Even Amazon make mistakes. With more than 2 billion marketplace items shipped through FBA every year, even a tiny percentage of errors really adds up. Those could be overcharging of FBA fees, lost inventory, incorrect customer refunds and more.
Amazon pick up some of those mistakes themselves, but others slip through the cracks. You could be owed money for issues that you know nothing about.
So how do you go about finding them and getting a refund? There are a number of methods, and we will cover them all here, including third-party services that automate the whole process for you.
When can I get a refund from Amazon FBA?
Amazon make mistakes all the time. Unless you’re diligently calculating your outgoings every day, you might never know. Essentially, you could be entitled to a refund if Amazon are responsible for events including:
- Items destroyed without your request or permission.
- Customers refunded more than they originally paid.
- Orders for which the weight fee or dimensional fee has been overcharged.
- Items lost or damaged in Amazon’s warehouse that have not been reimbursed.
- Replacements sent to the customer, but the original item was never sent back.
- Amazon saying it has reimbursed you for a return when in fact it has not.
Some of these might sound unlikely, but they really do happen! Amazon do sometimes lose or damage items in storage, and they do refund items which are never returned, for example.
The scale of Amazon’s operation is enormous, so losses and damages are bound to happen from time to time. These errors, if undetected, lose you money and impact your bottom line. Remember that using FBA makes you Amazon’s customer, and you are well within your rights to be refunded for any losses or miscalculations.
Because these problems happen out of sight, and can only be found by downloading and cross-referencing various reports, it’s very easy to miss them. Many small losses really add up and over the course of the year you could be owed thousands of dollars or more.
How do I claim a refund of Amazon FBA fees?
There are a number of methods you can use to look for FBA errors, and claim a reimbursement from Amazon:
- Do it yourself
- Hire a virtual assistant
- Use an automated tool
1. Do it yourself FBA fee refunds
The cheapest method is to do it all yourself, manually – without any software automation. The main downside, of course, is that it can be time-consuming, complex and easy to get wrong. You don’t want to spend hours cross-referencing reports, then end up sending invalid claims into Amazon.
Unless you are very proficient in understanding Amazon’s reports, and how they relate to each other, it is best to follow a guide that explains exactly what to do, such as this $39 eBook by Ryan Grant.
A good guide will walk you through each step and provide expert advice. You will download reports from Seller Central, then cross-reference them in Excel, so you will need at least a basic level of proficiency in crunching data. If you hate dealing with spreadsheets and lookup formulas, this is probably not the right method for you.
Note that simply finding claim opportunities and submitting cases is only part of the process. Amazon is increasingly rejecting claims, or making only a partial refund, so understanding how to respond and challenge Amazon’s decision is an important skill to maximize refunds.
2. Using a VA to claim FBA refunds
The second option is to hire a virtual assistant. This is somebody who you can potentially outsource all the manual work to, from downloading the reports and cross-referencing the data, to making the claims via Seller Central.
The big benefit here is that you don’t have to do it yourself. All the repetitive tasks can be handled by the VA.
The obvious downside is that you will have to pay them! They will also have to understand how to find FBA mistakes, and claim the refunds in the correct way. If they don’t know to do it, you will have to train them thoroughly. This is not a job to be done in a slapdash way – it’s all about accuracy.
You could use a VA just to analyze the reports, and give you the data on potential claims, so you can submit cases through Seller Central yourself. That way you can look over what they have done before you take the intimidating step of asking Amazon for your money back. You might also not want to give your VA that level of access to your seller account.
Using a VA to find FBA reimbursements can be cost-effective, but it’s most suitable for sellers who already understand how to do it themselves, but would like to outsource the time-consuming data analysis. If you want a more hands-off method, an automated tool might be a better fit.
3. Using FBA reimbursement tools
Automated FBA refund services are the easiest way to get reimbursed for Amazon’s mistakes, but can also be costly.
These services also vary in the level of involvement you have. Some focus on the data analysis work and leave the claims to you, while others take on the entire process including claims submission.
Usually you give them access to your Amazon reports, then they crunch the numbers and calculate the potential FBA fee refund you are entitled to. If you like the idea of being completely hands-off, you can use a service which makes the claims as well. If you prefer to have more control, look for a service that gives you the data so you can make the claims yourself.
Your decision depends on:
- How much you are willing to spend
- How much time you have to spare
- The level of confidence and trust you have in the service
If you are busy, and find a service you really trust, you might want to let them handle everything. If you have the time to file claims yourself, and want full control over what’s in those claims and how they are made, you only need a service that cross-references the data and tells you what it finds.
Note that Amazon requires documentation for some claim types to be submitted, such as inbound shipment errors. This helps prevent unsubstantiated cases, but also means that you will need to find and upload delivery documentation to support these cases – the process cannot be handled entirely by the reimbursement service.
