Amazon Account Health: Understanding and Improving Your Metrics

Amazon Account Health is a dashboard and scoring system that measures your seller performance, policy compliance, and customer service metrics to determine whether your selling privileges remain active. A poor Account Health Rating (AHR) can lead to listing deactivations, ASIN-level restrictions, or complete account suspension. At Marknology, our Kansas City team monitors Account Health daily for every brand we manage because prevention is infinitely easier than reinstatement.

Andrew Morgans is blunt about this: "I have seen brands doing $5M a year on Amazon get suspended because they ignored their Account Health dashboard. They had policy violations stacking up for months and never addressed them. By the time Amazon pulled the trigger, it was too late for an easy fix. Monitoring Account Health is not optional. It is survival."

What Is the Amazon Account Health Rating?

The Account Health Rating (AHR) is a numerical score (0-1000) that Amazon uses to evaluate your overall seller performance. It was introduced in 2022 to give sellers a clearer picture of where they stand.

AHR levels:

• Healthy (200-1000): Your account is in good standing. Keep doing what you are doing.
• At Risk (100-199): Amazon has flagged issues that need attention. Address them immediately.
• Critical (0-99): Your account is in danger of deactivation. This requires urgent action.

At Marknology, we aim to keep every client account above 400. That provides a comfortable buffer against any single policy violation.

Access your AHR through Seller Central > Performance > Account Health.

What Metrics Make Up Account Health?

Account Health is composed of three categories:

1. Customer Service Performance

• Order Defect Rate (ODR): Percentage of orders with defects (negative feedback, A-to-Z claims, chargebacks). Must stay below 1%.
• Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate: Orders you cancel before shipping. Must stay below 2.5%.
• Late Shipment Rate: Orders shipped after the expected ship date. Must stay below 4%. (FBM only)

2. Product Policy Compliance

• Intellectual property violations
• Product authenticity complaints
• Product condition complaints
• Listing policy violations
• Restricted product violations
• Food and product safety issues

3. Shipping Performance (FBM sellers)

• Valid Tracking Rate: Must stay above 95%
• On-Time Delivery Rate: Target above 97%

FBA sellers have a significant advantage here because Amazon handles fulfillment and shipping, eliminating most shipping performance issues.

How Do Customer Service Metrics Affect Account Health?

Customer service metrics have the most direct impact on your AHR:

Order Defect Rate (Most Important)

ODR is the single most important metric. If it exceeds 1%, Amazon considers your account at risk. ODR includes:

• Negative seller feedback (1-2 stars)
• A-to-Z Guarantee claims (even if resolved in your favor, the claim still counts)
• Credit card chargebacks

To keep ODR low: respond to customer messages within 24 hours, proactively refund or replace defective products, and address negative feedback immediately.

A-to-Z Claims

A-to-Z claims are filed by customers who feel they did not receive what was promised. Each claim, regardless of outcome, counts toward ODR. The best defense is proactive customer service. If a customer complains, resolve it before they escalate to an A-to-Z claim.

Every A-to-Z claim is a failure of communication, not necessarily a failure of product. If you respond to customer issues within 12 hours and offer a fair resolution, 90% of potential claims never get filed.-- Andrew Morgans, Marknology

What Policy Violations Hurt Account Health?

Policy violations are point deductions from your AHR. The severity varies:

• Critical (major point deduction): IP violations, counterfeit complaints, product safety issues, selling restricted products
• Moderate: Listing policy violations, product condition complaints, variation abuse
• Minor: Image violations, listing detail issues, category-specific requirements

You can appeal most violations through the Account Health dashboard. Successful appeals restore your points. However, repeated violations of the same type signal a systemic problem that Amazon takes seriously.

At Marknology, we conduct monthly policy compliance audits for every brand. We check listings for common triggers: restricted keywords, unsupported claims, image violations, and category-specific requirements.

How Should You Monitor Account Health?

Do not wait for Amazon to send you an email. By the time you get a warning email, the problem may already be severe. Here is the monitoring routine we use:

1. Daily: Check Account Health dashboard for new violations or warnings
2. Daily: Review Voice of the Customer report for product quality and listing accuracy issues
3. Weekly: Review customer feedback and respond to negatives
4. Weekly: Check ODR, late shipment rate, and cancel rate trends
5. Monthly: Full listing compliance audit across all active ASINs
6. Immediately: Address any new policy violations within 24 hours of appearing

Set up email notifications for Account Health alerts in your Seller Central notification preferences.

