Overview

Amazon's Account Health dashboard is one of the most important tools available to third-party sellers, providing a centralized view of the performance metrics that determine whether your selling privileges remain in good standing. Understanding how these metrics work, what thresholds Amazon enforces, and how to address issues when they arise is essential for every seller operating on the platform.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Order Defect Rate (ODR) - This is arguably the most critical account health metric. It measures the percentage of orders with defects, including A-to-Z Guarantee claims, chargebacks, and negative feedback. Amazon requires sellers to maintain an ODR below 1%.
• Late Shipment Rate - This metric tracks the percentage of seller-fulfilled orders that are shipped after the expected ship date. Amazon's target is to keep this rate below 4%.
• Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate - This measures how often sellers cancel orders before shipment. Amazon expects this rate to remain below 2.5%, as frequent cancellations signal inventory management problems.
• Account Health Rating (AHR) - Amazon uses a composite score that factors in policy violations and performance metrics. Sellers should aim to keep their AHR in the "Healthy" range to avoid restrictions.
• Feedback vs. Defects - Not all negative feedback counts as a defect. Understanding the distinction between product reviews, seller feedback, and defect-eligible feedback is important for managing your metrics effectively.

How Account Health Metrics Are Calculated

Amazon evaluates account health using a rolling window approach, typically looking at performance over the trailing 60-day period for most metrics. The Order Defect Rate combines three separate components: negative seller feedback (1-star and 2-star ratings), A-to-Z Guarantee claims that are not denied, and credit card chargebacks filed by buyers. Each of these contributes to a single percentage that represents your overall defect rate. It is worth noting that the calculation considers unique orders — if a single order receives both negative feedback and an A-to-Z claim, it still counts as only one defect. Sellers sometimes notice discrepancies between different reports in Seller Central because each report may use different date ranges, attribution windows, or calculation methodologies.