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Amazon has loosened its metrics for Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) shippers

With Amazon’s FBA shipments falling further behind each day, Seller Fulfilled Prime has become more valuable than ever. Unfortunately, many sellers who once had SFP privileges lost them for a performance misstep. Today, likely in reaction to the Covid-19 panic, Amazon has loosened up the metrics for SFP sellers. 

Unlike before, the new metric doesn’t punish sellers for carrier missteps. Now is the time to create a differentiator and win the Buy Box by getting your listings a Prime badge. Start listing your products for SFP shipping, or get your SFP privileges back with a great appeal!

Amazon’s new SFP metrics

Amazon’s basic standards for maintaining SFP eligibility are:

• On-time shipment rate of at least 99%
• Use of Buy Shipping for at least 99% of orders
• A cancellation rate of no more than 0.5%

But recently – probably in reaction to Covid-19 fulfillment issues – their fourth metric was updated to read:

• An on-time delivery rate of at least 97% on Prime orders when shipping is purchased outside of Buy Shipping services

In the past, sellers had to maintain a 97% on-time delivery rate no matter what. If their carrier made a mistake and delivered late, Amazon held the seller responsible. It appears that this is no longer the case – at least for now.

Appeal your SFP privileges

If you lost your SFP privileges in the past, now is a great time to appeal. Amazon wants to see a three-part plan of action:

1. Explain the root cause of your SFP suspension. Put simply, which metrics did you violate and why? Amazon wants to know that you understand the mistakes you made.
2. Explain what you did to remediate the problem. How did you deal with customers whose deliveries fell outside of their delivery window, for example. This section is focused on immediate actions to address past problems.
3. Detail your plan for maintaining acceptable metrics in the future. Provide a specific plan that directly addresses the mistakes listed in your “root cause” section. This section of the plan should be proactive – not reactive (like part 2 was).

Be sincere and apologetic, but don’t grovel. Be detailed enough to show you’ve solved the problem, but keep it as brief as possible.