Ecommerce giant Amazon has announced that it is revising its policy on shipment tracking in January in Germany. The change will affect domestic and cross-border shipments. Merchants on the platform have voiced their concerns about rising costs.
Online marketplace Amazon recently announced that it would implement a longer return period during the holiday season. Now, it has shared more news with its partner sellers in Germany. It is implementing changes in its tracking policy.
German Amazon sellers need to maintain certain levels of service, according to Amazon, in order to get a high seller performance. Higher seller performances lead to better placements on product pages, which in turn lead to more sales. One of those services that sellers need to perform, is having a rate of valid tracking numbers for shipments, of at least 95 percent at the category level.
Lower thresholds
As of January 15, 2025, domestic shipments with a value of more than 15 euros are included in the calculation of the rate of valid tracking numbers. Additionally, the rate of valid tracking numbers will be measured for orders shipped with all carriers. Previously, it was limited to orders with carriers that were integrated with Amazon.
Cross-border orders are included in the calculation of the rate of valid tracking numbers, unless they are below €20
The change will also include cross-border shipments. From now on, all cross-border shipments are included in the calculation of the rate of valid tracking numbers. If they are below a threshold of 20 euros, they are excluded. If the shipment used a letter shipping method, it can also be excluded. Shipments that are sent to and from the UK, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Austria or Sweden are considered cross-border.
Merchants still have questions
Some merchants are unhappy with the changes. Some call it an intrusion on entrepreneurial freedom. Others say that lower thresholds for tracking, combined with expected price increases from carriers (like Deutsche Post) will lead to financial cuts for sellers. This means that selling low-priced items on the marketplace may not be profitable in the future.
Sellers also have questions about the way the new policy will work. For example, which shipments will count as a letter delivery? And what will be the procedure for deliveries of goods by dedicated shipping companies or in-house shipping teams?
