Is the Order Defect Rate on your Account Health page creeping toward 1%, or has it already missed the target, while you still can't tell which orders pushed the number up? This article is for sellers in exactly that situation. We cover how ODR is calculated, how to identify the orders that affected it, how to tell which defects count and the deadlines for responding to them, improvements by cause, and the plan of action to submit after a deactivation.
What Order Defect Rate (ODR) is: the share of orders with a defect over 60 days
Order Defect Rate (注文不良率, ODR) is a key metric Amazon uses to judge whether a seller is maintaining customer satisfaction. It is calculated as the percentage of orders within a specified 60-day period that have one or more indicators of poor customer service, and sellers are expected to keep it under 1%. Current Help content explains that failing to meet this target may lead to restrictions on your selling privileges, such as the suspension of your seller-fulfilled listings.
This article is based on the Seller Central Help pages (Japanese version) we were able to review as of September 2026. Screen names follow the wording used in Help, so details may differ from what you see on your actual screens, and policies and screens may change.
The three components counted as defects
| Component | What counts | How it's counted |
|---|---|---|
| Negative feedback rate | One- or two-star seller feedback (three stars counts as "neutral") | Calculated by order date, not by the date the feedback was received |
| A-to-z Guarantee claim rate | Guarantee claims that were not denied (see the table later in this article) | Counts orders for which a qualifying claim was filed within the 60 days |
| Chargeback rate | Credit card chargebacks related to service issues | Calculated by order date. Chargebacks due to fraud are not counted |
"Feedback" here means seller feedback, which is separate from customer reviews of products. And because the denominator is the number of orders in the 60-day period, each defect carries more weight the fewer orders you have. Using hypothetical figures to illustrate: with 200 orders, two orders with defects put you at 1%; with 2,000 orders, it takes 20. Right after you start selling, or during a slow season, just a few negative ratings or guarantee claims can move the number significantly.
Why the numbers don't match the percentages in Feedback Manager
The 30-day, 90-day, and 365-day percentages shown in Feedback Manager (評価管理) are the shares of positive, neutral, and negative ratings among the feedback you've received. ODR's negative feedback rate, by contrast, divides the number of orders that received negative feedback by the total number of orders in the 60-day period, and counts them by order date. Because both the denominator and the reference date differ, the two numbers won't match. Also, since buyers can leave feedback within 90 days of the order being placed, negative feedback added later to an order within the measurement period can raise your ODR at that point. Base your analysis on the ODR screen and its report.
Steps to identify the orders that affected the metric
Before thinking about improvements, confirm one by one which orders are being counted as which type of defect.
STEP 1. Check the breakdown in Account Health
In Seller Central, open Performance (パフォーマンス) > Account Health (アカウント健全性), click View details (詳細を表示) under Customer Service Performance (カスタマーサービスのパフォーマンス), and select the Order Defect Rate (注文不良率) tab. Metrics such as late shipment rate belong to Shipping Performance (出荷パフォーマンス) instead.
STEP 2. Download the report and list the defective orders
Scroll down the Order Defect Rate tab and click Download report (レポートをダウンロードする). Once you have a list of the orders counted as defects, cross-check each one: negative feedback against Recent Feedback (最近の評価) in Feedback Manager, guarantee claims against Performance > A-to-z Guarantee Claims (Amazonマーケットプレイス保証申請), and chargebacks against the individual status on the Manage Chargeback Claims (払い戻し（チャージバック）申請を管理する) page.
STEP 3. Note the type, cause, and available options for each order
If you classify causes as "shipping," "product information and condition," "returns and cancellations," or "buyer communication," patterns become visible when you choose improvements.
Fields to add to your list of defective orders
- Order ID, order date, ASIN/SKU, and fulfillment method (seller-fulfilled or FBA)
- Type of defect, date it occurred, and a summary of the buyer's claim
- Cause category and the facts confirmed internally (ship date, tracking number, inspection records, etc.)
- Options still available (responding, appealing, requesting removal, etc.) and their deadlines
- Date of your response and the outcome
STEP 4. Look at product-level trends on supporting screens
On the Voice of the Customer (購入者からの評価) page, you can look for causes such as damage or problems with product detail pages using the Customer Experience Health (顧客満足度の健全性) of each listing and buyer comments. Because returns, product reviews, and other data are also used in the calculation, it helps you catch signs of dissatisfaction before they show up in your ODR.
