Quick answer. Order Defect Rate (ODR) is the percentage of your seller-fulfilled orders in a 60-day period that received negative feedback (1 or 2 stars), an A-to-z Guarantee claim that counts against you, or a service chargeback. Amazon requires ODR under 1%, and above that it may suspend your Fulfilled by Merchant selling privileges or deactivate offers with high defects. Claims where Amazon finds you were not at fault, fraud chargebacks and feedback the buyer withdraws do not count, so the fastest way down is to contest the defects that should not be there and stop the ones that should.
ODR is Amazon’s main measure of customer service quality for sellers who ship their own orders. It is also the metric sellers misread most often, because the number on the Account Health page is built from three separate processes with three separate rule sets, each matched to the order date rather than the date the defect appeared. A seller who understands how each defect enters the rate, and how each one can leave it, can usually find the orders that matter within an hour of opening the report.
How Amazon Calculates Order Defect Rate
Amazon defines ODR as the percentage of orders with one or more indicators of poor customer service during a 60-day period. The three indicators are negative feedback, A-to-z Guarantee claims and credit card chargebacks. The calculation divides the number of orders with at least one defect by the total number of orders in the period.
Three rules shape that number.
- One order, one defect. An order that has negative feedback and a claim and a chargeback counts once. Three problems on the same order do not triple its weight.
- Seller-fulfilled orders only. ODR as an account health measure applies to orders you ship yourself. FBA orders appear in the downloadable report, but they do not count toward the rate that Amazon holds you to.
- A rolling window. The 60-day period moves forward every day. A defect stays in your rate until the order date falls outside the window, then it drops out on its own.
What 1% means in orders
The target is a percentage, so the room you have depends on volume. A seller with 300 seller-fulfilled orders in the window is under the target with two defective orders and at it with three. A seller with 5,000 orders has room for 49. Small sellers feel ODR first, because a single bad week can carry them over the line. We tell low-volume sellers to treat every potential defect as an account health event, because for them it is.
The report lags behind the page
Amazon’s guidance on reading the ODR report says it runs on a 14-day delay. In practice, the window you see on the Account Health page ends about two weeks before today, so defects from recent orders have not entered it yet. Problems you fix today show in the rate two or more weeks from now, and problems that happened last week may not have shown up yet. Plan corrective work against what is coming, not only against what the page shows.
What Counts Toward ODR and What Does Not
Each defect type has its own rules for what enters the rate. The table sets out Amazon’s lists side by side.
| Defect type | Counts toward ODR | Does not count |
|---|---|---|
| Negative feedback | 1 and 2 star seller ratings, matched to the order date | Feedback the buyer withdraws, which can take up to 48 hours to drop out, and feedback Amazon removes |
| A-to-z Guarantee claims | Claims granted with you at fault, claims you refunded after filing, claims where you or Amazon cancelled the order, and claims pending appeal | Claims where you were not at fault, denied claims, claims the buyer withdraws, and property damage and personal injury claims |
| Credit card chargebacks | Service chargebacks, such as item not received or not as described, matched to the order date | Fraud chargebacks, where the cardholder says they did not make the purchase |
Negative feedback is matched to the order
Amazon counts negative feedback against the date of the order, not the date the buyer left it. Two consequences follow. The feedback in your ODR can differ from what buyers see on your seller profile, which is sorted by when feedback was left. And a buyer who leaves a 1-star rating weeks after delivery puts a defect onto an order that may already be near the end of the window, where it will fall off sooner than you expect.
Only 1 and 2 star ratings count. A 3-star rating is neutral and does not enter ODR, even when the comment is critical.
A-to-z claims count unless you were not at fault
The claim list is the one that surprises sellers. A claim counts if Amazon grants it with you at fault. It also counts if you refund the buyer after the claim is filed, because the refund came after the buyer had to escalate. A claim on an order that you or Amazon cancelled counts. A claim waiting on your appeal counts until the appeal is decided.
The claims that do not count are the ones Amazon decides were not your fault, the ones it denies, the ones the buyer withdraws, and property damage and personal injury claims, which go through a separate process.
