FBA inventory reimbursement policy

If an item you send through the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service is lost or damaged at an Amazon facility or by a carrier operating on Amazon's behalf, we will replace the item with a new one of the same FNSKU or reimburse you for it.

To qualify for this policy, the following conditions must be met:

  • The item must be registered in FBA at the time it was lost or damaged.

  • The item must comply with FBA product restrictions and inventory requirements.

  • You must have shipped the exact items and quantities specified in your shipping plan.

  • The shipment for the item must not be in a canceled or deleted status.

  • The item must not be pending disposal or have been disposed of at your request or due to Amazon's rights.

  • The item must not be defective or damaged by a customer.

  • Your seller account must be in good standing when filing a claim, during the review process, and through any appeals.

See all possible Amazon FBA Inventory Management Tasks.

Hopted auto-imports Manage FBA inventory report data into Google Sheets.

Reimbursements

If Amazon determines that your reimbursement claim is valid, Amazon will replace the lost or damaged item with a new one of the same FNSKU or reimburse you for it.

If a reimbursement was issued in error, or if a reimbursed item is later found and returned to your inventory, Amazon reserves the right to reverse the reimbursement credit applied to your account.

Amazon may dispose of any item reimbursed under this policy, including by selling it. As a result, such items, including those found after reimbursement, may be listed for sale on Amazon Warehouse or other channels.

Calculation of reimbursement value

Important: The maximum reimbursement amount for a single unit of any Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)-eligible item is $5,000. For items valued above $5,000, Amazon recommends purchasing third-party insurance.

Since FBA item prices fluctuate over time and vary widely among sellers, Amazon compares several price indicators to estimate the sale price when calculating the reimbursement amount.

The key price indicators Amazon considers include:

  • The median price at which you have sold the item on Amazon over the past 18 months.

  • The median price at which other Amazon sellers have sold the same item over the past 18 months.

  • The current listing price you have set for the item on Amazon, or the mean list price if you have multiple listings for the same item.

  • The current list price for the same item from other sellers on Amazon.


If Amazon lacks sufficient data to calculate the estimated sale price using the above indicators, Amazon assigns an estimated sale price based on a comparable product's price. Amazon may request additional information or documentation to help determine this value.


If Amazon decides to reimburse you for a shipment claim to an Amazon fulfillment center, Amazon will reimburse you based on the estimated proceeds from the sale of that item.


Note: Estimated proceeds refer to the estimated sale price of the item minus Amazon referral fees and Amazon FBA fulfillment fees.


If Amazon chooses to reimburse you for a fulfillment center operations claim or a removal order claim, Amazon will reimburse you based on the estimated sale proceeds of the item unless the item was in unsellable condition when lost, damaged, or removed from the Amazon fulfillment network. For unsellable items, Amazon will reimburse you at a value consistent with the estimated proceeds from the discounted sale of the unit. Amazon may ask for additional information or documentation to determine this discounted value.


If Amazon decides to reimburse you for a customer return claim, the reimbursement value will be based on the refund or replacement provided to the customer for your FBA order. If Amazon refunded or replaced an item from your FBA order, Amazon will calculate the reimbursement value as the refund amount or the replacement item price on the original order, minus applicable Amazon fees.


If you disagree with Amazon's valuation of an FBA unit, you can file a claim through the Contact Us option in Amazon Seller Central within 90 days after Amazon has issued the reimbursement.

FBA inventory reimbursement policy: Shipment to Amazon claims

This section applies to items that are lost or damaged when you ship them to Amazon.

The process to a file a claim varies by where in the fulfillment process your item is lost or damaged:

Claim window
Once a shipment is shown as eligible for investigation in the Status column on the Contents tab of the Summary page in your shipping workflow, you can file a claim. You must submit your claim no later than nine months after the verified date of a shipment delivery to an Amazon fulfillment center or to a third-party facility operated on Amazon’s behalf. Claims submitted outside of this window are not eligible for reimbursement.

Before you submit a claim
Confirm that the shipment's contents and the number of units are the same as in the shipping plan you created.

  • Check the Contents tab to get detailed information about any discrepancies between your shipping plan and what the fulfillment center received. For more information, see Reconcile your shipment.

  • Check your Reimbursements report to see if you have already been reimbursed for the lost or damaged item.

Submit a claim
After reviewing and reconciling the reports above, if you still believe a lost or damaged item is eligible for reimbursement, you can file a claim. To submit a claim for lost units, use the Contents tab. To submit a claim for damaged units, open a claim through the Contact Us page in Seller Central.


When filing a claim for lost or damaged units, you must provide the following information and documents, and we may ask you to provide additional information:

  • Amazon shipment ID: You can find the Amazon shipment ID in your Shipping Queue.

  • Proof of inventory ownership: This will help identify any potential discrepancies that may have occurred. Some examples of acceptable documents are an invoice from a supplier, a receipt from another seller, or a signed packing slip if you are a manufacturer. The following information must be included in any documentation:

    • Date of purchase

    • Product names matching the lost or damaged items

    • Quantity

  • Proof of delivery:

    • For less-than-truckload (LTL) or full-truckload (FTL) shipments, a proof of delivery document showing the number of boxes in the shipment and the total weight when it was picked up by the carrier. The document must be stamped by Amazon, confirming that the shipment was received and signed for at the fulfillment center. Your carrier should have a copy of this document. This information helps verify that the entire shipment was picked up by your carrier and shipped as expected.

