When customers request to return a product they bought via FBA, Amazon immediately takes the return funds from your upcoming disbursement and usually gives the customer a shipping label to return the item to the proper warehouse. Customers are on the honor system to return the item they no longer want within 45 days.
When Amazon receives the return from your customer, the warehouse worker will look at the customer’s return reason (more on those reasons below) and then make a split second decision on whether the item is still in sellable condition or not.
When customers return an item that is deemed by Amazon as “unsellable,” many sellers just click to have Amazon dispose of the item, assuming it’s not worth selling anymore. This is a huge mistake because it’s very possible the item could still be in sellable condition. Taking a few extra steps to see if that item is actually unsellable or not could help you minimize your loss. Many times the “unsellable” item can still be sold.
Here are the main “dispositions” (Amazon term) in which a customer will return an item and how to best respond to each:
1. SELLABLE RETURNS
Items that are returned as “sellable” will be automatically returned to your active inventory. Unless you’re worried that the item is actually not in sellable condition, there is nothing more you need to do once the item is indeed returned to Amazon. If you are worried that the item isn’t really in sellable condition, then open up a removal order to inspect the item yourself. Keep reading below to see what to do when a customer has been refunded but the item is not actually returned.
2. DAMAGED RETURNS
There are multiple reasons why an item would be returned as damaged. It’s possible that the item was damaged in a FBA warehouse prior to the shipping process to the customer. If the item was damaged in transit, then it’s the fault of Amazon (if the FBA worker did not pack the item well) or it’s deemed as your fault for not bubble wrapping or protecting the item before shipping the item to Amazon. It could also be your fault if you sent an already damaged item to Amazon. If it’s your fault, then there is no reimbursement, but if Amazon is to blame, then you are eligible for reimbursement.
3. CUSTOMER DAMAGED RETURNS
Items that are returned as “customer damaged” will not be returned to your sellable inventory. “Customer damaged” does not mean that the customer bought the item, broke it, and then is attempting to return it. “Customer damaged” means that the customer opened the item, and it is no longer in new condition. Sometimes the customer says they opened the item, but they never really did and it’s still in new condition. The best plan of action for these items is to open up a removal order and get them sent back to you. From there you can see if the item is worth being resold as new, like new, or very good condition.
4. CARRIER DAMAGED RETURNS
If the item was damaged in transit, then it’s the fault of the shipping company (like UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc) for not taking good care of the package during the shipping process. These returns are ones you should be reimbursed for as it was not your fault the item was damaged. Don’t open up a removal order as Amazon will not reimburse you for these if you request for the item to be returned to you.
5. DEFECTIVE RETURNS
The item was returned to Amazon as “defective” and is either obviously damaged/defective or the customer stated that it is faulty. When this happens, the FBA customer is refunded, but (when returned) the item stays in your inventory as “unsellable.” The best plan of action here is to create a removal order and have the item returned to you for inspection. Some buyers return an item to Amazon and say it’s defective in order to get free return shipping, but the item is not actually defective. I’ve had many “defective” items returned to me only to find that it’s still in brand new condition, some never even opened. If the item can still be sold, then I send it in to FBA again.
Important: If a customer claims an item is defective but in reality it’s not, then it’s up to you to protect your account and fix this false claim. Too many claims of “defective” can hurt your seller metrics and put your account in danger of suspension. Follow these steps if a customer falsely claims an item is defective in order to get a free return.
The majority of accepted customer returns are requested within 30 days of the original purchase. The main exception is after November 1st when Amazon gives the customer an extended return window that is open until January 31st of the next year.
After a return is requested, the customer has 45 days to return the item to Amazon. But what happens when a refund has been issued, but the item is never returned after 45 days? This is something that Amazon is supposed to monitor. Amazon should automatically reimburse you when an item is not returned, but this is not done 100% of the time. For some reason, some incomplete returns are missed. When this happens, you’ll need to be proactive and request a reimbursement. Just open up a new case with Seller Support and let them know that a refunded item was never returned. Amazon will investigate and eventually reimburse you. It’s your money, so be sure you get it.
To find out more about your returned items, log in to Seller Central and then click on Reports > Fulfillment > FBA Customer Returns.
