Why Amazon Orders are Pending? – 2023 Problem Solving Guide

Amazon Orders Pending – What to do with them and how long do they remain pending before they are accepted by Amazon?

Amazon orders are pending! How frustrating is that? I have faced this issue from the buyer’s as well as the seller’s perspective and trust me I can not decide which one is worse!

Trust me, I dread nothing more than to see the word ‘Pending’ written in bold right in front of my orders. And even worse, I used to think that pending orders meant canceled orders.

It took intensive research on my part to learn that the two have totally different impacts. A pending order is not so bad unless you are an Amazon FBA seller.

But lucky for you, I am here to guide you through this confusing phase. In fact, I will be discussing all the reasons why amazon orders assume the status of pending and what happens to them during that time.

And the best part is that I will be explaining things from both the seller’s and buyer’s points of view. So, by the end of this article, you will have absolutely no confusion relating to pending Amazon orders and what to do with them. Let’s get started!

Amazon Orders Pending – What Does That Even Mean?

You can think of Pending Amazon orders as a transaction period that benefits and protects both the buyer and the supplier.

Every time a customer places an order it assumes pending status for at least thirty minutes before it is approved. It is basically intended to give the buyer time to think through his order once again and cancel it without any hassle if he so wished.

At the same time, it gives Amazon time to verify the customer’s credit card so as to reduce the chances of fake orders. So, in a way, it is Amazon’s idea of providing a safe environment to its buyers and sellers.

How Long Does Amazon Pending Verification Take?

As I mentioned earlier, it takes at least thirty minutes for each of your orders to assume the status of unshipped.

However, this is just an estimated time, and the actual time for which your order may remain pending could be longer than that. It can take a maximum of twenty days of pending order status before Amazon cancels the order itself.

Thankfully it is only a very rare occurrence and only happens when there is some issue with the credit verification process. In any case, it is a very long and frustrating time period for both buyers and sellers alike.

Amazon Order Process Down To The Smallest Detail

This section of the article is for those of you who want to know what happens behind the scenes when you place an order on Amazon. Reading through these steps will help you understand the complete picture of all the backhand processes that take place automatically.

Pro Tip: If you are frustrated with your amazon business and want to have a fresh start. I would recommend you to ask yourself these 5 Questions.

Tangible Orders Pending For A Long Time

Apart from the technical reasons I mentioned earlier, there could also be some other logical reasons why your orders may still be pending. The most common reason why that happens is purely based on logistics.

It is absolutely possible that your supplier has bulk orders and finding it hard to cater to all the orders on a timely basis. It usually happens during busy seasons such as the days nearing Christman, Amazon Prime Day, and Black Friday.

Amazon suppliers need time to handle the assembly, packaging, and shipment process of all the orders they receive.

For a few orders, it is not a big deal but when it comes to busy seasons when people start placing orders from all across the globe, it becomes harder for individual suppliers to fulfill each order on time. Hence, your orders tend to have a pending status for much longer than expected.

Intangible Orders Pending For A Long Time

One would think that it should not take long for a supplier to sell intangible items such as software licenses, product keys, and so on since they are free from all that packaging and shipping hassle. But the reality is quite the opposite. Intangible items also go out of stock very often and it takes time for the sellers to re-stock.

On the other hand, it could also happen due to verification problems. So, if your order for a non-tangible product has been pending for a long time, chances are that there is some issue with your payment method or credit card credentials.

How Can Sellers Check Their Pending Orders?

Being a seller on Amazon, it is imperative that you keep track of your pending orders. It greatly impacts your reputation and credit rating. So, to check out all your pending orders, you need to sign in to your seller account.

Now, go to the ‘Manage orders’ page and search for the pending orders tab. Under this tab, you will see a list of all your pending orders. You can either confirm these orders or cancel them depending on the availability of the products ordered.

On the other hand, if you want to check out the orders deemed pending by Amazon itself, you need to search and open up the ‘View FBA orders Tab’.

