Conditions and limitations of SFP
Hello everyone,
I hope someone can shed some light on SFP. We are looking to enrol with this but there seems to be limited information on the Amazon SFP enrolment page.
We currently use ParcelForce to send items to customers, but are interested in using additional couriers and possibly INPOST, does anyone use this service or have any experiences with INPOST? Essentially it would allow customers to collect the item, but I feel this could leave us open to issues.
Also, what is the criteria on timeframes for despatch? I have read on a delivery site " you need to ensure your products are shipped by you or a third party logistics (3PL) company within 2 days." However it was my understanding that Prime customers get next day delivery?
Any advice or information relating to either courier options and despatch criteria would be greatly welcomed.
TIA
Conditions and limitations of SFP
Hello everyone,
I hope someone can shed some light on SFP. We are looking to enrol with this but there seems to be limited information on the Amazon SFP enrolment page.
We currently use ParcelForce to send items to customers, but are interested in using additional couriers and possibly INPOST, does anyone use this service or have any experiences with INPOST? Essentially it would allow customers to collect the item, but I feel this could leave us open to issues.
Also, what is the criteria on timeframes for despatch? I have read on a delivery site " you need to ensure your products are shipped by you or a third party logistics (3PL) company within 2 days." However it was my understanding that Prime customers get next day delivery?
Any advice or information relating to either courier options and despatch criteria would be greatly welcomed.
TIA
13 replies
Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh
have you searched for seller fulfilled prime in the seller central search bar. There are several pages on SFP and there’s plenty of info there.
You can only use selected couriers for SFP. Amazon Shipping, Royal Mail (with a Royal Mail account) and DPD. I’ll be honest I wouldn’t personally use InPost for Amazon orders (if uou are doing collect from locker or shop just leaves you really open to customer claiming it hasn’t arrived getting a refund then going to get it!)
You also need to despatch all SFP orders placed up to 4pm (though you can set a later cut off) and also ship on either a Saturday or Sunday)
Seller_K8edOfPu9HEmN
We looked briefly at SFP when it was first brought out and decided pretty quickly we could not meet the stringent delivery parameters enough of the time to warrant joining the scheme.
In our case we would've had to charge and send either RM tracked 24 or special delivery to meet the guidelines no other delivery method works IMHO.
Other couriers might cover some of the time but even UPS or Evri are not efficient enough to meet the needs of the scheme as weekend collections are difficult at best.
Seller_hzM671NZ1X5YX
i believe you have to dispatch same day and deliveries will be 1-2 days depending on your metrics. you can only buy shipping through amazon therefor you could not in in post. evri is their most competitive price shipping bit evri has its issue. however if its evris fault they do take off the negatives on your metrics so you dont loose next day shipping or prime altogther.
Seller_8z3AkoubNymBT
Hey there, For SFP (Seller Fulfilled Prime) you have to get onboard with DPD or EVRI (and Royal Tracked Service ofc).
It is going to charge you pretty much for a parcel and you have to be ok with it, (there is no other way)
You cannot set any other cut off time, It is mendatory from Amazon to set your cut off time for week day to 4:00 and ship orders until 4:30. You need to ship all the orders you received in today's date TODAY.
If carrier collected the orders from you on time and delivered late, you can just ask them to provide you acknowledgement that it is their fault and your prime will be good to go, However, If you shipped late any order that was supposed to ship today but you shipped next day, then you can face prime suspension and also have to appeal Amazon by submitting detailed Plan of Action.
You have to ship orders on at least one weekend day and the cut off time for weekend will be 2:00 means you need to ship orders you received until 2:00 same day.
I hope it is all that you want to know.
Seller_FjZa2rknr164p
approved carriers must be used - as others have stated, the cut off times are 4pm weekday but you will not receive any orders to ship after 3pm from the buyer and on a weekend day 11.30am and no orders after 10.30am to be shipped that day, also make sure you set you prime order volume to a sensible number so you dont get overrun with orders or you can just take a certain amount of prime orders aday depending on your resources.
Seller_CaLuDGa8aUCi3
I've just started SFP with Evri, and all in all it's been pretty good. Some things to consider.
- Having one a cuttoff at 3pm and one collection over a weekend extends your delivery leadtime vs FBA and will hurt sales
- You pay for your shipping the day after you buy your labels (through your disbursements and before you get paid) compared to Amazon charging FBA fees at the sametime they pay you. If you ship a 1000 products a week this is going to take c£5000 out of your cashflow.
- Delivery rates are calculated by the calendar month, therefore it's best to start SFP at the beginning of the month so that you have the best chance for lower rates.
Seller_qjPjvwmMvJ7tV
Same day dispatch minimum cut off time 4 oclock, plus Saturday or Sunday dispatch.
Customer service is managed by Amazon, so you may expect several orders refunded by Amazon without your consent.
The issue with royalmail is due to high volume on Monday, they are usually not able to scan all the parcels on the day of dispatch (before 12 0clock), which may trigger a significant drop in On-Time Shipment rate. On-Time shipment rate is sellers responsibility but unfortunately as a seller you do not have control over the first scan that needs to be take care of by Royalmail on the day of dispatch. This issue trigger warnings and POA request and eventually SFP suspension all to gather.
On time shipment rate needs to be above 99%, 2 late scans out of 100 parcels means 98% ontime shipment rate. and the very next week you will be asked to submit POA.
All SFP prime returns labels are seller funded.
Winston_Amazon
Hey there @Seller_21UR603wrVjSP ,
Thanks for creating this thread, it generated a lot of great posts, did you decide to enroll in SFP in the end?
