FBA inventory reimbursement is a process provided by Amazon to compensate sellers for lost, damaged, or otherwise compromised inventory handled by Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service. When you use FBA, Amazon stores your products in its warehouses, picks, packs, and ships them to customers on your behalf. Occasionally, issues can arise that lead to inventory loss or damage, and the reimbursement process is designed to address these situations.

When you use FBA, Amazon stores your goods in its warehouses and handles the picking, packing, and shipping of your goods to buyers. Reimbursement procedures are intended to handle circumstances where problems occur that result in inventory damage or loss.

Starting November 1, 2024, Amazon is making a significant move to simplify the reimbursement process for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) items lost in their fulfillment centers. With this update, Amazon will automatically issue reimbursements—accessible via the Reimbursements Report in Seller Central—immediately after an item is reported as lost. Sellers no longer need to manually research and file claims, saving valuable time and effort. This streamlined approach saves you time and reduces the administrative burden of handling inventory issues.

Alongside proactive reimbursements, Amazon is also refining its eligibility windows for manual claims to streamline the process further:

• Lost or Damaged Items in Fulfillment Centers: Sellers have 60 days to submit a manual claim after reporting an incident. This timeframe ensures that issues are addressed promptly and accurately.
• FBA Customer Returns: Customers can return items within a 60-day window, after which sellers can submit claims between 60 and 120 days following the refund or replacement date. This approach provides sufficient time to process and resolve return-related claims.
• Removal Claims for Items Lost in Transit: Sellers have a 15-day grace period for shipment delivery. Claims for items lost in transit can be submitted between 15 and 75 days from the shipment creation date, ensuring a comprehensive review period.
• Other Removal Claims: Sellers have 60 days from the shipment’s return to submit all other removal claims, facilitating efficient and timely processing.

These updates are designed to enhance efficiency and reduce your workload, helping you focus more on growing your business than managing administrative tasks. By proactively handling reimbursements and adjusting your processes to align with the new policy timelines, you can maximize your reimbursements and maintain smooth operations.

Stay informed, and review your current claims submission practices to adapt to the new policy. With these updates, managing your FBA reimbursements will be more straightforward than ever, allowing you to concentrate on what matters most—growing your business and serving your customers.

Remember, The FBA inventory reimbursement policy will be updated once the changes take effect on 23rd October 2024!

To support an FBA reimbursement claim, you must provide documentation such as invoices or receipts proving inventory ownership, shipment details like tracking information and proof of delivery, Amazon inventory records showing discrepancies, and any relevant correspondence with Amazon Support. Additional supporting materials like photos of damaged items or inventory reconciliation reports can also help strengthen your claim.

To get reimbursement from Amazon as a seller, identify any inventory discrepancies in your Amazon Seller Central account, then gather supporting documentation such as invoices and shipment details. Open a case with Amazon Seller Support, describing the issue and the necessary documents. Submit the claim and monitor the case for any follow-up requests from Amazon. The reimbursement will be credited to your seller account if your claim is approved.

To track the status of your reimbursement claim on Amazon, log in to Amazon Seller Central, navigate to the “Help” section, and then select “Case Log.” You’ll find a list of all your opened cases, including your reimbursement claim. You can check the status, review any responses from Amazon, and provide additional information if requested. Amazon will update the case log with the claim’s progress, and you’ll receive notifications when the case is resolved.

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