Remember, the occasional return is just part of business and is nothing to worry about. Don’t ignore your unsellable returned items as they will just sit in an FBA warehouse and continue to rack up monthly storage fees. Take action and do what you can to get those items to become sellable or, at least, to make sure you get reimbursed for items that were never actually returned.
A few years ago, I sold a brand new teal colored Gameboy for about $350. A few weeks later I was notified that the item was refunded. I set up a reminder on my smart phone for 45 days later to check on the status of the return. When I found out that the item was never returned, I opened up a case with Amazon and was quickly reimbursed the full sales price (minus the Amazon FBA fees, of course). Double checking your returned items is worth your time.
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So what about you? Are you experiencing more returns than normal? Do you have a story about a returned item that you were able to recoup your losses on? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
*This post has been updated for 2023
Interesting!
This prompted me to go look at a very expensive item I sold that was refunded – over $400, much to my chagrin. Turns out that it is showing as “sellable,” but the customer said it was “defective.” I guess she just wanted free shipping back. It’s unlikely I’ll be able to sell it again, though, until Christmas, since it’s a specialty item.
Not just free shipping back to Amazon, Amazon still charges you, the seller, their share of fees, returned or not, Amazon’s fault or not. Say a customer returned a product just because amazon shipped it late, buyer got their full refund, your item get returned back to inventory, Amazon still will charge you their service fees, for a sale didn’t really take place due to their fault.
another great tip to use phone’s remind. Many thanks
Georgene, I’m glad that it was returned as sellable and not defective or damaged. At least you have that going for you… and with the small storage fees, it’s worth it to let it sit all year and pray for an “out of season” sale. I have those all the time!
You’re welcome DNTMb!
Is there a link to go to where we can review all the items that were refunded, to see if they have or have not been returned to Amazon?
SellerCentral > Reports > Fulfillment > Returns
In addition to monitoring for returned items, another important task is to verify you are given the proper reimbursement.
I sold four grocery items in three transactions to a customer. A month later the requested a refund, and 45 days later they still hadn’t returned the product. I was issued a reimbursement, but it was a fraction of the return amount, so I was still losing money and the customer had kept my products. I owned a case with Amazon and was issued an additional reimbursement.
It seems Amazon may keep commission on the refund reimbursement because the reimbursment never matches the refund given to the customer.
Usually, the refund we get is the amount that is refunded to the buyer minus the Amazon fees… so If the seller is refunded $20, but then never returns the item, then we’d be reimbursed around $15 ($20 minus the $5 amazon fees). If there is ever any big discrepancy, I always open up a case and ask amazon to explain why the reimbursement was so low, and they usually give me a little more. It never hurts to ask.
I find your information very helpfull.
Thanks Charlie Nave
Thanks for your kind words, Charlie.
Hi Stephen- Thanks for the article. One question: when I visit the returns report, it is only showing me the returns that have actually physically come back to the warehouse. It isn’t showing my items that were credited for return but haven’t come back. (i.e.- I received notification this week that a plush dog was credited to a customer as a return, but that dog isn’t showing up in the report.) There are several items like that missing from the report.
Do you know where I can see those items?
That’s correct. When you visit the returns report, it will only tell you the items actually returned. 45 days after the return was granted to the customer, you need to reconcile that with the email notifications that you get that “X” customer received a refund for “Y” item. It takes a little time, but you can compare the lists, and if you did not get the item actually returned to you, then you open up a case so you can get reimbursed. Hope this makes more sense. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Be sure to look at this blog post too: https://www.fulltimefba.com/how-to-check-if-returned-items-are-actually-returned-to-fba/
You can also go to Payments Summary | Transaction View and filter on “refunds” by date range or past number of days.
Great article, Stephen. Thank you for all the information that you are sharing. Q4 seems to bring not only big profits, but also unexpected losses: lost inventory; bad customer feedback for merchandise that arrived broken; customer damaged goods that cannot ever be sold again… I understand that this is part of the business and I wish I were better insured and better prepared for this. We started our FBA business in September and it seems like tho honeymoon is over. We are still full of hope and good marketing strategies, but the risks appear greater than we thought. It is a small consolation to know that other are experiencing this as well.
