Overview

Amazon's account level reserve is a mechanism that temporarily holds a portion of your selling funds to cover potential financial obligations like refunds, claims, and chargebacks. For many sellers, seeing money held in reserve can be alarming, but it is a standard part of selling on Amazon. Understanding why reserves are applied and how to get funds released faster can help sellers manage their cash flow more effectively.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Reserves are normal — Having funds held in an account level reserve is a routine part of the Amazon selling experience, not necessarily a sign that something is wrong with your account.
• Multiple triggers exist — Reserves can be applied for A-to-z Guarantee claims, chargebacks, poor seller performance metrics, account reviews, and tax withholding obligations.
• Reserves can stack — More than one reason for a reserve can apply simultaneously, meaning the total amount held may reflect multiple unresolved issues.
• Funds are temporary holds — Reserved amounts are typically released once the underlying issue (claim, chargeback, or review) has been resolved.
• Visibility in Seller Central — You can view your current reserve amount in the account level reserve section of the Payments report within Seller Central.

Common Reasons Funds Are Reserved

There are several scenarios that can trigger an account level reserve. If a buyer files an A-to-z Guarantee claim against one of your orders, the claim amount will be held until the dispute is resolved, which can take 14 days or longer. Chargebacks work similarly — if any of your orders have received a chargeback within the last 90 days, Amazon may reserve funds until those chargebacks are fully processed. Seller performance is another major factor: if your account metrics fall below Amazon's established benchmarks, a reserve may be applied because poor performance metrics are correlated with higher rates of claims, chargebacks, and returns.

Amazon may also reserve funds if it detects an unexpected change in your sales volume or account activity, or if you are a newer seller whose estimated delivery times exceed your settlement period. Additionally, in certain marketplaces, tax regulations may require Amazon to withhold income tax from your earnings based on your tax registration status.