Amazon SFP requires >=99% on-time delivery. Below 99% = Prime-badge revocation risk. The eligibility-defining metric.
At a glance
The eligibility-defining metric for Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP). Amazon requires sustained on-time delivery of ≥99% on Prime-promised shipments to retain the Prime badge on listings. Below 99%, Amazon issues warnings; sustained at 96 to 97% the badge is revoked. Without the Prime badge, Buy Box win rate drops 30 to 50% within 7 to 14 days, and recovery requires 30 days at 99%+ to re-qualify. This is the single most consequential card on the SFP connector.
Calculation
Calculated automatically from your Amazon Prime Shipping (SFP) data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.Worked example
A US small-appliance merchant on SFP, single warehouse Indianapolis, multi-carrier mix (UPS Ground 2-Day, OnTrac, USPS Priority, Amazon Logistics). Reading taken at 09:00 ET on 12 Mar 26 for the trailing 30 days (10 Feb 26 to 11 Mar 26).
The card reads 96.3%, 2.7 points below the 99% threshold and below Amazon’s typical 96 to 97% revocation floor. Five things to notice:
- The merchant is in active Prime-badge revocation territory. At 96.3% sustained for 30 days, Amazon will likely have already issued a Performance Notification and may be days from badge loss. This is a P0 escalation, not a “monitor” condition.
- Single-warehouse Indianapolis cannot reliably deliver 99% nationally. Roughly 70% of US population is within UPS Ground 2-Day reach; the remaining 30% requires either OnTrac, USPS Priority, or Amazon Logistics. USPS Priority for rural ZIPs runs sub-92% (per
ama_otd_rateexample) and is the largest contributor to the 99% miss. - Recovery path is documented but slow. Amazon requires 30 days at 99%+ to re-qualify after badge loss. That means: aggressive ZIP opt-outs immediately (use Seller Central → Prime Settings to drop rural ZIPs from Prime), shift volume to Amazon Logistics where coverage exists, consider seasonal SFP suspension while pursuing FBA fallback.
- 256 missed Prime promises is the headline number for the conversation. Each miss adds Amazon Concession cost (~10), customer-trust-damage, and SFP eligibility drag. Combined customer-experience-and-Concession cost of 256 misses: ~2,500 plus the existential risk of badge loss.
- Compare against
ama_otd_rate(96.3% on this card) and the operational alert (<95%). The operational card is not in alert, the SFP card is. Always read this card first; the operational card is for capacity-planning the response, this card is for survival.
Sibling cards merchants should reference together
SFP eligibility is the existential metric. Pair with these:Reconciling against the vendor’s own dashboard
Where to look in Amazon Seller Central: Amazon Seller Central → Performance → Account Health → Seller Fulfilled Prime → Prime On-Time Shipment Rate (or the more recent Prime Performance Dashboard). The closest like-for-like is Prime On-Time Delivery 30-day. Why our number may legitimately differ from Amazon’s portal:
Cross-connector reconciliation:
Known limitations / merchant FAQs
The card is at 98%; should we panic? Not yet, but act now. Amazon’s warning trigger is 98% sustained 30 days; the badge revocation typically lands at 96 to 97%. At 98% you have a 1 to 2 percentage point buffer; one bad week could close it. Investigate immediately: which carrier mix is dragging? Which ZIPs are problematic? Pair withama_route_otd and amazon_prime_xc_sfp_eligibility.
Lost the Prime badge: how do we recover?
Amazon’s published recovery requirement is 30 days at 99%+ on the Prime cohort. Practically: (1) drop rural ZIPs from Prime eligibility immediately. (2) Shift volume to Amazon Logistics where coverage exists. (3) Tighten dispatch cutoff to give carriers more transit slack. (4) Consider seasonal SFP suspension while preparing. (5) Submit a Plan-of-Action via Seller Central case explaining root cause and remediation. Recovery typically takes 30 to 60 days.
What is “Plan-of-Action”?
Amazon’s documented remediation submission. When SFP eligibility is at risk or the badge is revoked, the seller submits a written analysis covering: root cause of misses, specific corrective actions, prevention measures, monitoring approach. Amazon reviews and decides on reinstatement. Templates available in Amazon’s Performance Help.
Buy with Prime: separate eligibility threshold?
Same 99% threshold but different revocation process. Buy with Prime can be restricted or suspended by Amazon’s program team based on sustained eligibility breaches. Recovery requires program-team conversation.
Why is this card at 30 days while others use 7?
Amazon scores eligibility on rolling 30 days. Matching their window means this card directly mirrors Amazon’s own Prime Performance Dashboard reading. Other operational cards use shorter windows for response-cadence reasons.
Weather event: how do we get exclusion?
File Seller Central case within 48 hours of the event with documented evidence (NWS storm warnings, FAA advisories, carrier-published service alerts). Amazon excludes accepted events from eligibility scoring. Appeals run 5 to 10 days. Pre-emptive case-filing during known events (hurricane season Sept-Nov in SE US, winter storms NE US) saves recovery time.
Single-warehouse merchants: realistic to hit 99%?
Hard. From a single Indianapolis or Atlanta warehouse, UPS Ground 2-Day reaches ~70% of US population at 96 to 98% reliability; remaining 30% drags blended below 99%. Solutions: (1) FBA for the remaining 30% (geographic ZIPs that can’t reach 99% from your warehouse). (2) ZIP-level Prime opt-out via Seller Central. (3) Add a second warehouse (East Coast + West Coast typically suffices). (4) Hybrid: SFP for serviceable ZIPs, FBA for rest.
SFP suspension: is it a black mark?
No. Amazon offers seasonal SFP suspension as a normal program feature; sellers who suspend (typically October-December) and resume in January retain Prime eligibility on resumption (subject to a 30-day re-qualification trial). Many SFP sellers pre-plan Q4 suspension.
Buy Box win rate decay during badge loss: how steep?
Typically 30 to 50% drop within 7 to 14 days. Prime members filter for Prime-eligible listings; without the badge, the listing is invisible to the highest-converting cohort. Recovery follows badge reinstatement with a 7-to-21-day lag.
Seasonal merchants: how do we manage Q4 risk?
Three options. (1) Plan SFP suspension for November-January. (2) Pre-qualify a second warehouse 60 days before peak. (3) Negotiate carrier capacity guarantees (UPS account managers can lock peak-period capacity for SFP volume) and accept 2-to-4-point Q4 dip as known cost. Most SFP merchants combine: keep SFP for high-margin SKUs, push commodity SKUs to FBA.
Is 99% achievable long-term?
Yes for well-positioned merchants. 2-warehouse + Amazon Logistics-preferred + ZIP-level Prime opt-outs for the most rural cohorts can sustain 99.2 to 99.5% steady state. Single-warehouse merchants typically settle at 97 to 98% and accept periodic eligibility risk.