Overall, the risks are still shadowed by the amazing opportunity that selling on Amazon FBA provides. And most of what you mentioned above (if you sold it via FBA) is Amazon’s fault and they should fix things for you:
Lost inventory – Amazon should reimburse you.
Bad customer feedback for merchandise that arrived broken – This would be the fault of the FBA warehouse, so you could get that feedback removed.
Thanks for the information! I think a spreadsheet would be helpful here to track return notifications and then regularly/quickly compare to returns report.
Good idea!
Do you ever contact buyers to see what was wrong with the product? For instance, I sold a laptop back in December and the user even recently left positive feedback stating how much they loved it. About a week later got a notice for a return. This person had previously emailed asking some questions, so was thinking about reaching out to see what happened. Thoughts?
If I ever get a return, and I inspect the item that was returned, but can’t figure out what was wrong with it, I may ask the buyer, but most of the time I’ll just let it go.
Stephen, what do you recommend when the 30 days to return an item has passed and Amazon has initiated a refund? Do you open a case right away? Or wait to have the item returned?
It’s Amazon’s general rule not to accept returns if 30 days have passed (unless it’s after Q4, then the return windows is open until Jan 31), but if they do, then you just have to be ok with that. It’s not really the best use of your time to try and fight that. But do keep track if the item actually gets returned or not, and if it is not returned after 45 days then open up a ticket to get reimbursed.
Hi Stephen
Is the returns cause close your account
Are you asking “do returns cause Amazon to close your account?” My answer is only if they are because too many people said your item did not match the product description or because too many were defective. But you’ll get warnings before they just close your account.
Thanks for posting this Stephen, I recently started FBA and it’s been going well, but I’m already drowning in returns. I’m also concerned that some customers are actually returning products they bought years ago from other sellers, but in my new packaging, whilst keeping the new product for themselves. I doubt there’s anything I can do about this, almost impossible to prove. I am thinking of somehow marking my FBA stock so this can’t happen in the future.
If you suspect this is happening, take pictures and open up a ticket with seller support and let them see what’s going on. At least try to let them know what you suspect.
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Excellent month-by-month information in this text, Stephen has done a great job putting together very relevant info for sellers, and he updates it consistently (at no extra charge) too. 🙂
Thanks for the testimonial, Heather!
Hi Stephen, I’m curious about reconciling the returns report. Does this sound right to you:
– Downloaded all refunds given for a date range (say, 10/15/16 through 11/30/16 – Reports > Payments > Transaction View)
– Downloaded all returns received for the same date range (Reports > Fulfillment > FBA customer returns)
– Cross-checked Order ID to see if returns were received for orders given a refund.
Using this method, I confirmed that I did receive a return for all orders except one on the tail end. Did I do that right? And for the one on the tail end (11/30), they have until January 31 to return, correct? Thanks for your help!
That sounds like a good plan!
Accounting wise, how are returns, expired, damaged goods tracked?
If you use InventoryLab (https://www.fulltimefba.com/inventorylab) then they calculate everything for you. In you’re just using the numbers via Seller Central, they will adjust your numbers that pertain only to Amazon (fees, etc,).
what if a customer asked to return a product after the 30 day window and amazon granted their return. should the seller be responsible for the refund or we can ask amazon for reimbursement?
Totally ask Amazon for a reimbursement. If you don’t get your item back, you deserve a reimbursement.
What if they ended up returning it
So the 30 day passed then in the 60 day they initiated a return then return it. Should I be responsible for the fee?
I don’t think so.
Hi! Thank you for all of your information. It has been a great help to me!
Could you help me understand a few things?
If I am understanding correctly… a buyer really has up to 75 days to return items? 30 days to open the return and another 45 to ship it back?
Also, if Amazon initiates a refund and the buyer returns the item but misses the “deadline,” is the seller entitled to receive that money back or is the seller still out the cost of the item? Thank you!
