Amazon is one of the largest eCommerce platforms in the world, selling 66,000 orders per hour. As a part of their fulfillment, orders go through several stages of a sale, including Amazon Orders Pending. However, what is this stage and what does it mean for the seller? This article looks into this question.
What Do Amazon Orders Pending Mean?
The Amazon Orders Pending status means that Amazon has kept the order and item on hold while there are certain parts of the purchasing journey are being completed. This stage of the process happens after the customer has placed the order on Amazon.
All orders that are placed can be found in the Seller’s account. During the Pending time, the order will have that status in the ‘Manage Orders’ tab.
The delay, which is usually 30 minutes but can be longer, is there to protect buyers and sellers. The idea is that there is a short period during which customers can choose not to complete the order without suffering from financial penalties or having to return the product, which can be costly.
And it also protects the seller by not getting to send out orders which might not have a valid payment method.
During the Pending stage, Amazon is also doing an automated test on the payment details provided by the customer. Any credit or debit card details are checked.
Amazon Order Pending Verification: How Long Does It Take?
The Amazon Pending Verification can usually take up to 30 minutes.
When a customer places an order on Amazon, the order is held in a “pending” for at least 30 minutes.
During that time, Amazon carries out several checks, such as authorizing the payment of credit and debit cards are checked for enough credit for the order to be placed, and the customer is able to cancel the order via their Amazon account.
However, there are times when the time can take longer, this is usually when there is not enough money in an account or on a credit card to make the purchase.
If Amazon Pending Verification fails, the customer will often be informed via email that the transaction hasn’t been completed. Though this is not always the case. Sometimes the seller might be best contacting the buyers.
How Does the Amazon Order Process Work?
There are numerous steps within the Amazon Order Process. These steps are there to make it fair to both customers and sellers. Here are those steps in more detail.
Step 1: Products Added to Cart
Products that the customer would like to purchase are added to the cart.
Step 2: Customer Adjusts the Cart and Places Order
The customer can then adjust the number of products to be bought. Then they can add payment details and place the order
Step 3: Amazon Changes Order Status
Amazon then changes the order status to ‘Pending.’ This is an automatic process. Amazon will hold the order in the ‘Manage Orders’ tab on the Seller account. This can be on hold for up to 30 minutes and the order is non-actionable.
Step 4: Verification
Amazon verifies both the order and the method of payment, ensuring there are sufficient funds for the order to be placed.
Step 5: Complete
Once the payment method has been verified, the status will change to ‘Unshipped.’ If there is an issue with the payment, then the order will remain ‘Pending.’ The customer may be sent an email at some point informing that there was an issue with the payment.
Step 6: Sends Order Notification
Amazon will send an order notification to the seller. Though all orders that are made are automatically available on the Seller Account and you should be able to see them on the ‘Manage Orders’ tab.
Step 7: Processing
The order is then fulfilled by the seller or Amazon. If there is a problem with the order from the seller’s side, then they do have the option to cancel the order. Or the seller can take other actions.
When you think about all the products you sell on Amazon, so many steps might appear complicated. Luckily, you don’t have to deal with it all on your own because there are plenty of Amazon inventory management tools that can ease and simplify the process. It’s important that you get your products out there for all prospective customers to see, fulfill orders on time, and protect your business reputation.
Why Are Amazon Orders Pending?
There are numerous times when Amazon Orders are Pending. Here are some of the reasons why Amazon orders can be pending.
Amazon Seller Order Pending
There are many reasons why Amazon seller orders are pending. The first is that there is a problem with the card payment that is on the payment system. One of the main reasons for this is that there are not enough funds on the card used.
However, that is not the only reason. The information added to the system might have been wrong. Or the payment system might be done. When people are buying subscriptions, one of the biggest problems is that the customer has an out-of-date card and they’ve just forgotten to renew the information.
Amazon Digital Orders Pending
Amazon digital orders can also be pending. There are lots of digital orders that can be bought on Amazon from Amazon Prime Subscriptions to eBooks and audiobooks. However, digital orders sometimes take time to process and are not always available immediately (though they can be).
Orders pending here are because Amazon needs to check that the payment details are valid. There are several reasons why there might be issues. For one, payment details might be wrong.
The wrong address might have been used, a typo in some information (including card number, name on card, etc.), and there also might not be enough funds available associated with the card.
However, ‘Pending’ usually lasts just 30 minutes. If there is an issue, then the customer can be emailed.
What to Do with Amazon Orders Pending Status?
As a seller, you should be able to access your Amazon Sellers account and you will see all the orders that have been made for products you sell on Amazon. On these will be information about the status of the order.