    • For small-parcel shipments, Amazon needs the active tracking ID, which the carrier can confirm for each package shipped. If you did not use an Amazon partnered carrier and did not provide the tracking information at the time you created the shipment, you must enter it before you can be reimbursed.


Once Amazon completes investigation of your claim, they will confirm if it is eligible for replacement or reimbursement. In some cases, Amazon may reconcile your shipment.

Note: You may file only one claim per shipment. Additional claims for the same shipment will be declined.

Sellers who generate a high number of shipping problems affecting Amazon receiving operations may be subject to additional investigation and monitoring. These actions could affect your Prime eligibility or result in delays to future reimbursements.

FBA inventory reimbursement policy: Fulfillment center operations claim

This section applies to eligible items that are lost or damaged by an Amazon fulfillment center or a facility operated on behalf of Amazon, after Amazon receives them from you.

These lost or damaged items are reported in your Inventory Ledger report.

The process to a file a claim varies by where in the fulfillment process your item is lost or damaged:

Claim window
You must submit your claim no later than 18 months after the date the item was reported lost or damaged in your Inventory Ledger report. Claims submitted outside of this window are not eligible for reimbursement.

Before you submit a claim

  • Check your Manage FBA Inventory report to confirm that the lost or damaged item was not found or restored to your inventory in a sellable condition or in a damaged condition for which Amazon was not at fault (for example, the item was defective).

  • Check your Inventory Ledger to confirm the date and adjustment code of the loss or damage to your items.

  • Check your Reimbursements report to see if you have already been reimbursed for the lost or damaged item. Search by FNSKU and date to filter the results.

Submit a claim
After reviewing and reconciling the reports above, if you still believe a lost or damaged item is eligible for a reimbursement, you can file a claim.

You may be asked to provide additional information such as the date or location (for example, the Amazon fulfillment center ID) of the loss or damage to your item.


For damaged items, enter the transaction item ID in the following tool to check your eligibility and file a claim. You can find the transaction item ID in the Inventory Ledger report.

FBA inventory reimbursement policy: Removals claims

This section applies to eligible items lost or damaged by Amazon or a carrier used by Amazon while removing your inventory from a fulfillment center to your returns shipping address. The item must not have been returned to you because you violated a program policy or other terms and conditions that apply to your use of any Amazon selling service. The damage or loss must have occurred after the item left an Amazon facility.

The process to a file a claim varies by where in the fulfillment process your item is lost or damaged:

Claim window
For items lost in transit to your returns shipping address, you must submit your claim no sooner than 14 days from the last confirmed movement of your removal shipment. For items damaged in transit, you may submit your claim as soon as you receive the items. All claims for items lost or damaged in transit must be filed within 18 months of the date the item was removed from the Amazon fulfillment network. For grading disputes, all claims must be filed within 30 days of delivery of the removal order to the return address.

Before you submit a claim

Submit a claim
After reviewing and reconciling the reports above, if you still believe a lost or damaged item is eligible for a reimbursement, you can file a claim.

When filing a claim for lost units, you must provide the following information and documents:

  • Amazon removal order ID

  • Shipment ID and active tracking ID or proof of delivery, which the carrier can confirm from the packing slip

  • ASINs/FNSKUs and quantities affected

  • LPN number

  • Images of the affected units

  • Images of the affected units' product packaging

  • Images of the shipping box

  • Explanation as to why you disagree with Amazon's grading of the disputed item (Amazon grading disputes only)

Enter the removal order ID in the tool from the link below to check your eligibility and file a claim. Amazon may ask you to provide additional information.

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/G9ZB3H4DP4H72U6R

FBA inventory reimbursement policy: Customer return claims

This page applies to items lost or damaged on your FBA customer order. Amazon must already have refunded or replaced the items on behalf of your seller account.

For information about how Amazon processes refunds, replacements, and returns, see the FBA customer returns policy.

Claim window
You can file a customer return claim no sooner than 60 days and no later than 18 months after the customer refund or replacement.

Note:

Sometimes a customer is refunded for your item, but the item isn’t returned to a fulfillment center within 60 days of the refund. When this situation occurs, in most cases we’ll charge the customer and reimburse you.


If a customer returns your item to a fulfillment center within 60 days of the refund, we’ll first determine the condition of the returned item. If the returned item is sellable, we’ll return the item to your inventory and will not reimburse you.

If the returned item is unsellable, we’ll determine who is responsible for the condition. If we find Amazon is responsible for an unsellable return, we’ll reimburse you and will not add the item back to your inventory.

Important:

  • Amazon does not accept responsibility and will not reimburse you for returned items that are damaged by a customer, are subject to recall, are defective or in violation of Amazon policies, or for other similar reasons. Items that fall into these categories are added to your unfulfillable inventory when they are returned.

  • Per Amazon returns policy, there are no reimbursements for refunded items that cannot be returned by customers, unless it is for a reason for which we take responsibility.

  • Amazon won’t reimburse you for any refund that you issue directly to a customer.

Before you submit a claim

  • Check your Manage FBA Returns report to see if Amazon refunded or replaced the item on your FBA order.

  • Check your FBA customer returns report to see if the refunded or replaced item was returned to your inventory.

  • Check your Reimbursements report to see if you have already been reimbursed for the lost or damaged item. To filter the results, search by the Amazon order ID.

Submit a claim
After reviewing and reconciling the reports above, if you still believe a lost or damaged item is eligible for a reimbursement, you can file a claim.

Enter the customer order ID in the tool from the link below to check your eligibility and file a claim. Amazon may ask you to provide additional details about the item.

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/G9N934L7Y4SFWPJ4

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