Q&A: What are velocity limits on Amazon Marketplace?

QUESTION: Today I was surprised to find no Amazon Marketplace orders, so I checked the "Payment Processed" list for my seller account. I found several orders processed yesterday and today that haven't shown up on my order list. I haven't received any "Sold, ship now" e-mails and I got concerned about customers having their shipments delayed due to some Amazon glitch.

I called Seller Support, and they told me I had reached my "velocity limit," a speed at which orders can come through for each 28-day period, and a seemingly arbitrary dollar sales amount. Thanks to the busy holiday season, sales have been up for me this week, far beyond what is usual, but it came grinding to a halt today.

I was told I had to e-mail Amazon (at payments-request@amazon.com) and request an increase in my velocity limit. At the present setting, I'm not allowed to exceed a certain dollar amount in sales (which, by the way, must also include the postage amounts because the value of books sold doesn't equal the amount they quoted me).

It's been several hours since I emailed them, and still, no orders posted. Plenty of items down to "0" quantity, with unsuspecting customers on the other end. I typically follow-up order reports immediately with a confirmation to the customer & notice of intent to ship today, tomorrow, or whatever.

I find it very frustrating that Amazon should delay these orders from posting, even for a few hours, especially going into a weekend with holidays fast approaching. I actually took it upon myself to contact each of the customers with the pending sales, just to let them know there seems to be some kind of delay in the posting of their orders to me.

Have you ever heard of this? I don't understand the logic of limiting the dollar value of sales. Amazon should not be doing anything that will get in the way of 100 percent customer satisfaction. To be sure, if the delays caused by Amazon for these pending orders leads to any negative feedback, I will be sending some strong complaints Amazon's way...

ANSWER: Ho, Ho, oooooohhh damn.

I think you've said it all. Almost.

I bumped into velocity limits five times in my first few years selling. It's a fraud-prevention measure, to makes sure the seller is actually filling orders. It's probably based on the same type of software that credit card companies use to monitor accounts for unusual spending -- and hence an alert for a stolen card.

However, in my case Amazon always contacted me before I reached my velocity limit, so I never had a gap in sales. Each time, I got an automated e-mail from Amazon, asking me to reply with my full name and phone number. They never called me back; they simply approved my new velocity limit within a few hours.

From your comments, it seems Amazon isn't sending those alerts out anymore -- they're simply letting seller accounts get locked up, with the poor seller having to figure out what's going on. I don't know whether it's a glitch or simply a new policy. If it's a policy, it seems like an incredibly foolish one to me.

I agree, it's an awful time of the year for Amazon to be dropping the ball on velocity limits. Amazon is shooting itself in the foot and leaving customers in the lurch. Not to mention we poor sellers are being hung out to dry.

I keep saying it and saying it, and I'll say it once more: Every Amazon Pro-Merchant should have an account representative who can help get crap like this straightened out promptly. Anything less is a disservice to us and a shoddy business practice by Amazon.

In the meantime, put in another phone call to Seller Support at 1-877-251-0696. Tell them Santa is holding and wants to speak with a supervisor.