Overview

Amazon's cancellation rate (CR) is a critical performance metric that measures the percentage of seller-canceled orders over a rolling seven-day period. This metric applies exclusively to seller-fulfilled orders and plays a direct role in whether your account remains in good standing. Sellers who let their cancellation rate climb above the 2.5% threshold risk having their seller-fulfilled offers deactivated.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• The 2.5% threshold is firm — Amazon expects all sellers to maintain a cancellation rate below 2.5%, and exceeding this limit can lead to offer deactivation for seller-fulfilled listings.
• Only seller-initiated cancellations count — Orders canceled by customers through their own Amazon accounts are not factored into your cancellation rate.
• Unconfirmed shipments count against you — If you fail to confirm shipment and Amazon automatically cancels the order, that cancellation is attributed to you.
• Individual listings can be removed — Beyond account-level consequences, Amazon may remove specific ASINs if they detect a pattern of cancellations or two consecutive seller-cancellations within 30 days.
• A quiz option may save your account — Eligible sellers facing deactivation can take a five-question policy quiz to avoid submitting a formal plan of action.

How the Cancellation Rate Is Calculated

Amazon calculates your cancellation rate by dividing the number of seller-canceled orders by the total number of orders within a seven-day window, then expressing that figure as a percentage. This includes any order or item-level cancellation you initiate, as well as orders that Amazon cancels on your behalf because you never confirmed shipment. The only cancellations excluded from this metric are those requested directly by customers through their Amazon accounts. It is worth noting that cancellation rate targets for Amazon Handmade orders may differ from standard seller-fulfilled orders.

Why High Cancellation Rates Matter

When a seller cancels an order, it almost always signals an inventory management problem — the product was listed as available but was actually out of stock. While occasional stock-outs are a normal part of retail, Amazon views frequent cancellations as a sign that a seller is not properly managing their catalog. Beyond the account health implications, every canceled order represents lost revenue for your business. Customers who experience cancellations are also less likely to trust your listings in the future, which can have a compounding negative effect on your sales velocity.