Amazon owes me money? Amazon sellers are charged a wide variety of fees, and with all of the moving parts of running an Amazon business, it is easy to lose track of overcharges or missing reimbursements.
The truth is…
Amazon Owes Most Sellers Money
As of the publishing of this article, 99% of Amazon sellers are owed a balance by Amazon.
Lost or damaged units (when some of your inventory gets damaged or misplaced at a Fulfillment Center) make up a large portion of funds owed to sellers, but there are actually a number of reasons beyond this common occurrence that may result in sellers being owed money.
Amazon sometimes destroys items, as done with disposals, accidentally or without permission. Sellers are also often owed money due to improper fulfillment, such as the wrong number of products or the wrong products being delivered. Other times, refunds are provided on returns, but customers never return items, and sellers end up footing the bill.
There have even been instances of partial (or complete) loss of inbound shipments, and if sellers follow up properly (and diligently), some funds can be reimbursed.
Amazon Owes Me Money
If nearly every Amazon seller is owed some amount of money, there’s an incredibly high probability that there may be funds owed to you right now.
So…How do you get your hands on it?
How Do I Claim Money From Amazon?
Amazon owes me money. How you request reimbursement depends upon the reason Amazon owes you money. Reimbursements on products damaged in a warehouse are handled differently than reimbursements on a refund issue. Some methods of reimbursement request require sellers to wait a certain amount of time, while others need to be filed ASAP.
Below are instructions for submitting reimbursement requests for the most common causes of funds owed to Sellers.
BONUS TIP: This can all get a little tricky to keep track of, so consider having a dedicated staff member working on reimbursements to ensure proper upkeep and organization. This is normally a part-time position, with dedicated hours specifically set aside to focus solely on reimbursements. If you’re unable to dedicate part-time staff to tracking and following up on reimbursements, there are agencies who handle reimbursements on behalf of sellers. Never go with an agency that charges an upfront fee - the best reimbursement agencies will charge a percentage of what they recover for you.
How To Get Amazon Reimbursements on Inbound Shipping Issues:
For issues related to inbound shipments to a fulfillment center, there are two ways you can request reimbursement.
- Open your shipment in the Shipping Queue tab in Seller Central. Then, click on “Contents.” This area will flag discrepancies, and will allow you to directly open a ticket.
- If, for some reason, your discrepancy is not showing in this area, open a standard support ticket with a detailed description of the discrepancy and a reimbursement request. Don’t forget to include the Created Date and ID!
How To Get Amazon Reimbursements on Customer Returns Issues:
Unfortunately, there’s a 60 day waiting period before being able to request a review and reimbursement on Customer Return claims. On day 61, double check to ensure that you haven’t been reimbursed and that the item hasn’t been returned to your inventory.
Once confirmed, click here to access the claim submission form (Seller Central login required).
Bonus Tip: Bookmark this blog so you can refer back to it.
How To Get Amazon Reimbursements on Fulfillment Center Issues:
There are two different forms used for submitting claims related to Fulfillment Center issues:
- One for damaged items
- One for lost items
Keep in mind that these are different from submitting a claim for lost inbound product.
Luckily, there’s a page that has both forms embedded onto it in one location, which you can conveniently locate at this link (Seller Central login required).
For damages, you’ll need to have your transaction ID handy. For lost units, you’ll just need your FNSKU.
The Claims Process, and Following Up
The above outline for claims submission is enough to get you or your staff members started on the claims process, but Amazon may require additional information from you in order to complete reimbursement requests. Remember, you’re pressing an enormous global company for money owed - it isn’t always a convenient or quick process to get your reimbursements.
You’ll want to keep detailed records of all interactions with Amazon staff and Seller Support inquiries, which should be set up to easily cross reference shipments, orders, and transactions.
For many sellers, working with an agency that handles reimbursements on a commission basis may be the most efficient and cost-effective way to ensure no money is left on the table.
Time, organization, and diligence are the key ingredients to successfully take back what’s yours and to beef-up liquidity and cash flow.
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