If you sell on Amazon using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), you expect the platform to handle your inventory with care. But mistakes happen—items get lost, damaged, or miscounted. When this occurs, Amazon is supposed to reimburse you. However, not all issues qualify for reimbursement, and sellers must follow strict rules to file claims.
Understanding the Amazon FBA reimbursement policy is crucial to ensuring you get back every dollar Amazon owes you. In this guide, we’ll break down the eligibility rules for reimbursements, common mistakes sellers make, and how to simplify the process with Refunzo.
Why does Amazon owe sellers money?
Amazon’s massive fulfillment network processes millions of products daily. While their systems are advanced, they’re not perfect. Some of the most common reasons sellers qualify for Amazon FBA reimbursements include:
- Lost inventory – Items disappear from fulfillment centers without explanation.
- Damaged inventory – Products get damaged while in Amazon’s possession.
- Customer return issues – A customer gets a refund, but the product is never returned or is returned in unusable condition.
- Overcharged fees – Amazon sometimes applies incorrect weight or storage fees.
- Miscounted inventory – Stock gets misallocated to the wrong seller or fulfillment center.
If any of these situations apply to your inventory, you might be eligible for a reimbursement—but only if you meet Amazon’s rules.
What qualifies for an FBA reimbursement?
To successfully claim a reimbursement, your case must meet Amazon’s strict eligibility rules. Here are the key factors Amazon considers:
- The issue must be Amazon’s fault
Amazon only reimburses sellers for mistakes they are responsible for. If a customer damages an item after purchase or a product was defective upon arrival at an FBA warehouse, you won’t qualify.
- The claim must be within the time limit
Amazon has strict deadlines for filing reimbursement claims. These time limits vary depending on the type of issue:
- Lost inventory – 18 months
- Damaged inventory – 18 months
- Customer return errors – 45 days
- Overcharged fees – 90 days
If you miss these deadlines, Amazon won’t refund you, even if they were at fault.
- The product must meet reimbursement conditions
Amazon reimburses sellers based on the fair market value of the item. However, the product must:
- Have been properly labeled and received by Amazon.
- Not have been previously reimbursed or written off as unsellable.
- Fall within Amazon’s category for eligible reimbursement items (some product categories are excluded).
If your product doesn’t meet these conditions, you won’t qualify for a reimbursement.
What does Amazon NOT reimburse?
While Amazon does refund sellers for some inventory issues, they also have a list of situations where no reimbursement is given. These include:
- Shipping damage by the seller – If you send a damaged item to Amazon, they won’t reimburse you.
- Incorrect labeling – If Amazon can’t scan your item because of labeling errors, you’re responsible for the loss.
- Expired or restricted products – Amazon does not reimburse for expired goods or products that violate their policies.
- Previously reimbursed items – If Amazon has already compensated you for an issue, you cannot file another claim.
Because of these restrictions, it’s important to double-check Amazon’s policies before submitting claims.
How to check if you qualify for an FBA reimbursement
Finding eligible reimbursement cases manually can be frustrating. Amazon provides several different reports in Seller Central, but identifying discrepancies requires hours of searching through inventory logs and transaction records.
The manual method
If you prefer to check your account manually, here’s what you need to do:
- Go to Seller Central and open the Inventory Adjustments Report.
- Compare your shipped inventory with received inventory to identify missing items.
- Review your Customer Returns Report to find return errors.
- Check your fee invoices to ensure Amazon didn’t overcharge you.
- Submit claims for eligible issues through Amazon’s support system.
This method works but is extremely time-consuming. That’s why many sellers prefer automation tools like Refunzo.
The easy way: Use Refunzo
Refunzo automates the reimbursement process, so you don’t have to spend hours checking reports. Here’s how it works:
- Sync your Amazon account – Connect your account securely in just a few clicks.
- Run a full scan – Refunzo checks your inventory and transactions for over 20 different types of discrepancies.
- Get a detailed report – See exactly how much Amazon might owe you.
- Choose how to proceed – File claims manually or let Refunzo handle them for you.
Why Amazon sellers trust Refunzo
Sellers who use Refunzo recover more money than those who check reimbursements manually. That’s because Refunzo’s automated system catches errors that are easy to miss.
Key benefits of using Refunzo:
- Saves time – No need to manually dig through Amazon’s reports.
- Finds every eligible claim – Maximizes your refunds by checking for multiple reimbursement types
- No upfront cost – You can scan your account for free.
- Easy claim management – Choose to file claims yourself or let Refunzo handle them for a small success fee (15%, capped at $5,000).
Don’t let Amazon keep your money
The Amazon FBA reimbursement policy is strict, and many sellers lose money simply because they don’t know the rules or miss the filing deadlines. Instead of letting Amazon keep funds that belong to you, take control of your reimbursements today.
Check your eligibility now with Refunzo—you might be surprised at how much Amazon owes you!
