Amazon orders in SKULabs show the Deliver By date with an exact time, for example Fri Nov 24, 2:59 AM. In Amazon Seller Central, the same order may show a date range such as "Tue, Nov 21 to Thu, Nov 23". Both describe the same deadline.
Why the Amazon Deliver By date shows an exact time
Amazon stores each order's latest delivery date as an exact moment in UTC. Seller Central shows it as a calendar date in Pacific time. SKULabs shows the exact moment Amazon sends, in your time zone.
For example, when Seller Central shows a Deliver By range of "Tue, Nov 21 to Thu, Nov 23", Amazon may send the deadline as 2023-11-24T07:59:59Z. That is the same moment as:
Nov 23, 11:59 PM Pacific time
Nov 24, 2:59 AM Eastern time
Nov 24, 7:59 AM UTC
A seller on Eastern time sees Nov 24, 2:59 AM in SKULabs, which is the end of Nov 23 in Pacific time. The deadline has not changed. It is shown in a different time zone.
Why SKULabs shows the time and not only the date
Some Amazon orders, such as Prime orders, can have a delivery deadline in the middle of the day. If SKULabs showed only the date, your team could pick a service that arrives too late, or pay for faster shipping than the order needs. The exact time lets you and SKULabs compare each shipping option to the real deadline.
How SKULabs keeps you from shipping late
When SKULabs gets shipping rates for an order with a Deliver By date, it compares each rate's expected delivery to that deadline:
Rates expected to arrive after the deadline are marked Arrives after deadline.
Rates with no delivery estimate are marked Unknown delivery expectation.
When SKULabs picks the cheapest rate for you, it skips these rates.
If an order ships with a method that arrives late, check your shipping rules and whether someone chose the method by hand. If neither explains it, send the order number to support@skulabs.com so we can investigate.
Match the Amazon Ship By date to Seller Central
The Ship By date can also look one day off for the same time zone reason. To show it on the same calendar day as Seller Central:
Go to Settings > Stores and edit your Amazon store.
Turn on Match Amazon Seller Central Ship By date and save.
Existing orders update on the next order sync. This setting changes how the Ship By date is shown. It does not change the Deliver By date.
Tips for your team
Use the Ship By date to decide what ships today. Shipping rules can use Ship by date and Deliver by date as conditions.
Read Deliver By times as exact deadlines, not as "end of day".
Let SKULabs filter out late rates instead of judging delivery dates by eye.