Prices vary, but usually these services are commission-based so they take a cut of the reimbursement. Some want to be paid upfront, while others only charge after you have received the refund.
What tools are available for FBA fee refunds?
At a glance
Name | Price | Features |
---|---|---|
25% success fee |
Established 2012 Cases are reviewed manually Submits claims for you |
|
25% success fee |
Established 2015 Claims are reviewed manually Submits claims for you |
|
25% success fee |
Established 2017 Provides claim text and data Submit your own claims or they can submit for you |
1. Refunds Manager
Refunds Manager is the veteran of FBA refund tools, established in 2012. It has secured reimbursements for Amazon sellers of all shapes and sizes, up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Refunds Manager is very easy to use, as it finds the refund cases and submits the claims manually using its own in-house team. It’s completely hands-off for the seller, but that means you don’t have much control over the process.
It’s free to get started with Refunds Manager. After signing up, you enter your MWS IDs and authorization token, then Refunds Manager downloads the reports it needs from Amazon. Cases are identified automatically, but then reviewed manually, for both efficiency and accuracy.
You can check on progress through the Refunds Manager website. Once submitted to Seller Support, each claim is given a Case ID which allows you to check when the refunds go through. You can also track your refund claims through Seller Central, by looking at your open support cases and account statement.
Refunds Manager waits 30 days for lost shipment cases, and at least 45 days for other Amazon reimbursement claims. There is no commission to pay on reimbursements that Refunds Manager did not claim themselves. It only submits support cases when Amazon have missed the issue themselves.
There is a 25% commission rate, billed after the reimbursement is deposited in your account by Amazon, so you only pay for successful claims.
2. GETIDA
GETIDA was founded in 2015 by Amazon sellers Max Borin and Yoni Mazor and has now grown to audit over $2 billion of transactions annually.
The system operates in a similar way to Refunds Manager, analyzing your data behind the scenes and then passing potential claims to a case manager who submits cases on your behalf. GETIDA’s service supports every Amazon marketplace worldwide.
It’s free to sign up to GETIDA, and reports are downloaded directly from Amazon after providing your credentials. Your data is then audited for a total of 26 different FBA claim types covering returns, warehousing, accounting, shipping and more. Initially the past 18 months of transactions are audited.
A dashboard is provided, showing insights into your data and also GETIDA’s progress in filing claims and obtaining reimbursements. If sellers file their own claims outside of GETIDA’s system those are kept separate and not charged for.
GETIDA charges a 25% recovery fee after reimbursements have been successfully processed by Amazon. There is no fee for rejected claims and the service can be cancelled at any time.
3. Seller Locker
Initially, Seller Locker works much like Refunds Manager. You register, then provide your MWS API credentials so Seller Locker can download your data.
Once the download has finished, a number of tools are provided to help you manage your reimbursement cases. Sellers can use the data provided to submit their own claims, providing full control over the process, or Seller Locker can submit claims on your behalf.
Whichever option is taken, Seller Locker then tracks the cases you submit, so you can see the progress of your reimbursements.
Seller Locker also has a Pick and Pack Fee Manager. This is unique to Seller Locker and compares your actual product dimensions against the dimensions calculated by Amazon’s warehouse scanners, when an FBA order is shipped. It can then identify overcharging and help you file refund claims.
Finally, Seller Locker also provides a free, accurate FBA fee calculator so you can check the fees and estimate your profits, before sending products into FBA. Seller Locker only supports the Amazon US marketplace currently, but there are plans to add the UK, Europe, Canada and Japan.
Seller Locker charges a 25% commission, billed after reimbursements are received.
Which FBA reimbursement method is right for you?
There are different ways of getting your money back for mistakes that Amazon makes while your inventory is in FBA. You can do it all yourself, but there is a lot of data to process and cross-reference. Accuracy is key and this approach will not be right for sellers who are not comfortable working in Excel.
Outsourcing FBA reimbursement claims to a VA could work, but it might be better to use someone who is an expert with this process rather than a typical VA used to simple tasks like data entry. An expert will cost more, and might be hard to find, but they should get the job properly.
You could instead use one of the more automated FBA refund services. The three we have covered – Refunds Manager, Seller Locker and GETIDA – vary in how they function, but the principle remains the same. They automate the process of analyzing 18 months of data from your seller account, to try and find problems that occurred but you have not been compensated for.
Always remember, that as a user of FBA, you are the customer. You pay Amazon for a service and if they have got it wrong, you are fully entitled to have that money reimbursed.
Amazon are a big, intimidating partner to work with, but even they have to play by the rules.
This article was first published in June 2018 and last updated in February 2021.
Quoting #3 - "AMZRefund says they will pay back the commission on any claims that Amazon turns down, so you won’t be out of pocket."
Ironically, who is going to check to make sure they pay back the commission? Do we need another app for that? LOL