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Sometimes when you order something, the order may become “pending”. This can often lead to confusion for both buyers as well as sellers.
Orders can stay pending on Amazon for a variety of reasons and many times, buyers aren’t able to figure out why they’re not being processed.
If you’re facing this same issue, here’s what you can do to cancel your pending order on Amazon.
Quick Summary of This Guide
In this post, we will expand upon:
- Why pending orders occur on Amazon
- What you can do to get them processed or canceled
- What they mean for buyers and sellers
So, let’s get started.
How Long Can Amazon Orders Stay Pending?
If an order is pending because Amazon’s servers are overloaded, then this issue is typically resolved within a few minutes. At most, it might take an hour for your pending orders to be processed but that’s pretty much it.
If your order remains pending for more than an hour, then this might indicate some issue with your payment method.
As far as Amazon orders go, they can remain pending for as long as 21 days.
Pending Orders if You’re a Buyer
First, we’ll discuss what you should do if you’re a buyer on Amazon and you find that one of your orders is “pending”.
The first and most obvious thing you can do is to just wait a while. Sometimes, Amazon’s backlog gets overwhelmed so it can take a while for your order to be processed.
This is by far the most common reason why some orders remain pending for longer than normal.
In most cases, waiting for just 15 minutes to half an hour will result in your order being processed.
However, if you’ve waited for a while and your order is still pending, then it can be a good idea to check.
Another reason why an order may be pending is that there’s some issue with your payment method.
This could mean that you may have run out of funds in your Amazon account or whatever payment method you’ve set up isn’t working properly.
In this case, we would first suggest that you check your Amazon account to see if you have the funds available to purchase the product for which your order is pending.
If your account does not have the funds available, then go ahead and top it up. Your pending order should be processed once you do so.
In case you’ve set up a credit card or something similar to pay for your orders on Amazon, then check with your credit card provider.
Ensure that your credit card is operational and working properly.
If you’re certain that there’s nothing wrong with the way you pay for the product, then it can be a good idea to contact Amazon’s customer service.
You can contact Amazon customer service by:
- Talking to their chatbot
- Using their callback feature
- Calling them
Contacting Amazon through Bot Chat
Step 1: Go to Amazon’s Contact Us page and click on the “Start chatting now” button.
Step 2: Type “Pending order” and then, hit Enter.
Step 3: Follow the bot’s instructions and enter your order details to find assistance regarding your pending order.
Contacting Amazon through their Callback Feature
Step 1: Instead of clicking on “Start chatting now” on the Contact Us page, click on the smaller “We can call you” hyperlink below it as shown below:
Step 2: Click on the “A delivery, order or return” tab, and under the section that opens, select your pending order.
Step 3: Scroll down to the section that says “Or, talk to someone” click on the Phone button as shown:
Step 4: Select your country from the dropdown menu and enter your phone number in the field below it.
Once done, click on the “Call me now” button as shown below:
You will receive a call on your entered phone number from an Amazon representative and they will help you with your pending order.
Calling Amazon
Instead of using the callback feature, you can directly call Amazon customer support as well.
To do this, simply contact them by using their toll-free number which is 0800-279-7234
Explain your situation in as much detail as possible to the Amazon representative and they will help you process your pending order.
Pending Orders if You’re a Seller
As an Amazon seller, you can go to the Manage Orders page to check out the status of all of your orders.
Any orders with a “Pending” status may indicate issues with the buyer’s payment method or convenience store payment method.
Pending orders can occur due to:
- Amazon is unable to authorize the buyer’s credit card
- The buyer selects convenience store payment but does not complete the payment
- The buyer qualifying for free shipping on an FBA order and the order waiting for other order items to be gathered
- One of the items in the order is out of stock. This applies to FBA orders. The order will show up as pending even if Amazon decides to send the in-stock items separately.
What Should I Do as a Seller When an Order is Pending?
You should never ship an order while it is in “Pending” status, even if the buyer contacts you directly.
If a buyer contacts you, refer them to Amazon Customer Service.
Important things to note:
- You cannot confirm shipment as a seller until an order’s status changes from “Pending” to “Unshipped”.
- Amazon takes the risk of buyer non-payment for every order in your Unshipped Orders report.
How to Find Pending Status Orders?
You can find all your pending orders by going to the Manage Orders page in Amazon Seller Central.
Go to the Manage Orders page and then to the Pending tab to see all your pending orders.
FBA orders which are pending can be found in the View FBA orders tab.
Does My Inventory get Impacted by Pending Orders?
Yes, pending orders do impact your inventory.
If an order is placed but is still pending, then the quantity available for the listing will be subtracted by one still.
So, if there was a quantity of one and then an order is placed which becomes pending, then the listing will be removed from the Amazon offer page.
It will then appear on your Manage Inventory page with a quantity of zero while the pending order is being processed by Amazon.
Can I Cancel a Pending Order as a Seller?
While an order is pending, you really can’t do much about it as a seller.
The buyer’s shipping address or the contact information is not available to you while the order is pending so you can’t ship it.
You should not ship it while the order is pending even if the buyer contacts you and provides you with their address. If this happens, you should refer them to Amazon Customer Service.
Once the order is processed, you will be provided the buttons for confirming shipment or canceling the order.
As an Amazon seller, you cannot cancel orders while they’re pending.
Wrapping Things Up…
We hope you have a better understanding of what pending orders are and how they work now.
They can be a source of confusion for both sellers as well as buyers so we’re happy we were able to shed some light on why they occur and what you can do about them.
Do you have any funny stories or anecdotes regarding pending orders on Amazon? Let us know in the comments below.