It really depends on the category and when they buy it. Different categories have different return windows… and if an item is bought between October and December (holiday sales), then they can return it up until January 31st. You can see more details here: http://amzn.to/2mfYi0N
I recently ran the FBA Customer Returns Report and found a situation that the Customer Return Reason was “Damaged by Carrier”. However the disposition that the fulfillment center gave it was “Customer Damaged”. So we did not get reimbursed. When we received the item from our removal order, it was obvious that the manufacturer’s box was crushed. We have asked for reimbursement, however as of right now they are asking for more photos. The original person from Amazon that responded said since it was marked as Customer Damaged, he was not able to immediately give me the reimbursement. So be aware you should also verify that the fulfillment centers are marking returns correctly.
I have been going round and round with two returns damaged between the time they left my office and when they arrived to the customer. I can only explain myself clearly so many times before getting frustrated with canned answers and told that once a “defective” decision has been made it is final. They were books so it’s not hard to beat them up with improper handling or shipping from the warehouse.
Yes, this is a new policy that I don’t think will last too long with Amazon Right now, it seems as if Amazon is no longer reimbursing items where the customer marks the item as defective. Now, it’s the warehouse workers who are supposed to double check the items when they are returned to see if they are indeed defective or if they are in sellable condition. Unfortunately for us (sellers), these warehouse workers are pressured to make their decisions very quickly, and some just automatically agree with the customer’s claim of defective without double checking. You can try to ask for a restocking fee reimbursement from the Seller Central rep, but I’ve only see that work 10% of the time. It’s frustrating, but just part of doing business with an entity that changes as much as Amazon does. I don’t think this will kill off any sellers who are committed to making good money on Amazon, but it is just something new to be ready for and have plans in place on what you can do after not getting reimbursed. Like selling the item on ebay or other outlets. Ok, now I’ve basically outlined a blog post now… so I’ll probably turn this comment into a more detailed blog post sometime soon. Stay tuned!
What do your recommend if a customer contacts you and tell you that she lost the item and thinks it fit loosely in the other item. It snaps in. So she can’t return it as her friend lost it. I ship via FBA.
Blessings, rflores
If her friend lost it, then it’s still up to her to find it to return it. No returned item, no refund. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
A few weeks ago, I saw that Amazon gave a refund to a customer of mine, who purchased the item over 5 YEARS AGO. I called Seller Support asked why the customer returned it. They couldn’t ( or wouldn’t ) give me an answer.
They told me to wait the 45 days and see if the customer returns the item.
Is there anything else that I can do?
That’s nuts…. but they’re right, check back in 45 days and see if they return that item. Even if they do, make sure it’s in the same condition you sold it in.
Stephen,
Can you tell me how to set up an alert on your phone for this return that you mentioned below? Was it just a calendar note or is there some feature in the seller app, or in your phone that I do not know about? I have so many returns (high sales) I cannot imagine placing a calendar note for each item I should be checking.
“A few years ago, I sold a brand new teal colored Gameboy for about $350. A few weeks later I was notified that the item was refunded. I set up a reminder on my smart phone for 45 days later to check on the status of the return. When I found out that the item was never returned, I opened up a case with Amazon and was quickly reimbursed the full sales price. Double checking your returned items is worth your time.”
On high priced items, I set up a calendar reminder… on the smaller ones, I just let go. Right now, because the number of returns is too much to keep up with, I have a team do this for me here: https://www.fulltimefba.com/accountmanager
I had a towel returned as defective. When towel was returned to me, it was not even the brand I had sold and had clearly been used and washed numerous time. Not exactly sure how to handle this one.
Tell Amazon what happened and include pictures. This is called a “switcheroo.”
Hi! Thank you for the information in this post. When a customer gets a refund, Amazon seems to take more out of my account than what I made on it in the first place. For example, if an item was priced and sold at $25.00, and I got $17.49 after Amazon fees, then customer returns item, Amazon will take more than $17.49 out of my account. Is this something I should expect? Thanks!
Yes, there are fees with returns too that are added to the cost of your return. So Amazon will take your profits plus a return fee.
Thanks!
Hi Stephen – love your site and have been following you since I started FBA 1 1/2 years ago.
You mentioned above “Even if they do (return the item), make sure it’s in the same condition you sold it in.”
I have received items back from customers in damaged condition and obviously from there hand. For instance, I sell high-end makeup and just got an item back from my customer who bought it new. They returned it as an Unwanted Item, but it was Used and Damaged by them.
