VTR is laughable
Why is it that being stuck between the Royal Mail and Amazon means that the seller is the one who has to pay the price? Having tried numerous times via Seller Central to get our account reinstated so I can withdraw the accumulating funds (minus a ridiculous reserve amount) I am basically left with the impression that unless we buy shipping via Amazon then we will be punished.
We have always used Click and Drop but send everything RM 48 as the margins aren't there for orders under £20 to send everything tracked. Because the postman can't be bothered to scan that it's delivered Amazon sees it as an invalid tracking reference......
Any suggestions out there? We are rural and rely on the Royal Mail collection service as it's not possible to make it to the Post Office or drop off's by their cutoff.
Literally tearing my hair out and without any useful assistance from either of the big companies, it's the small ones that suffer the damage - mentally and financially!
VTR is laughable
Why is it that being stuck between the Royal Mail and Amazon means that the seller is the one who has to pay the price? Having tried numerous times via Seller Central to get our account reinstated so I can withdraw the accumulating funds (minus a ridiculous reserve amount) I am basically left with the impression that unless we buy shipping via Amazon then we will be punished.
We have always used Click and Drop but send everything RM 48 as the margins aren't there for orders under £20 to send everything tracked. Because the postman can't be bothered to scan that it's delivered Amazon sees it as an invalid tracking reference......
Any suggestions out there? We are rural and rely on the Royal Mail collection service as it's not possible to make it to the Post Office or drop off's by their cutoff.
Literally tearing my hair out and without any useful assistance from either of the big companies, it's the small ones that suffer the damage - mentally and financially!
23 respuestas
Seller_76AUwmqvSyRIM
How many items are you sending? Have you asked your account manager about using Tracked and got a quote from them?
You only need to send 2000 items/annum (from memory). I was shocked when I asked for a quote as the Tracked prices were actually cheaper or very similar to what I was paying for RM24/48.
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
If you're using RM48 and buying them through click and drop then you should only be having problems with VTR if you're not recording the tracking details onto Amazon correctly.
Do you have Click and Drop set to automatically update the shipping information to Amazon?
Can you check your VTR defect report and post a screen shot of it?
Incidentally, Amazon don't suspend accounts for low VTR. They suspend listings within affected categories, but not the account itself, so if you have had your account suspended, it's not because of VTR.
Seller_ifSNa9Hk2Z1Lz
Yes we link Click and Drop with Amazon via automation and all tracking details are correct - it's where the item is not being scanned as delivered because we use standard RM48 and not tracked. My best guess is that the postie isn't scanning at delivered point as we have very few customers contact us due to non-delivery (and even some returns that supposedly haven't been delivered).
The VTR rate is the only thing that is being flagged - the account is healthy, we've been selling for years and now we have £1.5k of sales and £1k showing as the account reserve. We've never had it before.
Amazon say contact the Royal Mail, Royal Mail say contact Amazon........
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
Items not being scanned doesn't matter. VTR policy states that Amazon will verify the tracking numbers for unscanned labels in the back ground.
Your VTR score will be low, but you won't have offers suspended. If your account has been suspended, there must be a different reason, as account suspension isn't something that is done on the basis of VTR.
Do you have a deactivation email/notice in your performance notices?
As for the £1k account reserve, I'd imagine that's the DD+7 policy coming in for you, though I can't say for certain. It's been introduced on a staggered basis and keeps getting delayed for a lot of people, so it almost seems to be applied randomly.
Seller_ifSNa9Hk2Z1Lz
VTR is the only thing that is showing as below Target. All seemed normal until I went to request disbursement - it got cancelled as the account is "under review". Clicked to see why and a message was supposedly sent to Performance notifications and the only the only messages there are regarding VTR tracking rate.
Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh
That VTR score is what one would expect if solely using RM 48. And they don't suspend or block accounts for low VTR as far as the policy goes.
Could be you are just going through a reverification? Check Account Info maybe?
What happens if you click that 'Appealing the Removal of Your Selling Priviledges' link?
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
What's that message on the 4th June?
Seller_ifSNa9Hk2Z1Lz
Account Info all up to date. If I click on the link I'm taken to this - but there is no "reactivate your account" link or button on my Account Health page so I can't even appeal.
Tried Seller Central and was told to sort it with Royal Mail (who told me to sort it with Amazon) or just buy shipping via Amazon.
I'm starting to think I've gone mad
Seller_ifSNa9Hk2Z1Lz
Compliance - we sell dog toys and occasionally flagged as children's toys - all are resolved and completed so it can't be that......
Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh
But the VTR policy is clear - unscanned items will still be validated to confirm if the tracking code is actually valid.
You will get a low VTR percentage still, and you will get warning emails - but they state that they won't cease the ability to sell in a category IF the codes provided are real tracking codes.
The account reserve is likely related to the DD+7 policy that they are bringing in.
Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn
If you link your RM account to Amazon then you will get 100% VTR regardless of whether Royal Mail scan the item or not.
If you don't and continue to use Click and Drop then it should be fine. Using RM48 I have a low VTR but never been suspended. Amazon validate unscanned RM48's and don't suspend you if it causes your VTR to go lown.
Also ask RM for prices on tracking, I have just got new prices on tracking which means I can send many more items tracked
If your account is not active then why is this? If it is as a result of a low VTR it indicates you were not updating the tracking references correctly in Amazon.
Seller_ymppUpGNpZ7Y8
I use nothing but RM 24 Tracked bought via Click and Drop (£4.19 for parcels up 2KG and £3.30 for large letters up to 750g) and I have no bother. My products sell for around £10 plus postage. I'm happy to lose the odd customer due to the relatively high postage because the headache of DNA queries using untracked has largely gone. VTR has always been 100% (apart from a recent blip by AMZ which was well reported on these forums)
Seller_ZxRIjjC1W3ID3
hi
I have printed labels off recently to put on my items stating POSTMAN PLEASE SCAN BARCODE, i have only just started this and my VTR is slowly rising so hoping this works for me,
Seller_yAo12UfAg6lho
I went through all this and my VTR dropped to 38%. Swapped to UPS (luckily I can use them with ease where Im based) but my margins have dropped conciderably. VTR is now 98% and it's taken nearly a year to get there again but the question is, is it worth dealing with amazon any longer?