Which defects count and which don't, and the deadlines for responding
Among the orders you've identified, some can be removed from ODR through the proper procedures, while others can no longer be changed. Here is a summary based on Help.
| Type | Counted toward ODR | Not counted, or removed later |
|---|---|---|
| Negative feedback | One- or two-star seller feedback | Feedback that met the removal criteria and was removed by Amazon / feedback withdrawn by the buyer (may take up to 48 hours to be reflected) / feedback on FBA orders about Amazon's delivery service that received a strikethrough and a note after review (the feedback itself is not removed) |
| Guarantee claims | Claims granted because Amazon determined the seller was at fault / claims the seller refunded after the claim was received / claims on orders canceled by the seller or Amazon / claims pending a decision on an appeal | Claims determined not to be the seller's fault / claims that were denied / claims withdrawn by the buyer / claims whose decision was reversed on appeal |
| Chargebacks | Chargebacks where the buyer's claim was upheld due to a service issue, such as an item not arriving or no refund being issued | Chargebacks due to fraud |
If the buyer's claim is legitimate, a refund is necessary, but if you refund after a guarantee claim has been filed, that claim still counts toward your ODR. A granted claim cannot be reversed unless you file an appeal within 30 calendar days. Don't assume you can "just refund later"; what matters is resolving the issue at the contact stage, before a claim is ever filed.
Keep the response deadlines in chronological order
| Situation | Deadline | If you miss it, etc. |
|---|---|---|
| Contact from a buyer about a delivery problem | Respond through Buyer-Seller Messages within 48 hours and work toward a resolution | If a claim is filed without your having responded, that is a condition for automatic approval. If the issue isn't resolved, a claim becomes possible once, for example, 3 calendar days have passed after the estimated delivery date |
| Return requests that require manual authorization | Authorize or close within 48 hours | If you don't authorize it, a claim becomes possible, and leaving it unaddressed is also a condition for automatic approval |
| Amazon's request for information on a guarantee claim | Respond within 48 hours | The claim may be granted |
| Appeal of a granted guarantee claim | Within 30 calendar days of the debit (within 72 hours for requests for additional information) | You can no longer reverse the impact on ODR |
| Chargeback notification | Reply within 7 days of the notification date | The amount may be debited from your account |
| Request to remove (review) negative feedback | Within 90 days of the feedback being submitted (only through Feedback Manager) | After 90 days, you can no longer request removal |
Buyers can file a guarantee claim up to 90 days after the last day of the estimated delivery date. Keep checking your notifications for some time after shipping.
Responding by defect type: guarantee claims, chargebacks, and negative feedback
Responding to A-to-z Guarantee claims
The A-to-z Guarantee covers orders shipped directly by the seller and guarantees both the timely delivery and the condition of the item on receipt. Because buyers must contact the seller before filing a claim, how you handle that first contact is what determines whether a claim is filed.
Beyond the 48-hour deadlines in the table, other conditions for automatic approval include failing to ship by the expected ship date, neither using a trackable shipping method nor providing a valid tracking number, not delivering to the specified address, and not issuing a refund within 5 days of receiving an item returned with a prepaid return label. In these cases, the claim amount is debited from the seller's account.
You'll be notified of claims by email, and you can review them on the Action Required (対応が必要な申請) tab under Performance > A-to-z Guarantee Claims. Using Respond to Amazon (詳細説明をAmazonへ送信), answer factually with details such as the shipping method, proof of delivery, tracking number, your reason for closing or declining the return request, and your communications with the buyer. Since you can't attach files in the comments field, send items such as proof of delivery to the buyer through Buyer-Seller Messages and note that you have done so in your response. Even a granted claim can be appealed within 30 calendar days of the debit, with supporting documents, via Appeal Decision (再審議請求の裁決) on the Appeal Options (再審議のオプション) tab, and its impact on ODR may be reversed (this can take up to 7 days to be reflected).
Responding to chargebacks
Chargebacks are decided by the credit card issuer, not by Amazon. Within 7 days of the notification, respond via Respond to Amazon about the claim (申請に対する詳細説明をAmazonへ送信) on the Manage Chargeback Claims page, providing the ship date, shipping method, tracking information, and your communications with the buyer. It can take up to about 90 days to get a result, and card issuers are said to reverse their decisions only very rarely, so it's important to provide all the information you have in your first response.
Responding to negative feedback
As a rule, feedback that complies with policy will not be removed. Feedback eligible for removal includes feedback containing obscene language or personal information, feedback that refers to another seller's product, and feedback whose comments consist entirely of a product review (feedback that includes both comments on the product and an evaluation of the seller's service will not be removed). To request removal, go to Recent Feedback in Feedback Manager, select Request review (request removal) (レビューを依頼（削除をリクエスト）), and do so within 90 days of the feedback being submitted. We explain this in more detail in how to request removal of seller feedback.
