Amazon FBA Reimbursement: How to Recover Money Amazon Owes You
Most Amazon FBA sellers are owed money by Amazon right now — and don’t know it. Lost inventory, damaged units, overcharged fees, and incorrectly returned items create a constant stream of credits that go unclaimed. Understanding Amazon FBA reimbursement claims is one of the highest ROI activities a seller can do, especially as your inventory volume grows.
What Amazon Owes You Reimbursements For
1. Lost Inventory at Fulfillment Centers
Amazon misplaces inventory during receiving, storage, and order processing. When units disappear, Amazon is required to either locate them or reimburse you at the estimated selling price (minus FBA fees). You must file a claim after giving Amazon 30 days to locate the inventory.
2. Damaged Inventory (Warehouse Damage)
Fulfillment center employees and equipment damage products during storage and order processing. If the damage is Amazon’s fault and not the manufacturer’s, you’re owed reimbursement.
3. Customer Returns Not Returned to Your Inventory
When a customer returns an item, it should be returned to your sellable or unsellable inventory. Sometimes it disappears — the customer gets refunded but you never get the unit back or a reimbursement. Amazon calls these “returnless refunds” or sometimes the unit simply goes missing post-return.
4. Items Destroyed Without Permission
Amazon is supposed to notify you before disposing of inventory. Sometimes units are destroyed without proper authorization or without reimbursement being issued.
5. Inbound Shipment Discrepancies
You ship 200 units; Amazon checks in 185. The 15 missing units may have been lost during receiving. You’re owed reimbursement for the difference after allowing Amazon time to locate them.
6. FBA Fee Overcharges
FBA fulfillment fees are based on product weight and dimensions. If Amazon miscategorizes your product as larger or heavier than it actually is, you’re overcharged on every single order. This is common and often goes undetected for months.
7. Incorrect Refunds Given to Customers
Amazon sometimes issues refunds to customers without receiving a return, or issues multiple refunds for a single order.
How to Find Your Reimbursements
Manual Method (Free)
Pull these reports from Seller Central:
- Inventory Adjustments Report (Fulfillment → Inventory Adjustments): Shows all inventory lost, damaged, or disposed. Filter by “Lost” and “Damaged” reasons.
- FBA Customer Returns Report: Compare returns received to refunds issued. Flag any refund where you didn’t get the unit back.
- Received Inventory Report: Compare what Amazon checked in against your shipping plan. Any shortfall under 2% won’t be reimbursed; above that, file a claim.
- Fee Preview Report: Check dimensions/weight Amazon uses for fees vs your actual product measurements.
How to File a Claim in Seller Central
- Go to Seller Central → Help → Contact Us → Selling on Amazon → FBA Issue → Fulfillment by Amazon
- Select the relevant category (Lost Inventory, Damaged Inventory, etc.)
- Provide the ASIN, FNSKU, date range, and number of units affected
- Attach supporting data from the reports above
- Amazon reviews within 3–7 business days
Reimbursement Claim Windows (Don’t Miss These)
- Lost/damaged inventory: 18 months from the date of loss or damage
- Inbound shipment discrepancies: 9 months from shipment delivery date
- Customer return issues: 60 days after the last day of the return window
- FBA fee overcharges: 90 days from charge date
These are hard deadlines. Missing them means forfeiting your claim permanently.
Automated Reimbursement Services
For sellers doing $10,000+/month in revenue, the manual process becomes time-consuming. Third-party services audit your account automatically and file claims on your behalf:
- GETIDA: Most popular. Performance-based — you pay 25% of recovered amount. No upfront cost.
- Helium 10 Refund Genie: Included in Helium 10 subscription. Identifies claims; you file manually.
- Seller Investigators: 25% commission on recovered funds.
- Carbon6 (formerly Seller Locker): Fixed monthly fee option available for high-volume sellers.
Most sellers using these services recover $200–$2,000+ per month, depending on inventory volume. Even at a 25% commission, the net recovery is pure profit you’d otherwise have lost.
How Much Should You Expect?
Industry average: sellers recover 1–3% of FBA revenue in reimbursements annually. A seller doing $20,000/month can realistically recover $2,400–$7,200/year in FBA reimbursements that Amazon owes them but never proactively pays.
Key Takeaways
- Amazon does not automatically reimburse you — you must claim it
- Check your reimbursement reports at least monthly
- The 18-month window on most claims makes this time-sensitive
- For volume sellers, a reimbursement service pays for itself many times over
- Measure dimensions and weight for your products independently and compare to what Amazon has on file
