Overview

Amazon is temporarily widening the delivery windows displayed to shoppers and suspending late‑shipment penalties for orders delayed by the ongoing DHL strike in Europe. The adjustments take effect immediately and apply to any seller‑fulfilled shipment that would normally use DHL. Sellers who rely on DHL should act now to protect their performance metrics and keep customers informed.

Key Points

• Delivery window extension — Amazon automatically adds extra days to the estimated arrival dates shown on product pages, shifting a typical 2‑3‑day promise to a 4‑6‑day range for DHL‑bound parcels. A German seller shipping 60 orders daily saw the promised delivery date move from “by March 12” to “by March 14‑16.”
• Late‑shipment defect waiver — Orders that miss the original cutoff because DHL cannot pick up or deliver will no longer generate a “Late Shipment” defect on the seller’s account health dashboard. For example, a French vendor whose 30‑item batch arrived three days late will see no impact on their Order Defect Rate.
• Coverage of all fulfillment options — Both standard Prime‑eligible offers and non‑Prime, slower‑shipping listings receive the extended windows, ensuring that every DHL‑dependent SKU is protected. A UK seller offering both 2‑day Prime and 5‑day standard shipping saw both timelines adjusted.
• Buy Shipping flexibility — The Buy Shipping tool now lists alternative carriers such as DPD, GLS, and UPS alongside DHL, allowing sellers to re‑route shipments with a single click. A Spanish merchant switched 20% of the day’s orders to DPD within minutes, avoiding a backlog.
• Vacation mode recommendation — Amazon advises sellers who cannot ship any orders to enable vacation mode, which blocks new buyer purchases while keeping existing orders active. An Italian shop with no available carriers activated vacation mode to prevent new orders from piling up.
• Tracking transparency requirement — Sellers must continue to upload tracking numbers promptly and update any status changes, even when the delivery estimate has been extended. A Dutch seller posted DHL tracking updates within two hours of handoff, reducing A‑to‑Z claim risk.