Overview

Amazon is reminding sellers to activate the Holiday Status tool in Seller Central before any planned time away. Leaving seller‑fulfilled listings live during a vacation can quickly generate late shipments, order‑defect incidents, and account‑health warnings. A short pre‑departure routine can protect performance metrics and spare weeks of remediation after the break.

Key Points

• Holiday Status hides seller‑fulfilled listings — When turned on, the listings disappear from search results and product pages, so customers cannot place new orders during the absence.
• Only seller‑fulfilled inventory is paused — Fulfilled‑by‑Amazon (FBA) offers remain active because Amazon continues to ship those units on the seller’s behalf.
• Three‑to‑five‑day gaps can trigger alerts — Even a brief three‑day lapse often pushes the Late Shipment Rate above the 4% threshold and nudges the Order Defect Rate toward the 1% warning level.
• Metrics can affect suspension risk — A single late shipment or A‑to‑Z claim adds to the defect count, potentially prompting a performance review if thresholds are crossed.
• Listings reappear gradually after deactivation — Once the holiday toggle is switched off, Amazon restores visibility over several hours, not instantly, giving sellers a buffer to resume fulfillment.
• Dedicated health‑support channel exists — Amazon provides a specialized team for performance issues that arise while the holiday mode is active, offering faster resolution than standard Seller Support.

How Holiday Status Works

1. Access the vacation settings — In Seller Central, go to Settings → Account Settings → Holiday & Vacation Settings. For example, a seller planning a week‑long break in December clicks “Create New Holiday” and enters the start and end dates.
2. Select listings to pause — Choose the seller‑fulfilled SKUs that should be hidden. A seller with 120 self‑fulfilled items checks the box next to each, leaving FBA items untouched.
3. — Click “Enable Holiday Status.” Amazon then removes the selected listings from search results, preventing new orders from being placed during the specified period.