Chargebacks are decided by the card issuer
A chargeback works like an A-to-z claim, except that the buyer’s bank makes the decision instead of Amazon. Amazon separates chargebacks into two groups. Fraud chargebacks, where the cardholder says they did not authorize the purchase, are Amazon’s responsibility and do not count against your ODR. Service chargebacks, where the buyer acknowledges the purchase but reports a problem with it, are yours. Amazon lists the common service reasons as an item not received, a return made without a refund, an item materially different from its description or damaged, and duplicate or incorrect charges. For seller-fulfilled orders, a service chargeback counts against ODR if the bank rules for the buyer.
How to Read Your ODR Report
The ODR metric sits on the left side of the Account Health page, and the download button is in the bottom left corner of the metric. The report lists every order with a defect in the window. Amazon describes its columns from left to right as Order Date, Order ID, Fulfilled By, Negative Feedback, A-to-z Guarantee claims, Chargeback claims and Impacts Account Health.
We work the report in a fixed order.
- Filter to seller-fulfilled orders. A filter at the top of the metric splits the rate between seller-fulfilled and FBA orders. Only the seller-fulfilled rate is the one you are graded on.
- Sort by the Impacts Account Health column. Work only the rows marked as affecting account health. A row that does not affect it is not worth your time this week.
- Sort the remaining rows by order date. The oldest defects leave the window first. The newest ones will sit in your rate the longest, so contesting them gives the largest benefit.
- Tag each defect by type and by cause. Mark whether it is feedback, a claim or a chargeback, and what went wrong on the order, such as late delivery, wrong item, damage or no response.
- Look for clusters. Several defects on one ASIN, one carrier, one warehouse or one week usually mean one fixable cause.
Amazon notes the report can appear empty when you have fulfilled orders but no defects currently affect the metric. If the page shows a rate and the download looks empty, check the date range and the fulfillment filter before you assume an error.
How to Bring the Rate Down
Two levers lower ODR. You can remove defects that should not be there, and you can stop new defects from entering. Removal works on the current number. Prevention works on the number two months from now. A seller near the threshold needs both.
Work with buyers who left negative feedback
Amazon recommends finding out what caused the negative experience and contacting the buyer through Feedback Manager or Buyer-Seller Messaging templates. The message must be about the order or a customer service question. Solve the buyer’s problem first, with a replacement, a refund or a return label. Keep the message about resolving the order. A refund offered on condition that the buyer removes feedback turns a service fix into a feedback request, and we do not advise it. A buyer whose problem you fixed may decide to remove the feedback on their own, and when they do, it stops counting, which can take up to 48 hours to show.
Request removal of feedback that qualifies
If you believe feedback is incorrect and meets Amazon’s removal requirements, select Request removal next to the order in Feedback Manager. Removal is narrow. It covers feedback that breaks Amazon’s feedback guidelines, such as feedback that is a product review rather than a comment on the seller. For FBA orders, Amazon may remove negative feedback that relates to its own fulfillment or customer service. A request on feedback that is unflattering but describes a real service failure will be declined, and repeated requests on the same order do not change that.
Respond to A-to-z claims inside the window
Manage claims from the A-to-z Guarantee claims page under Performance in Seller Central. Answer every claim before its deadline. Amazon’s staff guidance states that a claim can be granted automatically when the seller did not respond to the buyer within 48 hours, did not answer Amazon’s request for information in time, shipped late or missed the estimated delivery date. A claim granted because you said nothing is the most avoidable defect in the rate.
Build the response around evidence, not argument. For a delivery dispute, give the tracking number, proof of delivery, the carrier and the delivery address. For a condition dispute, give the return address, the prepaid return label details and the reason you closed any return request. Amazon’s staff guidance notes the response box does not accept attachments, so send supporting documents through Buyer-Seller Messaging and refer to them in your response.
If a claim goes against you and you believe you were not at fault, appeal it. Amazon’s staff guidance gives 30 calendar days to appeal through the option shown on the claim, and says a successful appeal can take up to 7 days to update. When a decision is reversed and you are found not at fault, Amazon removes the claim from your ODR.