For negative feedback that doesn't meet the removal criteria, Amazon recommends contacting the buyer through Buyer-Seller Messages (マーケットプレイス・メッセージ管理) and trying to resolve the issue. What you may send is limited to a message thanking the buyer for their feedback and saying you hope the issue has been resolved. Messages asking the buyer to "please remove your feedback once the issue is resolved," or offering an incentive such as a discount in exchange for removing or changing the feedback, violate policy. Note that posting a public reply to feedback does not change your feedback score metrics.
Improvements by cause: shipping, product information, returns and cancellations, and buyer communication
Once you've categorized your defective orders, start with the category that has the most. For each category, we also introduce the main causes listed in the Seller Central Help page "Performance issue 1: High order defect rate" (パフォーマンスの問題1：注文不良率が高い).
Shipping: make trackable shipments your default
According to Amazon's research, trackable shipments have a 60% lower order defect rate than untrackable ones (this is a general research finding, and you may not see the same effect). Include valid tracking information with every order, send shipping confirmation before the expected ship date, and let buyers know if there will be a delay. Using delivery confirmation with a signature requirement for high-value items and keeping records of the ship date, carrier service, and tracking information for at least 6 months from the order date are also cited as ways to prevent chargebacks. Help also lists non-arrival of items shipped from overseas as a cause, so review your handling time (出荷作業日数) settings. We cover tracking-related checks in how to improve your valid tracking rate.
Product information and condition: make listings match the actual item
List on the correct ASIN and provide accurate descriptions and clear images. You are not allowed to compensate for discrepancies, such as "new, but the lens cap is missing," by writing them in the condition note. Help also gives examples of listings that cause problems, such as listing an item with a damaged outer box as new, or listing an unsupported parallel import on the catalog page for the authorized product. For reviewing how your listings are displayed, see managing new and used condition.
Returns and cancellations: use Amazon's return policy as your baseline
A seller's return policy must be at least as favorable as Amazon's return policy. A typical cause is a return that the seller declined to authorize on the grounds that it was for the buyer's own reasons, when it actually fell under Amazon.co.jp's return policy. You are expected to respond to return requests within 48 hours and to issue a refund within 2 business days of receiving a returned item (for returns sent with a prepaid return label, failing to refund within 5 days of receipt also makes the claim subject to the automatic approval described earlier). Not accepting a cancellation request from a buyer before shipping can also lead to a claim.
Keep an eye on the Return Dissatisfaction Rate (返品の不満足度) as well. It is the percentage of return requests that received negative feedback about how the return was handled, went unanswered for more than 48 hours, or were incorrectly rejected, and the target is under 10% (there is currently said to be no penalty for missing it). It lets you catch signs of dissatisfaction before they turn into negative feedback or guarantee claims. You can review the process from accepting a return to issuing a refund in our guide to handling returns.
Buyer communication: a system that never misses deadlines, and settings for when you're away
Communicate with buyers through Buyer-Seller Messages and reply to inquiries within 48 hours. Setting up automatic authorization of return requests makes it easier to prevent guarantee claims caused by requests going unanswered. So that checks don't lapse on holidays or during busy seasons, decide in advance who is responsible, who covers for them, and what time of day messages are checked.
During periods when you can't ship, you can set your listings to Inactive (停止中) in Vacation Settings (休止設定) under Settings (設定) > Account Info (アカウント設定) (FBA listings remain active). However, pending orders are not canceled automatically, and even while your listings are inactive, you still need to respond to return requests and buyer emails.
What to do as you approach or exceed 1%
What you need to do depends on where your numbers stand.
| Stage | Main actions |
|---|---|
| Normal operations | Record your ODR and its breakdown at least once a week, and don't miss notifications of claims, chargebacks, or negative feedback |
| Early signs of deterioration | List your defective orders, classify their causes, and proceed with responses, appeals, and legitimate removal requests before the deadlines |
| Risk of deactivation | If a quiz is displayed, complete it within 72 hours |
| After seller-fulfilled listings are deactivated | Submit a plan of action for performance improvement |
| After reinstatement | Build the cause-specific improvements into your daily operations and keep recording your numbers |
The quiz when you're at risk of deactivation
When there is a risk that seller-fulfilled listings will be deactivated, eligible sellers see a five-question quiz on the ODR policy in a banner at the top of the Account Health page. Amazon explains that if you complete it within 72 hours and pass, no plan of action is required and your listings won't be deactivated. However, it isn't shown to everyone, and even after passing, you must continue to meet the target.
The plan of action after seller-fulfilled listings are deactivated
If your listings have already been deactivated, submit a plan of action for performance improvement by following the instructions from the appeal (reconsideration) button on the Account Health page. The ODR Help page labels this button "Submit an appeal" (再審議請求を送信). The Help page on account-wide deactivations uses the label "Reactivate your selling account" (出品用アカウントの再開), so the wording on screen may differ depending on your situation. We cover how to check the scope of a deactivation in what to check when seller-fulfilled listings are deactivated.
