Overview

Amazon's valid tracking rate (VTR) metric measures the percentage of your shipments that include working tracking information. Maintaining a high valid tracking rate is one of the most straightforward ways sellers can protect their account health, reduce customer disputes, and lower operational costs. Understanding the direct benefits of consistent tracking can help sellers prioritize this often-overlooked performance metric.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Fewer customer contacts — Providing a valid tracking ID with every shipment reduces the volume of shipping-related inquiries you need to handle, freeing up time for other parts of your business.
• Lower order defect rates — Amazon's data shows that untracked shipments generate order defects at 1.7 times the rate of tracked shipments, making tracking a critical factor in maintaining a healthy account.
• A-to-Z Guarantee claim protection — Without tracking, sellers automatically lose any A-to-Z Guarantee claim filed for an order reported as not received. Valid tracking gives you evidence to defend against these claims.
• Better seller feedback — Customers consistently report that the ability to track their packages is one of the top reasons they leave positive feedback for a seller.
• Reduced lost shipment costs — When a package goes missing, tracking data lets you pinpoint where it was lost and determine who bears responsibility, potentially saving you from absorbing the full cost.

How Valid Tracking Rate Affects Account Health

Amazon expects sellers who fulfill their own orders (merchant-fulfilled or FBM sellers) to maintain a valid tracking rate above the required threshold. When your VTR drops too low, Amazon may restrict your ability to sell in certain categories or, in severe cases, suspend your selling privileges. The metric is calculated by dividing the number of shipments with valid tracking by the total number of shipments over a given period. Every package you ship without a working tracking number pulls that ratio down and puts your account at greater risk.

It is worth noting that FBA sellers do not need to worry about this metric since Amazon handles fulfillment and tracking for those orders. However, if you use Seller Fulfilled Prime or standard merchant fulfillment, valid tracking rate is a metric you must actively monitor.