Respond to chargebacks on time
Amazon sends a chargeback alert and asks for order information. Its guidance is to respond within seven calendar days of the alert email, and to answer any follow-up request within the time it states. You can refund the buyer or represent the case from the Chargeback Claims page under Performance. If you represent it, give the shipping date and method, tracking, proof of delivery, buyer messages and product information. An Amazon investigator sends your evidence to the bank. If you do not respond, Amazon may refund the buyer and charge your account. The bank’s decision is generally final, and the full process can run 90 days or more from when the buyer files.
Related guides. Amazon Late Shipment Rate and Amazon Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate.
Preventing Defects Before They Enter the Rate
Most defects come from four failures, which are a late or missing package, an item that does not match its listing, a buyer who could not reach the seller, and a return or refund that stalled. Each one has a direct fix.
Ship on time with valid tracking
Confirm every shipment within your handling time and upload valid tracking. Late shipments are one of the conditions that can make an A-to-z claim grant automatically. Amazon also measures Late Shipment Rate, with a target under 4%, and Valid Tracking Rate, with a target above 95%. Set handling times you can meet on your busiest day, not your average day.
Amazon Buy Shipping adds protection. Amazon says sellers who buy labels through Buy Shipping receive more Amazon-funded A-to-z refunds than comparable orders shipped another way, and that A-to-z protection depends on shipping on time, measured at the carrier’s first scan, and responding to buyer inquiries within 48 hours. A claim Amazon funds under that protection is not one you were found at fault for.
Describe products so they match what arrives
Not-as-described claims and chargebacks come from listings that overpromise. Check that your title, bullet points and images show the size, color, quantity, condition and compatibility of what you ship. If you sell used or refurbished goods, describe condition precisely. A cluster of defects on one ASIN usually traces back to one sentence in its listing.
Answer every message inside 24 hours
Amazon expects a response to buyer messages within 24 hours, and a buyer who goes 48 hours without a reply can become eligible to file an A-to-z claim on a seller-fulfilled order. Staff the inbox on weekends and holidays, or set your listings to Inactive when nobody can.
Process returns and refunds quickly
Respond to return requests within 24 hours and issue refunds promptly when returns arrive. A return without a refund is one of the listed reasons for a service chargeback. Amazon states that ignoring return requests or refusing a return label leads to an automatic refund to the buyer and can put the account at risk.
Related guide. Amazon On-Time Delivery and Valid Tracking Rate.
What Happens When ODR Goes Above 1%
Amazon states that ODR above 1% may result in suspension of your Fulfilled by Merchant selling privileges or deactivation of seller-fulfilled offers with high rates of negative feedback, claims or chargebacks. FBA offers are a separate matter, so a seller with both can lose the merchant-fulfilled side while FBA keeps selling. Amazon’s staff guidance on the report adds that if the metric goes off target and problems continue, Amazon may restrict your ability to fulfill orders yourself.
The metric also sits beside your Account Health Rating, a score from 0 to 1,000 that reflects policy compliance. Amazon treats a rating of 200 and above as healthy. ODR and the other performance metrics are tracked on the same page, and a seller in trouble on ODR is usually close to the line on Late Shipment Rate or cancellations as well, because the same operational failure drives all of them.
Appealing a performance deactivation
If Amazon acts on your ODR, appeal from the Account Health page by selecting Submit appeal and following the instructions. Amazon will ask for a plan of action. For an ODR case, the plan has three parts.
- Root cause. Name the specific failures behind the defects, tied to the orders in the report, such as a carrier that missed delivery dates in one region, a listing that misstated a size or a two-week gap in message responses.
- Corrective actions. State what you have already done for affected buyers and for the defects that should not count, including the claims you appealed and the feedback removals you requested.
- Preventive measures. State the process changes that stop the same failure, such as a new carrier, a corrected listing, a weekend messaging rota or a shorter return processing time, and who owns each one.