From my experience so far, Amazon will only reimburse me if the item is damaged in-transit by a carrier and not by the customer, which means I have just paid a customer to destroy and return a high-end item to me.
How do you handle situations like this?
Here is what to do:
1. Open a ticket and tell them that you had a new item sold that was returned used. Include pictures of the used item, the packing slip from the return box, and the return box label. Ask for a reimbursement as the item should not have been an accepted return as it violates Amazon’s return policy.
2. Expect a copy/paste response from Seller Support denying you of the reimbursement saying “we can’t reimburse items returned in customer damaged or defective condition.
3. Reopen the case as request the “escalate the case to a supervisor” and restate your situation as you did in step 1.
4. Most of the time, a supervisor will understand and reimburse you. Not all the time, but over half you’ll get reimbursed if the item was indeed used.
Hope this helps!
What do I do if a customer sends me a message through Amazon asking me to make a transaction right? They claim that they received an item damaged and insulted me as a seller. I use FBA so I only send in stuff that is new and not damaged in any way, to include the packaging. Should I refer him to initiate a return through Amazon?
If Amazon caused the issue, you can tell them that “this item was fulfilled by amazon, so please contact them directly and they can help fix this situation.”
I had a similar issue and Amazon ended up removing my listing. My supplier sent the product to my prep service, who sent it to Amazon FBA. It was New in Box. The customer complained that she received it half – full and returned it. I received ti back via removal order to examine it and could not find any reason why it would be half-full. I explained the whole situation to Amazon after they inactivated my listing and now I’m not allowed to sell it at all. I’m very disappointed since I follow-up on every issue and this was an isolate incident. I also otherwise have 100% positive review rating and no issues on my seller performance Amazon page. Do you have some insight in appealing such a decision? or how to pursue from here?
Did you send pictures of the item to prove that it was full? If so, then reopen the case and ask to “escalate the case to a supervisor” and hopefully they can better understand how to help you. If you can’t reopen the case, try opening a new one. If that doesn’t work, then you’ll just have to move on and mark it as loss. I hope the best for you.
No I didn’t because the bottle was half full when I got it back. There’s really no explanation for it. There was no leakage in the box. It either had to be a manufacturer defect or the buyer used it. That’s a pretty big loss to take given that it’s not just that one item. They will no longer let me sell that product at all. I have sold this same product with no issues for months.
More great information! I didn’t think about defective claims and how they would negatively impact our account. Should we worry about “Defective” Disposition when it was not the customers return reason? Not even sure how that happened. Maybe a busy warehouse employee.
Anytime I see an item that was claimed to be defective, that is not defective, I defend my account by communicating to seller central that it was not defective with proof (pics, video, etc.)
What I’ve come away with from this issue, is that I need to be able to provide Amazon with the “correct answer” which I was obviously not giving them to their satisfaction. I will chalk this up as a good learning experience and if I should find myself in the same situation, I would reply in a way that would satisfy their need to ensure that this problem would not happen again in the future.
Thanks Stephen! Great info as always! Do you have any further info or advice on food items/products? I’ve recently noticed a lot more food item returns that Amazon is reimbursing the customer for but then not expecting a return of the product. (Which I understand). The reason is even often listed as damaged during transit/shipping. Then when I ask about it or open a case after 45 days, Amazon says they don’t reimburse us for food products. This is particularly problematic on holiday/seasonal food items which I sell a lot of. Any similar experiences or advice? This seems like a “newer” or increasing problem. Thanks!
It’s true that Amazon does not want the customer to actually return the food to the warehouse, and so this is just a part of business that you need to work into you business model. It stinks, but anyone selling food deals with this issue. Just hope it doesn’t “eat” into your profits too much. 😉
I’ve had a couple of items I sold refunded to the customer because of “shipping address undeliverable.” Does this really mean UPS couldn’t find their address and the item is being sent back to Amazon?
Yes! Sometimes the address is in a gated community and the person ordering didn’t give instructions on how to enter the neighborhood…. or another reason is because the delivery guy didn’t see a safe place to leave a shipment box and no one was home. Lots of reasons why… and it’s frustrating, but rarely happens. When it does happen, it’s usually during Q4. Hope this helps.