As guidance for appeals, Amazon advises being factual, clear, and concise, identifying the root cause, and showing the actions you've taken along with the dates the changes were implemented and any relevant documents. For a deactivation due to ODR, your explanation will hold together if you present the defective orders you identified by type and by cause, and match each one with what you changed. The following sample shows the basic structure; it is a hypothetical example, not a real case.
[Root cause] Of the ○ defective orders during the relevant period, ○ were guarantee claims for items not received. The causes were that we used shipping methods without tracking numbers for some products, and that we had not assigned anyone to respond to inquiries about undelivered items.
[Actions taken] Since [month/day], we have switched all seller-fulfilled orders to trackable shipping methods and have sent proof of delivery by message for orders that generated inquiries.
[Preventive measures] We have assigned a staff member and a backup to check messages twice daily, and we record our order defect rate and its breakdown once a week.
For more detail, see how to structure a plan of action. Professional sellers can also consult the support team using the Contact us / Call me now (お問い合わせ／今すぐ電話がほしい) button on the Account Health page.
What not to do
Actions taken in a panic can lead to policy violations and further restrictions.
| What to avoid | The problem, and what to do instead |
|---|---|
| Asking a buyer to remove negative feedback or offering an incentive | Help cites even asking "Could you remove your feedback once the issue is resolved?" as an example of a violation, and coercion or offering incentives is also prohibited. Focus on resolving the issue and leave the feedback up to the buyer |
| Requesting removal through any channel other than Feedback Manager | Your account may be suspended. Submit requests through Feedback Manager |
| Requesting feedback only from satisfied buyers | Requests that encourage positive feedback, are limited to satisfied buyers, or are repeated for the same order are not allowed. Send one request in neutral wording within 30 days after the order is completed |
| Recreating or altering proof of delivery or communication records before submitting them | Submitting materials that don't reflect the facts may violate policy. Present the original records as they are, such as the carrier's tracking history or your Buyer-Seller Messages history |
| Creating another account to keep selling | This violates policy. Help states that, unless you have a legitimate business need, you may have only one account per selling region, and if there's a problem with any one of them, all of your accounts may be suspended. Fix the causes in your current account and appeal through the proper procedures |
Frequently asked questions
Q. Are FBA orders included in the ODR calculation?
A. We couldn't find any explicit statement in the Japanese Help pages that limits ODR to seller-fulfilled orders (the US Help pages do state this explicitly). Guarantee claims apply to seller-fulfilled orders, and negative feedback about FBA delivery may, if you request it and it is approved on review, receive a strikethrough and a note so that it no longer affects your metrics, but we can't say for certain that FBA orders are "never included," so please check your actual report.
Q. If a single order has both negative feedback and a guarantee claim, does it count as two?
A. Since ODR is defined as the percentage of "orders with one or more defects," it can be read as a metric counted per order. However, we couldn't find any sentence in Help that explicitly addresses how overlaps are handled, so check how the order appears in the report on the Order Defect Rate tab.
Q. If no new defects occur, how long until the number goes down?
A. Since ODR is a percentage based on orders in a 60-day period, defective orders are presumably no longer included in the calculation once they fall outside the measurement period. However, the cutoff dates and update frequency can't be confirmed in the public Help pages, so record your numbers regularly and watch the trend.
Q. If my ODR worsens, will my Account Health Rating (AHR) score also drop?
A. ODR is a metric shown under Customer Service Performance on the Account Health page, while the Account Health Rating (AHR) is described as being based on your compliance with selling policies. We have not been able to find any official explanation stating that ODR is included in the AHR calculation. Check the two separately. We explain how to read the score in how to check your Account Health score.
Summary
- ODR is the percentage of orders in a 60-day period with negative feedback, a guarantee claim that was not denied, or a chargeback related to a service issue (excluding fraud), and you are expected to keep it under 1%
- Using the report on the Order Defect Rate tab, classify each defective order by type and cause
- Appeals of guarantee claims, responses to chargebacks, and feedback removal requests all have deadlines, and once those pass, these options are no longer available
- Think about improvements in four categories: shipping, product information, returns and cancellations, and buyer communication
- After a deactivation, use your plan of action to show the causes, the actions taken, and the preventive measures, based on your analysis of the defective orders
Rather than panicking over the number alone, checking the affected orders one by one is the fastest route to improvement. Manage deadline-bound procedures in a list along with their start dates, and when in doubt, check the instructions in your notifications and the latest Help content.
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Further reading
When Amazon flags product-review practices: reviewing requests and buyer communications Read article → 
Requesting removal of Amazon seller feedback: eligible feedback and the official process Read article → 
Improving Amazon's Valid Tracking Rate: carriers, tracking numbers and shipment confirmations Read article →