We all like to keep our Amazon order history clean and organized. But what do you do when you want to delete a purchase that you no longer need in your history? Many people are unaware that they can delete items from their Amazon order history, or they are unsure of how to actually do it. That’s where this blog post comes in! In this article, we will discuss the challenge of deleting items from your Amazon order history, what you need to prepare, and multiple methods to accomplish this task.
Video Tutorial:
The Challenge of Deleting Things from Amazon Order History
Amazon has an extensive database of your order history that includes everything you have purchased from the site. It can be quite overwhelming to sift through this long list every time you need to find a particular order item. This is where the challenge of deleting things from Amazon order history arises.
Amazon doesn’t provide a straightforward option for deleting order history, and the site has been designed to keep such records permanent for future reference. Thus, many people mistakenly think that they cannot delete items from their Amazon order history.
Things You Should Prepare for
Before beginning any of the methods discussed here, there are a few things you should prepare to prevent unwanted results.
- Amazon Password:You should have your Amazon account login details, including username and password. You don’t want to be locked out of your account while trying to delete order history.
- Order Number or Item Details: It’s essential to have order numbers or item details that you want to delete from your order history. You can get this information by visiting your Amazon history and finding the item you want to delete.
- Patience: Deleting items from Amazon order history is a process that requires patience and persistence. This process may take a couple of days to reflect in your account history entirely.
Method 1: Deleting Items via Your Amazon Orders Page
Amazon provides an option to archive orders in the order history section, but this doesn’t entirely delete the items from your Amazon account. However, it comes in handy when you want to clear your recent orders from your home page. Follow these detailed steps below to delete items from Amazon order history.
1. Log in to Amazon on your PC or Mac.
2. Click on Account and Lists on the top right corner of the homepage.
3. Now click on Your Orders, a dropdown will appear that shows recent orders.
4. Locate and identify the item you want to delete by scrolling through your order history page. Take note of the order number or identify the item description.
5. Click the thing you want to delete’s Return or Replace Item button.
6. Under the Why Are You Returning This? section, select the reason why you want to delete the item.
7. Tick the Check box that concurs with your decision.
8. Click on the Submit button. Amazon will now send a deletion confirmation message to your email associated with the account.
9. Open your email and click on the confirmation link provided by Amazon to finalize your decision, and your Amazon account history will be updated.
Pros:
- Amazon provides confirmation via email before deleting the item. This confirms the transaction intention.
- It’s the easiest and most direct method.
- It’s the most effective at hiding your Amazon purchase history on the website even though Amazon retains a copy of your orders for reference purposes.
Cons:
- Amazon retains a copy of the item in its servers for order tracking purposes; therefore deleting the item is not guaranteed.
- The process is not immediate; it may take a couple of days for your purchase history to be updated.
- You can only proceed with the deletion process if the item hasn’t shipped.
Method 2: Deleting Items through Amazon Customer Care
If the first method doesn’t work due to the item being shipped or past delivery, contacting Amazon customer care support is an option you can consider. Amazon’s customer service is very efficient and always available to help, but it may take a bit longer than the first method. Here is how to delete items from Amazon order history via customer service:
1. Log in to Amazon on your PC or Mac.
2. Click the Account and Lists option on the top right corner of the homepage.
3. Scroll down and click on the Customer Service button.
4. Select the order you want to delete by clicking on it.
5. From the menu, click on the Contact Us button in the Customer Service section.
6. On the next page, you will be required to fill in details about your request. Select any option from the An Order I Placed drop-down menu.
7. Click the Select an issue and further select Need More Help and then Contact Us button.
8. Enter the issue in the dialogue box. Make sure to mention clearly that you want to delete a particular item from your Amazon order history.
9. Amazon may require more details about the shipment and the item itself. Respond accordingly.
10. In a few hours to several days depending on the number of requests, Amazon customer care will email you about the progress of your request.
Pros:
- Amazon customer care support is readily available 24/7 to help you with your request.