We have received some returns back however we cannot find where the return authorization (which is on the shipping label) is listed in Seller Central so we can determine which order the return is from.
Can anyone help?
Can you tell us what charges Amazon keeps when an FBA item is returned? Do they keep :
Referral Fee on Item Price
FBA Pick & Pack Fee
Refund Administration Fee
Or do they give the referral fee back?
You can find out this information in Seller Central, Payments, and then you can sort by fees.
How to handle returns that are past 30 days and labeled as defective?
Not within holiday period.
These are good will concessions to the customer given by amazon.
I have inspected the items and they are indeed defective.
I keep getting the same canned response:
And as the order was returned under the disposition as “Defective” disposition as per the policy we are unable to issue reimbursement for the damaged/defective units.
I once spoke to a rep who said good will concessions are reimbursable, In the past I have had success in getting reimbursed but not lately.
Yes, Amazon’s current policy is to not grant reimbursements to sellers when customers return an item and claim an item is defective. This is a “copy and paste” reply, so the next step is to open this case up again and ask to “escalate the case to your supervisor” and maybe the supervisor will better help you. It’s not a 100% guarantee that it will work, but it’s worth a shot if the reimbursement is worth the time involved in continuing with this case. I’d say I’m successful in this about 25% of the time for getting reimbursed from a return that the customer claims is defective that is past the return period. Hope this helps. More on this: https://www.fulltimefba.com/magic-words-communicating-seller-central/
Hi Stephen. For damaged or lost item we never had to talk to anyone on the phone. In fact, we only need to email Amazon US (and now UK) to get reimbursement for missing/lost/damaged items inventory. We rarely us the automated reconcile tool. We just send a regular ticket to support.
Subject line: Please investigate shipping ID 1234xyz for missing items
Body: Please investigate shipping ID 1234xyz for missing items and please reimburse if needed.
That’s all we did and we almost always get reimbursed.
I use a company called V-Trust to do my pre-shipment inspections. They have an exclusive checklist for Amazon FBA. Never had any problems since I met them last year while in China. Highly recommended!
I am new to a company that sells on Amazon and we have a lot of boxes from my predecessor with returned merchandise that is no longer in a condition to be resold. In addition a lot of merchandise was returned to us that is not our merchandise but put into our product boxes then returned to us. My question is how long ( months a year) is the cut off for opening cases to get money back on these items?
Regards
Angelo
I don’t know. It’s worth trying to see if they will reimburse you. Try one and see how they respond.
I recently got an email saying that I had 30 days to remove an item, then when i tried to create a removal order it wouldnt let me saying it was pending to be “detroyed” and i could not cancel it. 2 days later i got confirmation that it was destroyed. I opened a case and called customer support. they said it was a return that was unsellable because customer claimed they received it damaged ( it’s a $250 discontinued toothpaste) another returned it, likely after removing the new toothpaste and sending back their old emoties. Amazon said that there was nothing they can do since it was damaged. How is this possible? They gave me 30 days to request a removal (which they wouldnt let me do because it was already pending to be destroyed) then destroy it in 3 days and say sorry.
Yes, this is something Amazon does with any type of consumable grocery or health/beauty item. In fact, they usually tell the customer to keep it since it’s illegal to resell “used” grocery or health/beauty items. This stinks but it’s just part of doing business with items that are ingestible or are health/beauty product. You could ask for a reimbursement for the item that was destroyed.
Have you ever seen in your Orders / Manage Returns (Manage FBA Returns) page that the Return Status says “Complete” and “Return Not Expected”? In those cases, our customer received a full refund but were not required to return the product back to Amazon. I can understand on possibly some inexpensive item where Amazon didn’t want to pay for return shipping of an item. Sucks for us, but I understand. We usually just chalk it up to a small added cost of business. However we have now found several high priced items ($80-100) that they did not require returned. We had 6 of these high priced items returned in the past 9 months. Any advice on fighting this? Some were of the same product, so I do not think it was a one time thing. It appears to be related to the product itself. I do know as a customer lately I have been told to keep an item I was attempting to return. At least one of those I tried to return was to an FBA seller so I have been on both sides.