How Do You Improve a Declining Account Health Rating?

Step 1: Identify the Problem

Go to Account Health and review every open violation. Sort by severity. Address critical violations first.

Step 2: Appeal Violations

For each violation, submit an appeal with a clear Plan of Action (POA) that includes:

1. Root cause analysis (what specifically caused the issue)
2. Immediate corrective actions taken
3. Preventive measures to ensure it does not happen again

Be specific. "We will try harder" is not a plan. "We have implemented a pre-listing compliance checklist reviewed by our quality team before any new ASIN goes live" is a plan.

Step 3: Fix the Source

If violations are recurring, you have a systemic problem. Common sources:

• Product quality issues (fix manufacturing or sourcing)
• Listing accuracy problems (audit all copy and images)
• Unauthorized sellers creating complaints (enforce MAP policy and brand protection)
• Packaging damage in transit (improve packaging or change FBA prep process)

Step 4: Monitor Recovery

After addressing violations, monitor your AHR daily to confirm points are being restored. Successful appeals typically restore points within 3-7 days.

What Happens If Your Account Gets Suspended?

Account suspension means you can no longer sell on Amazon until your account is reinstated. This includes:

• All listings deactivated
• FBA inventory held (you can request removal but cannot sell)
• Pending payouts held for up to 90 days
• No access to advertising or promotions

Reinstatement requires submitting a detailed Plan of Action through Seller Central's appeal process. Amazon reviews POAs carefully, and vague or incomplete appeals are rejected.

At Marknology, we have helped brands through reinstatement but always emphasize prevention over cure. Reinstatement can take days to weeks and costs significant revenue. Andrew Morgans: "A suspension is not just lost sales. It is lost ranking, lost Subscribe and Save subscribers, lost ad momentum. Everything you built takes a hit. Prevention is always cheaper than recovery."

How Do You Prevent Account Health Problems?

1. Use FBA. FBA eliminates shipping performance metrics as a risk factor.
2. Respond to customers within 24 hours. Fast response prevents escalations.
3. Monitor Voice of the Customer daily. This report flags product and listing issues before they become violations.
4. Conduct regular listing audits. Check for restricted keywords, unsupported claims, and image violations.
5. Protect your brand. Unauthorized sellers create customer confusion and complaints that hurt your Account Health.
6. Maintain inventory. Stockouts lead to late shipment issues if you switch to FBM as a backup without proper infrastructure.
7. Do not ignore warnings. Every warning in Account Health is an opportunity to fix something before it becomes a violation.

At Marknology, Account Health monitoring is part of our daily operational routine for every client. It is not glamorous work, but it is the foundation that everything else is built on.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Amazon Account Health?

Amazon Account Health is a dashboard and scoring system (0-1000) that measures your seller performance, policy compliance, and customer service metrics. It determines whether your selling privileges remain active.

What is a good Account Health Rating?

An AHR above 200 is considered healthy. At Marknology, we aim to keep client accounts above 400 to provide a comfortable buffer against any single violation.

What causes Amazon account suspension?

Suspension is typically caused by a combination of policy violations, high Order Defect Rate (above 1%), intellectual property complaints, product safety issues, or selling restricted products.

How do I check my Account Health?

Go to Seller Central > Performance > Account Health. Review your AHR score, open violations, and performance metrics.

Can I appeal an Account Health violation?

Yes. Most violations can be appealed through the Account Health dashboard with a Plan of Action that includes root cause analysis, corrective actions, and preventive measures.

What is Order Defect Rate?

Order Defect Rate (ODR) is the percentage of orders with defects including negative feedback, A-to-Z claims, and chargebacks. It must stay below 1%.

How long does account reinstatement take?

Reinstatement timelines vary from days to weeks depending on the severity of the issue and the quality of your Plan of Action. Simple violations can be resolved in 3-5 days. Complex suspensions can take 2-4 weeks or more.

Does using FBA help Account Health?

Yes. FBA eliminates shipping performance metrics (late shipment rate, valid tracking rate) as risk factors since Amazon handles fulfillment. This removes an entire category of potential Account Health issues.

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