- You can delete any item listed in your Amazon account history.
Cons:
- The method can take a bit longer to process as Amazon representative contacts you for more information.
- You can only proceed with the deletion process if the item hasn’t shipped.
- Amazon retains records of your purchase history even after deletion.
Method 3: Deleting Items via Your Amazon Account Data Report
Amazon provides an account data report that includes your Amazon account’s purchase history. One option you have is to download the data report and filter out the items you want to delete. After deletion, you can upload the altered CSV file back to your Amazon account. Here is how you can delete items via your Amazon account data report:
1. Log in to Amazon on your PC or Mac.
2. Click on Account and Lists on the top right corner of the homepage.
3. Click on Download Order Reports from the opened menu.
4. Select the required Order Date Range, Report type, and File type you want to download.
5. Click on Request Report. Amazon will send a report to your email associated with the account.
6. Download the Amazon data report by clicking the provided link in your email.
7. Open the downloaded file using any spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.
8. Filter out the items you want to delete by searching for items with the order number or description and the purchase date.
9. Delete the filtered items leaving only the remaining purchase history data.
10. Save the edited CSV file on your computer.
11. Log in to Amazon, go to the Order History page, and click the Upload Order History CSV button.
12. Choose the newly saved CSV file and upload.
Pros:
- This method provides a full account download with a purchase history backup.
- You can edit the data report by choosing exactly what you want to delete.
Cons:
- A thorough understanding of spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets is required to manipulate data.
- Compromising Amazon’s downloaded CSV format may cause unintentional errors.
Why Can’t I Delete Items from Amazon Order History?
There can be various reasons why Amazon doesn’t allow deleting some items from order history. Here are some of the reasons you might encounter when trying to delete an item:
1. Item Has Already Been Shipped:
Q: Why can’t I delete my order history item after it has been shipped?
A: Once the item has been shipped, Amazon retains a copy for order tracking purposes. That’s why you can’t delete it from your purchase history.
2. Purchase Refund and Return:
Q: Can I delete an item from my Amazon order history if I refunded or returned it?
A: If you’ve already refunded or returned the item, you don’t need to delete it from your Amazon order history. The refund or return process automatically removes the purchase history.
3. Amazon Prime Membership:
Q: Why can’t I delete the free trial membership that automatically billed me for Amazon Prime?
A: Amazon retains an accurate record of Prime Memberships so they are recorded in your account history; that’s why you can’t delete them.
Additional Tips
1. Be Patient:
Although Amazon provides an option to delete items from your order history, the process sometimes takes several days to reflect accurately. Therefore, it’s crucial to be patient when waiting for Amazon to process your request.
2. Archive Orders:
Archiving your orders on Amazon is a quick way to remove them from your Amazon home page. To archive orders, go to your order history page and click the Archive Order option next to the item you want hidden. Archiving orders has no effect on your purchase history.
5 FAQs about Deleting Items from Amazon Order History
Q: Does Amazon keep a record of my deleted order history?
A: Amazon does not keep a record of deleted items.
Q: Can Amazon delete order history automatically after a certain period?
A: Unfortunately, Amazon doesn’t provide an automatic deletion option.
Q: Is it possible to hide a few items that I don’t want other people to see in my Amazon history?
A: If you don’t want people to see a few items in your Amazon order history, you can choose to archive them. However, they’ll still remain in your purchase history.
Q: Can I still get a refund for an item after I have deleted it from my order history?
A: No. Once you delete an item from your order history, your purchase record and eligibility for refunds and returns associated with that order history may be affected.
Q: Can Amazon customers delete all their order history permanently in one go?
A: Currently, there isn’t an option to delete the entire order history on Amazon.
In Conclusion
Deleting items from Amazon order history is not as challenging as it may seem. The methods mentioned in this article provide a great way to edit your purchase history on Amazon. Remember that patience is key when waiting for Amazon to process your deletion request. Now that you have several ways to delete items from Amazon order history, you can keep your purchase history organized and clean.