Amazon is incentivizing exactly this, the opposite of what they claim this policy is intended for. More sellers will now intentionally take longer to ship to avoid Amazon trashing our handling times.

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Just because you sell some custom/handmade product doesn’t mean everything you sell is.

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True for others, not me.

My business on Amazon is only custom and only handmade. Like everything else about MY business, it is MY choice. I choose to list things on Amazon. I don’t have to.

I can’t wait for Amazon to implode like Sears and other behemoths before them.
I will not morn. I will celebrate its demise.

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Our email was the same as @wadeorcas, because we have AHT and SSA enabled.

Our regular items ship the same day before cut-off time 2pm.

Our custom products have 3 days handling time or what we call production time.
Some higher quantity poker chips may have additional days, but almost all custom listings have 3 days.

Some items started out with 4 or 5 days, but after 2 months of shipping they all reset to 3 days.

Our same-day regular items and our custom items with production time do not have any glitches with AHT and SSA enabled.

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Right; I’ve been doing that. But now they’re saying that they’ll over-ride individual SKUs. And sure, we have to delay everything; but that’s the whole problem. If I could ship everything on exactly the second day, then I could handle shipping everything in one day. But there are days when I can’t ship; so I want the ability to ship early for things due that day, and have new sales pushed beyond then. So there will be times when I need to ship before the last “Ship By” date.

From the notice:

If an SKU is consistently shipped faster than stated by at least one day, it will be flagged.

I read that as it now being only a 1 day (or slightly over) threshold.

Of course, being a used book seller, I rarely have more than a qty of 1 for a sku, so even if a single sku is flagged, I’ll never be selling it again, so it won’t affect me. But the entire policy is messed up.

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My NSFE post about this

I’m so tired of corporate, shareholder driven, executive bonus, maxxing to the extreme, BS.

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Hi @Picks_by_Nisha , I read the notice a little differently in my head.

I read it with Amazon stating that you can set any amount of handling time per sku.
If you ship that sku faster than your handling time set, then they will flag it.

Flagging your sku would occur if you are shipping the sku a day or more faster than what your handling time states.

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Which in Amazon’s stupid world can happen simply by creating a shipping label the night before you take it to UPS, USPS, or whomever.

My “handling” time should not be penalized because I pack an item at 8PM on Saturday or Sunday before I drop it off Monday at 8 AM when it is actually turned over to the “shipper”.

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Got it too, it was interesting due to my morning.

First Our Production Process may be Different than Others

  • We have commercial product premade and on the shelf, or in FBA
  • We have On Demand Products, that we make when ordered. 2-5 days
  • Custom Products, based off of On Demand Products that need to add names 3-6 days
  • Handmade Products the widest range, be it hand painted, fabricated from raw wood products or even hand wrought steel.

First they said, exceptions for Custom and Handmade products, so no worries about them. No worries on items that have been premade, or are in FBA. (Except the FBA deliveries are often late. Or never arrive) As a customer, yet again today;

Now arriving tomorrow
Previously expected May 27. We’re sorry for the delay.

“Good for thee but not for me” said Amazon.

___________________

Back to the real issue, we have created the “Boxes of despair.” We put items into the box based on what day they must ship. Even though we have them done and ready to ship!

We must hold them until the actual promised ship date. What smart business ever does that?

Then like this morning just before the stupid “New Handling Time Requirement” email came through, we prepared shipments for the day. Most, no problem ship today, most had been held, we could use a value shipping method like Ground Advantage or UPS. A few we shipped one day early

However, a few were to the west coast, we are on the east coast, can not ship until Friday this week. If we wait until then, we must ship Priority or second or third day air if we are lucky.

We often send stuff out a bit early, did that this morning to avoid the extra charges. We just keep the early shipments to a minimum so we do not get forced into AHT (Automated Handling Time) simple. Our actions have kept us out of AHT. It appears until now.

New Handling Time Law, no longer, we must now hold it until the ship day. Costing us even more cutting into our margins. To say nothing of now with DD+7 AKA DD+ when they feel like it, we wait longer for the payment. Managing two metrics…

DO NOT SHIP EARLY and NEVER EVER SHIP LATE!

Clearly, Amazon has become, over the years, even more like a river. Every once and a while a river changes course. New banks on the river are defined, the old ones are still on the map you used for navigation last year. Selling on Amazon is the same.

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Interesting convergence isn’t it.