The Pending status is there for sellers to be protected from fulfilling orders where no payment to the seller can be made yet.
Pending orders happen frequently on Amazon. Most of the time, there is nothing that needs to be done, the seller just has to wait for the order’s status to be moved to ‘Unshipped.’
If an order has been ‘Pending’ for some time, like over an hour, then you should take some action. One of the first steps that you can do is to contact Amazon’s customer service. The helpful team at Amazon will be able to provide you with some details and offer assistance.
There might also be the option for the seller to contact the buyer directly. As a seller, be polite when you are contacting the buyer. An order that is left pending for some time and asking for different payment information can sometimes be embarrassing. The customer may not react positively.
The best advice is to ask the customer to contact customer service and speak to them to resolve any issue that there might be.
Never ship an item that is on a Pending Order. You must wait until the order has been changed to ‘Unshipped.’ This places you at risk of sending out a product and never being paid for the order. Amazon will not reimburse you for the costs of the product.
Where to See Amazon Pending Orders?
If you would like to see all the orders that are Pending, you can do so from your Amazon Seller Central account. The first thing to do is to sign into your Amazon account. Then you can go to your ‘Manage Orders’ page and then click on the ‘Pending tab.’
Do not look at the ‘Unshipped Orders’ report, this is only for those orders where you’ve received the order but not fulfilled them.
If there are orders that you want to see Pending that are on the Fulfilled by Amazon program, you can click on the FBA Orders tab. In this section, you should be able to see ‘Pending Orders.’
Any pending orders will be grayed out and will be non-actionable. Therefore, you will not be able to confirm or cancel the order. This action is there to protect you from sending out a product to a customer who cannot pay.
How to Cancel a Pending Order on Amazon?
After an order has been placed, the order should be pending for about 30 minutes. This time is provided so that the buyer has some thinking time and can cancel the order before the product is shipped out.
However, there might be times when you need to cancel an order while it is pending or that you have just received and are now ‘Unshipped.’
To cancel an order, you need to access your Amazon Sellers Account and click on ‘Manage Orders.’ You can then select the order that you would like to action and choose the ‘Cancel Order’ in the action column.
You will be prompted to provide a reason why you would like to cancel the order. Once you’ve offered the reason, click on the ‘Submit’ option. The buyer will be provided with an email notification from Amazon, and not you, that the order has been canceled.
Those who are professional sellers have the option to cancel orders in bulk. You can use the Order Cancellation file for this. However, there are negative consequences of canceling too many orders on Amazon.
When you take this action too much, and Amazon recommends a rate of no higher than 2.5%, then you can place your Account at risk of lost privileges or being closed.
There are several non-standard cancellation reasons that you can be penalized for. These reasons do not mean that you face immediate judgment but suggest that you need to find better ways to manage your business to minimize the problem.
However, there are also some standard reasons which include:
1. You cancel the order because the item they bought is suddenly out of stock.
2. The order is canceled because the address placed cannot be reached by courier.
3. The buyer is unresponsive and you need to contact them for more information.
4. Seven days have passed since the order has been placed, and the expected shipping availability date has passed with no tracking on the shipment. Amazon will issue an automatic cancellation in these circumstances.
Some cancellation types can happen but Amazon will not penalize you for them. One of these is that there was a fraudulent buyer or the payment verification failed.
In addition, if a customer tries to pressure you to send the product before the payment has been authorized by Amazon’s team, but you refuse and they leave a bad review, Amazon will remove that review from the system.
As an Amazon seller, you do have some protection.
You might be interested to check those related posts as well:
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- How to Archive Amazon Orders?
- Amazon Subsidiaries [2023]: Everything You Need to Know
FAQs
What does Amazon orders pending status mean?
Amazon pending order is the status that is provided to orders where the customer has just made the order (within the last 30 minutes). During the time that the order is pending, the payment verification check is made and the customer has some time to cancel the order.
How long can an order be pending on Amazon?
The order can be pending on Amazon for about 30 minutes. However, there are times when the order might be pending for a lot longer. For example, if there have been problems with the payment method or the shipping address. Amazon may also hold it pending if there is unusual purchasing behavior.
Is it possible to cancel a pending order on Amazon?
A Seller can’t cancel a pending order during the first 30 minutes. If an order has been left pending for more than one hour, you might want to check with a Customer Service team as to what steps can be taken. They might advise that the order is canceled, which they can do.
Conclusion
As an Amazon seller, you want to make sure that all orders being shipped will be paid for. That is why there is an Amazon Pending status. This is a time when the order cannot be shipped while Amazon checks that the payment details are accurate.
