Overview

A-to-Z Guarantee claims are among the most damaging issues merchant-fulfilled (MFN/FBM) sellers face on Amazon. Each claim can spike your Order Defect Rate, jeopardize account health, and force costly refunds. Amazon has published updated guidance outlining practical steps sellers can take to dramatically lower their exposure — and most of the fixes are straightforward operational improvements rather than expensive overhauls.

What Triggers A-to-Z Claims

Customers file A-to-Z claims when their order experience falls short of expectations. Common triggers include items arriving damaged, late, not as described, or not at all. For MFN sellers, these claims hit your account metrics directly — unlike FBA, where Amazon absorbs fulfillment-related complaints. The most frequent root causes are inaccurate listings, slow shipping, poor packaging, unresponsive customer service, and mishandled returns. Each one represents a fixable gap in your operations.

Build Accurate, Detailed Listings

The single biggest driver of claims is a disconnect between what the customer expects and what they receive. That disconnect almost always starts on your product detail page. Every listing should include precise titles, thorough bullet points, detailed descriptions, and high-quality images that faithfully represent the item.

Pay close attention to dimensions, color accuracy, material composition, and what is actually included in the box. If your product has variations, make each one clearly distinguishable. Customers who feel misled — even unintentionally — are far more likely to file a claim than request a simple return. Auditing your listings for accuracy is one of the highest-impact, lowest-cost improvements available to any seller.

Ship On Time and Ship Correctly

Amazon sets explicit handling and shipping time expectations for MFN sellers, and missing those windows is a direct path to claims. Confirm orders quickly, ship within your promised handling time, and verify every shipment contains exactly the right items.

Picking and packing errors — wrong size, wrong color, wrong quantity — are among the most preventable causes of claims. Adding a simple verification step to your fulfillment workflow catches mistakes before they reach customers. If supply chain disruptions or inventory issues cause delays, update your handling times in Seller Central proactively rather than letting orders ship late and triggering complaints.