Why Is USPS Ground Advantage Blocked by Amazon Buy Shipping for Many States?
Hello Sellers,
I’m hoping someone here can shed light on an issue we’ve been struggling with regarding Amazon Buy Shipping and USPS Ground Advantage.
We’ve been selling on Amazon for over 12 years, and this problem is new—and has gotten noticeably worse over the last couple of months.
We sell small, lightweight items that ship easily with USPS Ground Advantage. However, for many orders going to certain states (for example, MT, TX, or FL), Amazon flags Ground Advantage as a “Late Delivery Risk” and removes it as an option. Instead, we are often forced to choose UPS, which is significantly more expensive for us and the customer.
Here’s what’s confusing:
Our shipping template is set to 5–8 days (the longest Amazon allows).
Our handling time is set to 1 day.
Amazon’s estimate for USPS Ground Advantage is much longer than reality. For example, Amazon might show delivery in 9 days, while USPS (via Stamps.com/ShipStation) shows it will arrive in 5 days, well within the promised window.
This makes me think Amazon’s transit time calculations for USPS Ground Advantage are outdated or overly conservative.
Has anyone else run into this issue?
Is there a way to override Amazon’s inflated transit estimate or request an update to the data?
Are there any workarounds to keep USPS Ground Advantage available when it clearly meets the delivery promise?
This is becoming a big cost issue for us because UPS is often 2 times more expensive for the same order. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
Why Is USPS Ground Advantage Blocked by Amazon Buy Shipping for Many States?
Hello Sellers,
I’m hoping someone here can shed light on an issue we’ve been struggling with regarding Amazon Buy Shipping and USPS Ground Advantage.
We’ve been selling on Amazon for over 12 years, and this problem is new—and has gotten noticeably worse over the last couple of months.
We sell small, lightweight items that ship easily with USPS Ground Advantage. However, for many orders going to certain states (for example, MT, TX, or FL), Amazon flags Ground Advantage as a “Late Delivery Risk” and removes it as an option. Instead, we are often forced to choose UPS, which is significantly more expensive for us and the customer.
Here’s what’s confusing:
Our shipping template is set to 5–8 days (the longest Amazon allows).
Our handling time is set to 1 day.
Amazon’s estimate for USPS Ground Advantage is much longer than reality. For example, Amazon might show delivery in 9 days, while USPS (via Stamps.com/ShipStation) shows it will arrive in 5 days, well within the promised window.
This makes me think Amazon’s transit time calculations for USPS Ground Advantage are outdated or overly conservative.
Has anyone else run into this issue?
Is there a way to override Amazon’s inflated transit estimate or request an update to the data?
Are there any workarounds to keep USPS Ground Advantage available when it clearly meets the delivery promise?
This is becoming a big cost issue for us because UPS is often 2 times more expensive for the same order. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
0 replies
Seller_1nLgcrMlEBmoi
For the longest time, I had my order handling capacity set to 1. That prevented any orders coming through requiring UPS shipping or USPS priority. Then all the sudden my products were showing as 2-4 weeks delivery time onsite.
I reached out to seller support, and this is what they told me: “Hello from Amazon Selling Partner Support, I understand your concern about the Order Handling Capacity (OHC) settings and how they affect your shipping dates. After thorough investigation, we can explain how the OHC setting of 1 actually works: When multiple orders are received, they compound sequentially. For example, if you receive two orders on Day 1, one will ship on Day 1 and the second moves to Day 2. If you receive two more orders on Day 2, the Day 1 order will ship, but the Day 2 orders get pushed to Days 3 and 4. This compounding effect continues, which explains why you're seeing extended delivery dates of several weeks when OHC is set to 1. Based on this system behavior, we recommend maintaining your OHC setting at 2 to avoid the compounding effect and maintain normal delivery timeframes. This will help ensure your orders maintain standard delivery windows and prevent the extended delivery dates you experienced with the OHC set to 1.”
Of course that is ridiculous because the site clearly says that orders after your order handling capacity will be increased by 1 day. And for the longest time, things worked as they should.
I have had several orders lately that I have lost my claims protection due to me having to change to ground advantage. It’s just a matter of time before I get hit with a claim. I wonder what is your order handling capacity set at?
KJ_Amazon
Hello @Seller_ZwjmHongwU4zF Thank you for those questions about Buy Shipping options.
Our partner teams work closely with carriers to provide accurate delivery estimates for shipping services, including accounting for major weather and other events that can affect transit times.
If your preferred options are consistently not available as claims-protected and you wish to use those services, check if there are adjustments you can make to your settings that will include your preferred services as protected.
Are there any workarounds to keep USPS Ground Advantage available when it clearly meets the delivery promise?
Sellers also have the option to purchase preferred shipping services in Buy Shipping (or outside of Buy Shipping); however only services with the Claims-protected badges will receive those Buy Shipping protections.
Is USPS Ground Advantage not available in Buy Shipping, or is it available but not a protected service?
KJ_Amazon