If Amazon did not require a buyer to return the item, then (unless it’s a grocery or health/beauty item) they will eventually reimburse you for this item. Use this to help you if you don’t know what to do: https://www.fulltimefba.com/how-to-check-if-returned-items-are-actually-returned-to-fba/
I’ve had a different issue and that is Amazon crediting six of my sellers for items where Amazon missed the fulfillment dates. Surely they’re responsible for that aren’t they? Thanks!
If the customer returns the item, it will go back into your inventory. That’s why Amazon took back the funds for the sale of the item. If the customer does not return the item, then after 45 days, Amazon is supposed to reimburse you and you’ll get your funds back.
Hi Stephen
Can you tell me – are ALL returns in which the customer has obviously opened the box categorised as “customer damaged” or does it only apply to some things? We are based in the UK and we are considering using FBA to supply fabrics in the US. The fabrics will be in pre-cut lengths and sent out in boxes. My concern is that I don’t want to loose the value of all the stock if a box has merely been opened, the fabric taken out and then put back in the box again.
Your advice would be much appreciated.
Only if the customer tells Amazon that they opened it… and then it’s marked as “customer damaged.” So even if they didn’t open it, but told Amazon they did, then it’s marked as “customer damaged.” The fact that they open the item, take it out, and put it back in doesn’t mean anything to Amazon’s system… only what the customer says they did. And most who do open it, will say they did, but it’s not 100% all the time a perfect system. I hope this helps.
That is correct. Grocery items, or anything that you either consume (like food, or toothpaste) or put on your body (like lotion) can not be returned. It’s a pain, but just something to need to work into your business model. It’s not safe to resell a box of cereal or skin cream because someone might have tampered with it. It’s a safety issue.
Hi Stephen,
Would you kindly update the following statement “Important: If a customer claims an item is defective but in reality it’s not, then it’s up to you to protect your account and fix this false claim. Too many claims of “defective” can hurt your seller metrics and put your account in danger of suspension.”
Amazon no longer reimburses for defective returns. The return disposition is so common nowadays that it does not “hurt your seller metrics.”
Please update this. Thank you.
I’m not saying you can get reimbursed for items the customer says are defective. I’m saying in that quote you copied/pasted that if a customer claims you sent an item that was defective, and if you can prove it’s not, to just communicate with a Seller Rep your evidence that the item is not defective. See if the Seller Rep can remove that defective “ding” from your account. Too many defective “dings” could lead to poor Seller Health and a possible suspension. You might not be able to see in you Amazon health any report of defective claims, but Amazon counts and keeps track of A LOT of seller metrics that we don’t know about. Defective sales is one of them. It’s better safe than sorry to try and protect your Amazon account with this tip.
Hi Stephen,
How do you contact the Seller Rep, or the customer? it seems like Seller Central is made to keep people from contacting anyone at all.
Hi Stephen,
I want to know about the issue of Amazon labeling. There is a protective film on the surface of my product box. If I directly paste a barcode on the protective film, the buyer will tear off the protective film before returning the product. Since the barcode label and the protective film have been torn off together, can the product be restocked for sale? Will Amazon warehouse staff help me fill in the product barcode? Or should I just remove the protective film and stick the barcode on the box?
If the customer removed the protective film with the FNSKU barcode on it, and then returns the item, Amazon will give that item the status of “customer damaged” which basically means “customer opened.” The item can no longer be sold in new condition anymore. It will go into stranded and you’ll need to remove it. When you get the item retuned to you, you can see if you can sell the item as used/collectible like new in order to still try to get some capital back. Hope this helps.
Hello Stephen! Thanks for all the great info. on your blog and podcast. I’ve been an FBA seller since December and have had a few returns. I wanted to use your strategy of reaching out to the buyer with a personal message like what you have in the blog post above, but it looks like Amazon has limited how sellers can contact the buyer.
I can contact the buyer with a “refund/replace message” (which I cannot edit) or with a “shipping problem with order” email, which I can edit. But the shipping problem with the order situation doesn’t apply here. Do you know if Amazon has changed since this post was published, or am I just looking in the wrong place?
