Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) offers the chance to sell products on Amazon’s worldwide marketplaces with many advantages. However, in such a big operation, there may be unpredictable situations, such as lost inventory and damaged shipments. 

These unfortunate events may affect both sellers and buyers, especially significantly causing revenue degradation for Amazon sellers. To overcome this issue, Amazon offers Amazon FBA reimbursements, which secure Amazon sellers.

What are Amazon FBA Reimbursements?

When inventory is lost or damaged under Amazon’s FBA system, it negatively impacts Amazon sellers and their bottom line. Sellers invest capital in their products, and any loss can lead to reduced profitability.

However, the consequences are not limited to revenue and profitability alone. Amazon’s platform is a search engine, and just like every other search engine platform out there, it prioritizes a user’s experience when ranking products.

When inventory is lost or damaged, it often results in a negative user experience and, consequently, negative reviews and feedback, disrupting a seller’s reputation and credibility on the platform.

To overcome this burden on Amazon sellers, Amazon reimbursement services compensate for discrepancies that occur in Amazon’s FBA system.

When Does Amazon Reimburse Sellers?

When inventory is lost or damaged within Amazon’s fulfillment network, Amazon reimburses sellers upon meeting specific requirements.

Amazon FBA Overcharge Fees Reimbursement

If you’re conducting business on Amazon FBA, you will be charged for all services within the FBA system. In the event of an overcharge due to an error, Amazon may reimburse the seller.

1. Storage Fees

Amazon charges storage fees based on the amount of space an inventory occupies in a fulfillment center. Errors in storage fees may arise from incorrect measurements, product size class, or miscalculations.

2. Order and Weight Handling Fees

Amazon charges for the process of picking and packing a seller’s products for shipment, known as order and weight handling fees. Incorrect measurements of a product’s weight and dimensions may lead to overcharging.

3. Removal and Disposal Fees

Amazon charges for the removal or disposal of inventory. Errors may occur if a product is not properly removed or disposed of, leading to overcharging.

Amazon FBA Inventory Reimbursement

Inventory reimbursements are one of the most common types of Amazon reimbursements. 

1. Lost Inventory

If a seller’s inventory goes missing during transit to fulfillment centers, while in storage within the FBA centers, or during the fba return process, the seller automatically becomes eligible for reimbursement.

2. Damaged inventory

If inventory becomes damaged under Amazon’s fulfillment network during fulfillment, customer returns, or storage, a seller may become eligible for reimbursement.

3. Inventory Errors

If discrepancies occur between a seller’s records and the actual status within the FBA center due to Amazon’s inventory management mistakes, the seller may become eligible for reimbursement.

How to file an Amazon reimbursement claim

When using Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program, Amazon sellers should file a reimbursement claim in the event of inventory or overcharging issues. 

Step 1: Identify the issue

Before filing a claim, review your inventory records and check for any discrepancies. Additionally, ensure you have evidence that the inventory was lost or damaged under Amazon FBA’s care.

Step 2: Check for reimbursement

Check the Reimbursement reports in your Seller Central account to see if Amazon has already issued a reimbursement for the issue.

Step 3: Locate shipments

You can locate the shipment in your seller account by navigating to the ‘Shipments’ section under the ‘Inventory’ tab. Here, you can find information about all your past shipments.

Step 4: Review the units expected

In the ‘Shipments’ section, you can view your shipping queue in the ‘Units Expected (units located)’ column. If there’s a discrepancy between the number of units you’ve sent and the number of units Amazon has received, there may be an issue with the shipment.

Step 5: Initiate research

You can initiate a ‘research missing units’ process for Amazon to locate your missing inventory. If Amazon can’t locate the missing units, you will become eligible for reimbursement.

Step 6: Provide documentation

To file a claim for damaged or missing units, you can contact Seller Support and provide the necessary documentation and evidence to support your reimbursement claim.

Step 7: Submit your claim 

Amazon provides specific instructions to submit your claim, which may involve filling out forms, providing documentation, and explaining the reason for the claim.

Step 8: Review the claim

Once you submit the claim, Amazon will initiate the review process, checking the provided information, documentation, and evidence.

Step 9: Reimbursement or replacement

If your claim is found to be valid by Amazon, your lost or damaged inventory will be either replaced by the Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit (FNSKU) or reimbursed for the same value.

How Does Amazon Calculate the Reimbursement Value?

If Amazon determines that your reimbursement claim is valid, they will calculate the reimbursement value.

As item prices tend to fluctuate over time, Amazon compares several price factors to determine an estimated sale price for each item. 

• Historical price: The median value at which you and other sellers have sold the item on Amazon during the last 18 months.
• Current price: The present listed price that you and other competitors have established for the identical item on Amazon, or the average list price if there are multiple listings for the same item by you and your competitors.

In the event that there is insufficient information, Amazon will assign an estimated sale price based on a similar product. 

The Best Way to Claim Amazon Reimbursements 

FBA auditing is a time-consuming process, and sellers must regularly check and compare their records with Amazon’s for each product. This involves verifying stock quantities and fees for each unit.

Then begins the process of filing claims, which includes time-consuming and sometimes challenging steps. However, your convenience is Refundget’s priority. 

Refundget conducts regular Amazon FBA audits, monitoring seller accounts and identifying any discrepancies that may be eligible for reimbursements. This allows Amazon sellers to focus on their business while Refundget ensures their business is never losing profit.