Amazon has updated how your On-Time Delivery Rate, or OTDR, impacts seller-fulfilled listings. The threshold has not changed, it remains 90 percent, but enforcement logic has shifted from a broad to a more targeted approach. Starting Feb 28, 2026, Amazon evaluates performance at the item level and will deactivate only the specific listings that contribute most to a low OTDR, instead of automatically affecting your entire catalog. However, accounts with consistently low performance can still face broader listing deactivation.
What is On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR)? How is it calculated?
OTDR measures the percentage of your tracked seller-fulfilled units delivered to customers by the promised delivery date. It is calculated based on units, not total orders, over a defined timeframe – typically a rolling window of data that considers recent deliveries and excludes the most recent days while those shipments are still in transit.
In simple terms, Amazon looks at the number of units you shipped that arrived on time, divides that by the number of eligible tracked units, and expresses the result as a percentage. To count toward OTDR, a shipment must have valid tracking and a confirmed delivery scan. Late deliveries, missed scans, or deliveries after the promised “Deliver by” date all negatively impact the metric.
How Amazon Uses OTDR Now
The 90 percent OTDR remains the minimum requirement for keeping seller fulfilled products listed on Amazon. Once your rate dips below this threshold, Amazon can remove or suppress listings that are dragging your metric down. The more your OTDR falls and the longer the problem persists, the greater the risk to your overall selling privileges.
Amazon provides a specific “OTDR without promise extensions” version of this calculation, which excludes the extra days Amazon may add due to weather, carrier issues, or other delays. This version is what’s used for enforcement, making it stricter than the consumer-facing delivery window.
What Sellers Should Do
You can protect yourself by using the tools Amazon offers:
• Enable Shipping Settings Automation.
• Enable Automated Handling Time.
• Purchase OTDR Protected shipping labels through Amazon Buy Shipping or partners like GeekSeller.
Using marketplace-provided labels gives you a form of protection because these services have demonstrated more reliable delivery performance in Amazon’s data.
Choosing your shipper is more than a logistics decision – it’s a performance decision. Carrier delays directly affect your OTDR, and a slipping metric can suppress listings or lead to suspended selling privileges. Tracking, handling, and actual delivery performance all matter.
Why This Matters
Maintaining OTDR is about customer trust. Amazon wants buyers to see accurate delivery promises. But because OTDR depends on carriers and scans rather than just shipment times, sellers can be affected by things outside their control. Using marketplace tools and reliable carriers is the best way to mitigate these risks.
At GeekSeller, we encourage sellers to leverage Amazon’s own shipping and automation options for that extra layer of protection. Using protected labels and keeping your operational settings in sync with Amazon’s expectations is now essential to protect listings and performance metrics.
