Number 3 - For all order received after my cutoff time on Friday, I wait until Monday morning to purchase shipping. So, does mean that I didn’t have to wait until Monday?
I waited until Monday because I didn’t want my handling time gap to go over 2 days.
Many of my orders are showing protected on Friday but when I wait until Monday, it changes to not protected.
After all this time, I’m still confused with this…
I would love to go back to buying shipping right away regardless of when I ship them.
Handling time gap is no longer a valid concern, as all sellers must comply with the 1-day handling time requirement now (Amazon change enacted 10/1). There seems to be some debate over whether SKU-level handling is being honored, but it doesn’t sound like it. 1 day is what we all get, to my knowledge.
I buy immediately now, which is my preference anyway.
What is the handle time on the ITEM (if more than one ITEM, then the ORDER)?
Is your handle time controlled by the default handle time of the Amazon set 1 day handle time?
Is your handle time controlled by the ITEM level handle time for each of your ITEMs?
Is your handle time controlled by AHT (Automated Handle Time)?
What is your desired handle time?
What is the default shipping on the ORDER as that determines transit time?
Is your shipping set to SSA (Shipping Setting Automation … controlled by Amazon)?
What are the days of operation that you have your store set to? (Mon to Fri … or … Mon to Sat … or Mon to Sun … or something else).
Tell us what your parameters are and we can tell you how you will need to print and ship your labels to achieve your goal and avoid the “Late Delivery Risk” badge.
Not true as it still effects those with manual item level handle time settings. The 10/1 change just means that you can no longer set your handle time by store level and Amazon is saying that default handle time will be 1 day for a store. This change has stopped sellers from changing their handle time to be longer if they were going on vacation or needed off for a couple of days but didn’t want to put their store in vacation mode. If you want a handle time greater than 1 day, it must be set at individual ITEM level handle time setting.
If you ship correctly to the ITEM level handle time, then the AHT will honor the setting. If you ship early, then AHT will learn the pattern and adjust the ITEM level handle time. Our ITEM level handle time is 2 days and we have been able to maintain it while on AHT. There was a little learning curve when it came to the timing of purchasing labels to make it work but it definitely can be done.
But for that first sale … if you have the ITEM handle time set to something greater than 1 (say a 2 day handle time), Amazon will go by that ITEM handle time ( ie: 2 day handle time or whatever it is set to). If you do not have AHT enabled, then you need to ship on the last order ship by date to avoid creating a promise gap greater than 2 days. If you have AHT enabled, then you need to ship on the last ship by date to avoid AHT adjusting your handle time. We understand that you may have just one but your goal is to show a consistent shipping pattern that supports the 2 day handle time (or whatever handle time you have your ITEMs set to at item level).
I have assumed and hoped that for strictly used book sellers – one of anything – that the overall performance is what determines the GAP. Thus I always ship on second day (well since that announcement anyway – I used to give better service when it was convenient)
If you have all of your items set to 2 day handle time and you have your store set to open Monday through Friday, then this would be the shipping pattern …
Order Day >> Ship Day
Monday >> Wednesday
Tuesday >> Thursday
Wednesday >> Friday
Thursday >> Monday
Friday >> Tuesday
Saturday >> Tuesday
Sunday >> Tuesday
You would never have a GAP problem.
We use to ship as soon as the order was ready (custom items). Handle time was always 2 days but a Friday or Saturday order would go out Monday. Sometimes we use to ship the next day. However … with the introduction of the GAP, we now follow a strict 2 day handle time ship day as described above so that we can preserve the 2 day handle time. It hasn’t effected our order volume and we always show 100% on the metrics.
What is the handle time on the ITEM (if more than one ITEM, then the ORDER)?
I used to have it at 2 but I changed to 1 as it was showing longer ETA. It used to show, for instance, 10/27 – 10/28. Something happened and it was showing only 10/28. I changed it to 1 day so that it shows 10/27.
Is your handle time controlled by the default handle time of the Amazon set 1 day handle time?
I also have the store default at 1 day.
Is your handle time controlled by the ITEM level handle time for each of your ITEMs?
Since I changed it to 1 day on item level, it is all same now.
Is your handle time controlled by AHT (Automated Handle Time)?
I don’t use AHT
What is your desired handle time?
I want 2 day in case I want to take some time off. I want it to display 10/27 – 10/28.
What is the default shipping on the ORDER as that determines transit time?
Shipping method? USPS GA
Is your shipping set to SSA (Shipping Setting Automation … controlled by Amazon)?
I don’t use SSA.
What are the days of operation that you have your store set to? (Mon to Fri … or … Mon to Sat … or Mon to Sun … or something else).
Mon to Fri. I still ship on Saturdays, 95% of the time.
At this point, I’m thinking of going back to the old days before all this happened. I used to buy shipping as soon as possible. I rather have everything ready to go than wait until the next morning.
The thing is, I might have to take this Friday off. For this case, I am going to change item level to 2 days so that I don’t have to ship on Friday.