We try to keep the post updated as much as possible. We don’t use “shipping problem with order” because that’s not what is going on. Just use the right option to contact the customer, and if the customer has oped out of seller communication, then there is nothing more to do about it. The fact that many customers have opted out of seller communication is why we have automated the process of asking for feedback and asking if the order arrived as expected. We use Feedback Genius via Seller Labs Pro… and if the customer replies to the messages, then we can communicate with them. Hope this helps. https://www.fulltimefba.com/genius Use code GOPROSMO for a discount.
Ok so I had a return that I had shipped back to me so I could see what was wrong with it. I noticed right away that half of the items in the package were missing and the label was not over the existing bar code. I am VERY diligent about labeling properly. I know that was not my labelling! I think the customer took the pieces they wanted and returned for refund…pissed I am
You can open a case and tell this to seller support and they might reimburse you. Tell Seller Support that the customer did not return the complete item.
Hi Stephen!
How do I find the shipping cost Amazon will charge for sending the inventory back to me?
If it’s a $15 item will I minimize my loss more by just having Amazon dispose of it?
Thank you so much!
Here is the breakdown of what Amazon charges for removing or disposing an item: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/G9W7FVTLY343ZBKN
Thank you for the great tip! My question is when I download all of these reports in your instructions- I sell hundreds of the same ASIN so How can I cross compare what actually came back and did not because one report has the orig order number and the detail report does not show the order number?
Yeah, there’s not an easy way to check this and you’ll just have to remember that this item was returned in case you have an issue with Amazon in the future about this item (pretty rare, but sometimes happens). If they do reach out and claim you did something wrong, then you can reply that the item was retuned and it might actually be the fault of the Amazon worker who accepted the return in the warehouse.
The only thing I’m getting returns on right now are Christmas tablecloths. Can’t imagine why that would be…you used it for your party now you’re done with it? I feel like a party rental store.
Do some people take advantage of Amazon return policy and are dishonest with their return… yes. But it’s super rare, and there is no way to know for sure. It’s just a part of doing business and we need to work things like this into our business model. for more on this, check out: https://www.fulltimefba.com/amazons-return-policy-good-or-bad-for-fba-sellers/
Hi Stephen, we have a lot of ‘Customer Damaged’ inventory at FBA and some references ‘Customer Returns’ and some reference ‘Warehouse Transfer’. For the ones that are Warehouse Transfer should we not get reimbursed for those as damage was from Amazon? Customer Damaged as linked to Customer Returns makes sense but Customer Damaged linked to Warehouse Transfer does not.
Warehouse transfer just means that sellable items are being moved from one warehouse to another… and that does not mean they are damaged or need of reimbursement. They’ll go to their new warehouse soon and become active again sometime soon.
I want to try selling on Amazon with their FBA option. But, quick question, if you sold a new unopened product (Switch) and a customer opened it, damaged it then returned it – how do you recover from the loss since now it’s no longer brand new? Would amazon reimburse a seller if you can prove it was sealed and brand new prior somehow? Do sellers need to get insurance to cover yourself?
After the customer returns the item, you could always open up a ticket with Amazon to request a reimbursement. It’s kinda iffy if you’ll actually get the reimbursement as Amazon understands that even sealed, a product might be damaged already and there is no way to prove that the customer damaged it. So, it’s something you need to work into your business model… as all stores (online and retail) have to worry about this issue and work this into their business models. I hope this helps… even though it’s not the most fun answer.
Hey Stephen,
Good article! I learned a few new things from it.
What brought me here was a question I can’t seem to find an answer to. Maybe you could point me in the right direction.
I had a buyer return an item worth $200 and Amazon marked it as “customer damaged”. After 30 days, Amazon has yet to send it back to me even though my settings are set for them to send all returns back to me. I always get them back. However, this one item has gone radio silent.
I can’t just let this slide given it’s value. And, the buyer marked it as “accidentally ordered the wrong item” so I feel I have a shot that it’s in decent condition.
What would you do in this situation?
I tried messaging Seller Support about it, but they just summarize what I told them and spit it back at me in their own words.
Is there something I can do that maybe you’ve been successful doing in the past?
Do you see a removal order for that item in your orders? If not, then try to manually remove it via seller central from your inventory?
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