With millions of products in huge warehouses, there are bound to be mistakes made either by an overworked machine or an even more overworked associate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, even though these mistakes are understandable, you are losing real<\/em> money if Amazon doesn\u2019t find your products or reimburse you for the damaged ones within a reasonable time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So how do you poke Amazon to get them to pay you back? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a lot of factors that come into play when Amazon is unable to locate your shipment or charges you higher FBA fees, so it\u2019s hard to generalize. However, these are some of the most common reasons why you don\u2019t see your inventory anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lost or Damaged Products<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Your products can be lost or damaged while it is inbound or after it has been received.The missing units may either be because of mistakes during check-in or negligence by the carrier itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if only 25 units of the 50 you sent are checked in, that\u2019s considered a loss. Or if UPS loses your shipment (or some of it), Amazon is responsible for getting this reimbursement. This is usually done via insurance from the common carrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And even if the products are received by Amazon in good condition and in the correct number, your inventory still has a lot to go through, which can cause it to be lost along the way. For instance, Amazon could lose your products after receiving and storing them in their warehouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, if the item you sent is significantly damaged that it is no longer sellable, they might destroy your shipment without your permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer Returns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff Bezos aims for Amazon to be the most customer-centric company in the world. And in order to fuel his famous Flywheel model, he needs to improve customer experience, which easy customer returns are a part of. This is a problem for a lot of sellers because it allows customers to avail of free shipping for reasons of return other than \u201cPurchased by Mistake<\/strong>.\u201d Some customers take advantage of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can happen in a lot of ways. A customer may return a different item or an unsellable one. Worse, the customer returns an empty box to the warehouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For most of these cases, the customer has already been reimbursed before Amazon can check if the product is indeed returned in the same condition it was delivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But customers aren\u2019t always to blame for problems involving returns. It could also be that the returned item was actually the right one in the same condition it was sent but Amazon failed to add it back to your inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Incorrect Fees<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve been using FBA for a while, you should be familiar with FBA fees<\/a> by now. They\u2019re an additional cost that eats a portion of your profit, but they are necessary for a smoother fulfillment process. However, if you\u2019re not careful, you could end up paying for more than you should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two main things you should monitor regularly to ensure that you aren\u2019t overpaying for anything: product category and product dimension. Let\u2019s tackle the first one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon charges you a referral fee for your products, depending on which category it belongs. Books, for example, are charged 15 percent while consumer electronics are charged 8 percent. If your product is miscategorized into a more expensive category, this is another thing Amazon needs to reimburse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to the product dimension, on the other hand, the measurements made by the Cubiscans Amazon uses can be erroneous. And when it comes to dimensions, even a fraction of an inch can make a big difference to the fees they charge. So it\u2019s important to remain on top of things when it comes to these measurements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Losing inventory is not uncommon in Amazon. I should know because I\u2019ve worked as an Amazon FBA warehouse<\/a> picker before. One wrong move, e.g., misplacing the products, can take months of searching and scouring before your product is found. Meanwhile, you can\u2019t put it up for sale because it\u2019s still considered lost. Therefore, it\u2019s important that you, as the seller, are vigilant about your inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lost or Damaged Inventory<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To make sure that everything is in place, open your Seller Central Account and go to Reports \u2192 Fulfillment \u2192 Inventory Adjustments<\/strong>. Here, you can download either a .csv or a .txt file that contains 18 months\u2019 worth of data to recover your inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After you\u2019ve downloaded the file, take note of the column under \u201cReason<\/strong>.\u201d You\u2019ll see letters here, representing codes that tell you why your inventory number has changed. D, for example, means the inventory has been disposed of. For FBA reimbursements<\/a>, what you need to remember are the codes E and M.<\/p>\n\n\n\n E means that the product is damaged at the Amazon Fulfillment Center. M means that the inventory has been misplaced. This is usually because the product has been placed in the wrong bin, which I unfortunately also did when I worked with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next step is to open a new case within Amazon Seller Central<\/a>. But just as you don\u2019t want people to keep bothering you, you shouldn\u2019t send dozens of requests at a time. You should first determine which products Amazon has already reimbursed you for so you don\u2019t request for it again, further slowing the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer Returns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to dealing with problems related to customer returns, Amazon provides an easy way to track the status of every return from start to finish. You just need to go to this<\/a> URL within Seller Central<\/p>\n\n\n\n As mentioned earlier, Amazon can immediately refund a customer even before the item is returned. So you have to check if the product has already been processed for return to your inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To determine which transactions involve a customer already being refunded without actually returning the item yet, look for the ones labeled RETURN STARTED. Usually, if it has been more than 45 days, you should have been refunded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, you may come across customers who are abusing the system too much to the point of illegality. Some of them may send back empty boxes or a whole other item. While you can just brush it off as another unfortunate event, I encourage you to open a case with Amazon to deter these acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Incorrect Measurements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not uncommon for your boxes to arrive at an Amazon warehouse with bulging sides. This usually wouldn\u2019t matter as long as the items inside are intact and undamaged. However, it will<\/em> matter when Amazon gets the measurement wrong because of those bulges.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat Amazon Should Reimburse You For<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sellerapp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/sellerapp-reimbursement.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow to Determine What You\u2019ve Lost and How Much Amazon Owes You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n