Overview

Amazon's unavailable balance represents the portion of a seller's earnings that are temporarily held by Amazon before being released for disbursement. This reserve exists to ensure that Amazon can cover potential refunds, chargebacks, and A-to-z Guarantee claims. For sellers — especially newer ones — understanding how this balance works is essential for managing cash flow and avoiding unnecessary concern when funds don't appear in your bank account right away.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Unavailable balance is not lost money — These are your earned funds that Amazon temporarily holds as a reserve against potential customer claims and returns before releasing them to your account.
• Reserve amounts vary by seller — Amazon calculates your reserve based on factors like your sales history, account age, performance metrics, and product category risk level.
• New sellers face longer holds — If you're a newer seller without an established track record, expect Amazon to hold a larger percentage of your revenue for a longer period.
• The hold period is typically tied to delivery windows — Amazon generally holds funds until the estimated delivery date has passed and the return window has closed, ensuring customers have time to raise any issues.
• Your account health directly impacts reserves — Sellers with strong performance metrics, low defect rates, and minimal claims tend to see smaller unavailable balances over time.
• You can monitor your unavailable balance in Payments — The Payments dashboard in Seller Central breaks down your total balance, available balance, and unavailable balance in detail.

How the Unavailable Balance Works

When a customer purchases one of your products, the payment is processed and added to your Amazon seller account. However, rather than making the full amount immediately available for disbursement, Amazon places a portion into your unavailable balance. This hold acts as a financial safety net. The platform uses it to cover any potential refunds, chargebacks, or A-to-z Guarantee claims that customers may file after receiving their order. Once the delivery window and return period have passed without incident, the funds transition from your unavailable balance to your available balance and become eligible for the next scheduled disbursement to your bank account.