Overview

Amazon’s latest guidance shows that U.S. merchant‑fulfilled sellers typically set handling times that are 53 % longer than necessary. Tightening those settings can shrink the promised delivery window, boost Buy Box eligibility, and lower late‑shipment penalties without extra advertising spend.

Key Points

• Average over‑estimation — Research indicates U.S. merchant‑fulfilled sellers add roughly half again the needed days to their handling time, inflating the delivery promise.
• Buy Box advantage — When two offers share the same price, the one promising the shorter overall delivery window wins the Buy Box far more often.
• Four core settings — Amazon lets sellers control handling time through Default Handling, Same‑Day Handling, Order Handling Capacity, and ASIN‑Specific overrides.
• 24‑hour edit lock — Changes to the Default Handling Time can be saved only once per 24‑hour period, so adjustments must be planned ahead of peak sales events.
• Capacity safety net — Setting a daily order cap automatically adds an extra day to overflow orders, protecting sellers from missed deadlines during spikes.
• Late‑shipment impact — Missed handling commitments feed into account health metrics, which can suppress visibility and reduce future sales.

How Handling‑Time Settings Work

1. Set Default Handling Time — In Seller Central, go to Settings → Shipping Settings → General Shipping Settings and edit the Default Handling field. For example, changing the default from 2 days to 1 day tells Amazon that every new order should be prepared and shipped within a single business day unless a specific ASIN overrides it.
2. Enable Same‑Day Handling (optional) — Activate the Same‑Day option and define a cut‑off time, such as 1:30 PM local time. If an order arrives at 11:00 AM, the system promises same‑day hand‑off; an order placed at 2:00 PM falls back to the default handling window.
3. Define Order Handling Capacity — Specify a maximum number of orders you can fulfill within the default window, e.g., 120 orders per day. If 150 orders arrive, the first 120 receive the default promise while the remaining 30 are automatically assigned an extra day, preserving service reliability.