Under the tab, you will see a list of all the products that amazon has marked and pending. Take note that you won’t be able to either confirm or cancel these orders. These will be highlighted in gray.

What To Do If An Order Is Pending?

Pending orders on Amazon are a regular occurrence and you will often see pending orders on Amazon whether you are a buyer or a seller. It is just Amazon’s way of ensuring a safe environment for both the buyers and sellers and reducing the occurrence of fake orders and any such mishaps.

You have no idea how many scam orders are placed every day on Amazon and if it weren’t for Amazon’s filtration process, it would have been the most unreliable e-market. However, these scam orders are another reason why genuine orders remain pending for so long.

Being a buyer, the best thing you can do to avoid getting your orders assuming pending status forever is to try and be very careful when providing your credit card details.

If Amazon detects any problems with the verification of your credentials, your order might never be confirmed. Besides that, you can only wait patiently for Amazon to do its job.

On the other hand, Amazon sellers can do two things to get rid of the pending order status. They get two categories of pending orders, the first being the ones they can confirm or deny depending upon the availability of products available in their inventory.

The second is the ones that Amazon has grayed out and marked pending. Sellers can not do anything to change the status of such orders as it is up to Amazon’s filtration process that determines whether or not these orders will ever be confirmed.

---

How To Cancel A Pending Order On Amazon

Once the customer’s credit card credentials have been verified, Amazon approves the order. At the same time, it is removed from the seller’s FBA orders gray list and entered into the list of pending orders.

Hence, the seller will be able to approve or cancel all such orders. In any case, if a seller deems it fit to cancel an order, he can do so by going to the ‘Manage Orders’.

There you will see five columns. Each column contains formations relating to individual orders. In order to cancel an order, go to the Action column and click on ‘Cancel Order’.

After that, you will be given a prompt to request a reason why you are canceling the order. Once you fill it up, you need to submit it and the order will be canceled successfully.

The buyer will instantly receive a notification about the order cancellation. With that out of the way, let me give a fair warning about canceling bulk orders.

Being an Amazon seller your order cancellation rate is actively monitored and if it falls below two point five percent, it will have a negative effect on your rating. So, it would be better if you refrain from canceling orders unless necessary.

Let me also tell you the impact of deteriorating seller ratings. You start to lose credibility and your reputation takes a hit. You start to lose all your premium seller privileges and badges one by one. And if the situation declines persistently you will be banned from selling on Amazon at all.

So, I’d say that you’d better let the orders remain pending for some time rather than cancel them altogether. Besides, you must update your inventory reordering system so as to reduce the stock-out costs to a bare minimum.

Final Thoughts

It is only a given thing that you will run into technical problems with your online business every once in a blue moon. And it is not only that, even customers face problems while making online purchases. And Amazon seems to be a hotspot for all such problems.

But hopefully, I could resolve some of your problems and answer your questions relating to Amazon technical issues.

I am sure that after reading through this article you will be able to handle the pending order issue with greater efficiency. In any case, don’t forget to share this information with your friends as well!

People Also Ask

Why are my orders pending on Amazon?

Amazon puts an order on hold for at least thirty minutes after a buyer places an order. There are two reasons for that, the first being it gives the buyer time to scan other similar items sold by different sellers on amazon and cancel his order.

The second reason is that Amazon takes that time to try and verify the credit card information provided by the buyer and the payment method chosen by him. So, in a way, it is Amazon’s way of securing both the buyers and sellers from making rash purchases and scam orders.

How long does Amazon’s pending order take?

Amazon usually puts an order pending for a minimum of thirty minutes immediately after an order has been placed. During that time, if Amazon is able to verify all the details provided by the buyer, the order will be approved.

However, if there is something wrong with the verification process, the order shall remain pending for as long as the issues are sorted. An order can remain pending for a period of twenty-one days after which the order is automatically canceled by Amazon.

Can Amazon cancel a pending order?

Orders that are in a “Pending” status cannot be canceled at this time. Once the buyer’s payment method has been successfully verified, the seller will have the option to cancel the order. However, please note that orders that have been canceled in error cannot be reinstated.