A plan that blames buyers, the carrier or Amazon without showing your own changes gives Amazon no reason to restore the privilege. The appeal has to show that the next 60 days will look different from the last 60.
Our Amazon suspension and reinstatement team handles ODR appeals. To keep ODR under control, see our Amazon account health maintenance service.
First-Time Spikes Versus Repeat Problems
A first spike with one clear cause is the most straightforward case to fix and to explain. A storm that delayed a week of shipments, a supplier who sent the wrong variant, or a staff gap over a holiday all produce a cluster of defects with the same order dates and the same cause. The plan of action can point to that event, show the fix, and show that the rate was under 1% before it.
Repeat problems are harder. If your ODR crossed the line in the past and comes back, Amazon reads the second case against the first. The appeal has to explain why the earlier preventive measures did not hold and what is different this time. Defects spread across many ASINs, carriers and dates, with no single cause, point to a service process that does not work, and that needs a rebuilt process rather than one fix.
Signs your ODR problem is structural, not a one-off
The same defect type repeats. Most defects are not-received claims, or most are not-as-described feedback, across many weeks.
Defects follow volume. The rate rises every time sales rise, which means fulfillment capacity is set too low for peaks.
Claims grant without a response. Several claims in the report were granted because nobody answered in time.
Chargebacks cite missing refunds. Returns are arriving and refunds are not going out on time.
US, UK and EU Differences
The ODR definition, the three defect types and the 1% target are the same measures Amazon applies to seller-fulfilled orders across its marketplaces. If you sell in more than one marketplace, check the metric for each one on the Account Health page rather than assuming one rate covers all, because defects in a smaller marketplace can push that marketplace over the line while your main one looks healthy.
Local consumer law affects what drives defects. In the UK, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give buyers a cancellation period that ends 14 days after the goods reach them. In the EU, the Consumer Rights Directive gives buyers 14 days to withdraw from a distance contract and requires the trader to refund all payments within 14 days of being told about the withdrawal. A seller who processes returns slowly in those marketplaces risks a service chargeback for a missing refund and is also outside the law.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good order defect rate on Amazon?
Amazon requires sellers to maintain an ODR under 1%. Sellers with low order volume should aim well below that, because a few defects make up a large share of a small order count.
How long does a defect stay in my ODR?
ODR is measured over a rolling 60-day period, and feedback and chargebacks are matched to the order date. A defect drops out when its order date leaves the window, and the report runs on a 14-day delay.
Does ODR apply to FBA orders?
No. Amazon states ODR applies to seller-fulfilled orders. FBA orders can appear in the report, and a filter separates them, but they do not count toward the rate you are graded on.
Do fraud chargebacks count toward ODR?
No. Amazon handles fraud chargebacks, where the cardholder says they did not make the purchase, and does not count them against the seller. Service chargebacks count if the bank rules for the buyer.
Can I get negative feedback removed?
If feedback meets Amazon’s removal requirements, you can request removal in Feedback Manager. If the buyer withdraws it, it stops counting, which can take up to 48 hours to show.
Get Help With a High ODR
Submit your case for a free assessment, or book a consultation.
Our Amazon account health maintenance team can take the case from here. You can also see all our marketplace suspension services.
Sources
- Amazon Seller Central, Order Defect Rate
- Amazon Seller Central, Appeal an account deactivation or listing removal
- Amazon Seller Central, Communication program policy
- Amazon Seller Forums, Amazon staff, Understanding the Report, Order Defect Rate
- Amazon Seller Forums, Amazon staff, Account Health Dashboard intro series, Customer Service Performance
- Amazon Seller Forums, Amazon staff, A-to-Z Claim Filed Against You, Understanding the Process Before You Respond
- Amazon Seller Forums, Amazon staff, Stay in Control, A Seller’s Guide to Account Health
- Sell on Amazon, What is a chargeback on Amazon
- Sell on Amazon, Amazon seller policies to know
- Sell on Amazon, Fulfilled by Merchant
- UK legislation, Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30
- EUR-Lex, Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, consolidated text