The thing that bothers me is, I know that USPS GA will not be protected come Saturday. Not for all orders, but states like NY, NJ, PA, CA, WA… I don’t get this. I’m in Texas, smack in the middle of the country. I thought moving to Texas would make all transits faster than when I was in PA.
With an order with multiple items, the order handle time will be the same as the ASIN (SKU) that has the longest handle time.
If AHT is not turned on, handle time would be ASIN (SKU) level handle time if it is set. If ASIN (SKU) level handle time is not set, then it would be the default setting which is now 1 day for everyone.
Yes
Yes, we have AHT turned on (which defaults to our item level handle time as long as we are consistent in our shipping with no early shipping of orders).
2 days
We have SSA enable which controls transit times (normally 4 to 6 days for our orders and location which is pretty central in relationship to both coasts).
Yes
We are Mon thru Fri. We never ship on Saturday (we never ship before the last ship by date on the order).
We are in Texas also and do not have an issue with USPS GA protection to anywhere in the US. As far as one location being faster than another … since July, USPS has changed their routing and operational delivery/pickup at post offices. Rural areas basically have had an additional day added into delivery estimates.
From what you have said, we would have all of our items set to 2 day handle time with transit set to 5 - 8 days on shipping templates. We would not ship early and be very consistent with shipping to the last ship by day on the order.
Thank you so much for the detailed responses!
I guess I can only have it one way. I miss the days where I can buy shipping right away but also set the transit time as short as possible so it shows early delivery dates. I sell time sensitive items so people are more likely to buy from me if I show earlier delivery dates.
I’m going to change the handling time to 2 days on SKU level and see how sales go. If it declines, I might have to take the risk and send without protection.
We changed all our handling times to 2-day at the end of Sept. via SKU-level upload instructions received here on SAS. Before, times varied wildly from 2-5 days(older titles w/ no manually input handling date appeared to default to 5-day handling).
Only negative: purchases from Thursday to Sunday (Sat. for us isn’t officially a shipping day) end up on Tuesday! So we have out -of-proportion, difficult-to-handle shipments on Tuesdays! Gonna return to Sat. being a business day as the holidays approach. Aready changed this 3 or 4 times this year, attempting to out-think the AMZ handling bots.
As for shipping protection, because we get very few returns or A-Z’s, have used 3rd party-labeling for years. Only use AMAZON (BPM) for freight-forwarder/aggregators. Works for us-but it sold items w/ high returns such as clothes/shoes/electronics, would require different strategy. .
Thursday orders should have a Monday ship by date. We have 2 day handle time with Mon thru Fri operations and all of our Thursday orders go out on Monday. Friday thru Sunday orders do go out on Tuesday.
As stated up-thread, we went through the horrendous process (for us) of changing to 2 day handling on all SKU’s-all 12,465 of them-since as @bookwormapril mentioned, used booksellers rarely have more than one copy of each title. Though on popular authors like Austen, Dickens, Hemingway, we have different editions or bindings of same title.
Even at 2 day handling, we’re still one of the quickest delivery promises- Oct. 31-Nov. 4th. Some booksellers are offering 2nd, even 3rd week in Nov.(for European Booksellers). Our sales are holding up. They’re lower of course, as more and more folks aren’t getting Federal pay/benefits, but maybe 10% lower-no sales to Washington D.C or Maryland/Virginia ‘burbs in the last month. CA/TX/SOUTHERN STATES sales are up!
About AMZ so-called protection-is it really worth the aggravation? On NSFE, all one hears is how AMZ didn’t honor protection promises.
We send 85+% of our order via Stamps(see other posts about present cost versus Endicia) -have few returns(1, maybe 2 yearly) and our last A-Z was 5 years ago. Only you can say, based on return or loss history, if worth the risk to go elsewhere, such as Pirate Ship or Pay Pal, for labels.
I just had an unusual order on Amazon: APO. I have not had one in many years. Buyer paid my standard USPS Media Mail shipping of 3.99, but Amazon specified Priority shipping.
A bit peeved, I thought I would cancel the order for a cheap 3 pound book, but people who serve our country deserve special consideration (especially those buying books about the workings of the CIA), so I clicked send, and Amazon produced a USPS Priority label for $6.70, far less than the usual price, that also included a pre-printed customs form (always a PITA to complete), so I shipped it today.
FWIW, I do not ship out of the US on Amazon, but do so on the other venues. Amazon has no mechanism for sellers to request extra shipping for heavy books, and often sent me orders to be shipped abroad with NO shipping charge until I corrected one of my shipping templates.
Thanks for your comment. I think I can count on one hand the number of APO/FPO orders I have shipped in the past 10 years. Some are clearly to soldiers, some to embassy personnel.
An APO order for a two-volume set of Julia Child’s cookbooks was clearly not ordered by someone living in a tent in Afghanistan.
Is there a special setting for APO/FPO addresses on Amazon that I do not know about?
