As an Amazon seller, you may not be aware that you are leaving money on the table or that you are eligible to receive an Amazon FBA reimbursement.
What does that mean exactly? Well, Amazon, as large as an online presence as it is, does make mistakes. Mistakes in the world of Amazon FBA can be costing you money, and they come in the form of what is known as discrepancies.
Discrepancies are incorrect transactions against your seller account that account for items such as lost, damaged, destroyed, disposed of, or overcharges in Amazon fees. If you do not file a claim to receive your FBA reimbursement, you are essentially out of pocket on funds that are owed to you.
Surprised? Many sellers are a little taken aback when they first learn of discrepancies and navigating them with Amazon independently can prove challenging.
This article will break down all the ins and outs of Amazon FBA reimbursements and the various ways you can get your hard-earned cash back into your pocket.
What are the major types of FBA Reimbursement?
Great question, but you must understand that these 5 categories are simply the main overview. As inventory moves around internally and externally within the online space, more issues can arise that fall within these categories.
If you’re a more experienced Amazon seller, you have probably heard of GETIDA’s Amazon FBA reimbursement solution. While we will highlight some benefits of this robust solution, let’s first break down the areas where loss can occur.
- Lost inventory
- Damaged inventory
- Returned inventory
- Destroyed and disposed
- Overcharges in Amazon fees.
#1 Lost Amazon FBA Inventory
Two words every Amazon seller fears the most: lost inventory. You’ve spent all this time creating and perfecting your product and its packaging for it to go missing, and in any quantity, can be a frustrating experience. But it does happen and being prepared will help you navigate best practices for the future of your Amazon business.
How does lost inventory occur? Lost inventory can occur during the shipping phase or possibly once received into the Amazon FBA warehouse. Inventory can be accidentally placed to other Amazon seller accounts, or incorrect barcodes can affect where your inventory ends up.
Luckily, Amazon’s inventory reconciliation reports will allow you to view all details pertaining to your inventory for the last 18 months.
This is also where a solution such as GETIDA comes in exceptionally handy. GETIDA provides a full audit on your behalf of looking for these discrepancies for the last 18 months. You don’t have to sift through the barrage of reports to understand what went wrong, how, or better yet, you don’t have to concern yourself with navigating the claim process.
2. Damaged Amazon FBA Inventory
It’s no surprise that damage can and does occur in such a giant marketplace as Amazon. But it’s not just within Amazon that damages happen; it’s also en route to your customer where damages can occur given the expedited shipping the platform offers.
The damaged inventory report will help you break down your damages and can be found in your seller central account under ‘Damaged Inventory Report.’ Areas the Damage Inventory Report covers are:
- Products lost or damaged in the Amazon fulfillment center
- Items that are damaged or lost in route from the fulfillment center to the customer
- FBA Shipments that are lost or damaged on their way to fulfillment centers
- Products that have been missing in fulfillment centers for the past 30 days
3. Returned FBA Inventory
Amazon FBA refunds and returns are bound to happen in any online shopping marketplace, but you may not be aware that you may be eligible to receive an FBA reimbursement for these returns and or refunds. Performing a proper Amazon audit will help you determine eligibility for these discrepancies.
- Returns Reimbursement – A reimbursement was never paid out
- Returned Not Refunded after 45 Days – The customer received a refund, but they never returned the item
- Return Overcharge – The customer was refunded more than they were initially charged
- The wrong item returned – A customer sent the incorrect item back, and Amazon accepted it
- Damaged Returns – The product was returned and then damaged
- Return after 60 days – A customer was granted an exception to the return policy after the usual policy window
Amazon has a set timeline to reimburse these types of claims, and if you’re not aware of the FBA reimbursements for returns and refunds, you can easily be missing out on monies owed to you.
Returns and refunds tend to eat up a more significant portion of discrepancies as each can occur in higher volume on a platform like Amazon, where the customer is generally favored.
4. Destroyed and Disposed of FBA Inventory
It’s another word Amazon sellers do not like to hear; destroyed inventory.
Did you know that Amazon can exercise the full right to destroy your inventory without your permission? While mistakes in destroyed inventory can unfortunately occur, the other grim reality is that Amazon ultimately can make this decision on your behalf without your permission.
It’s important to continuously track your inventory and be on top of activity within your Amazon seller central account.
5. Overcharges of FBA Fees
Various Amazon FBA fees can affect your Amazon FBA business, including storage fees, commission fees, shipping fees, and long-term storage fees.
One example of overcharges of FBA fees is weight and dimension fees. Amazon considers the weight and dimensions set forth by you, the seller, but they also consider their metrics when establishing these types of FBA fees. Your products undergo Amazon’s weighing and measuring, which can differ from your manufacture’s metrics. When you file an Amazon claim it will be important to provide detail to accurately support your product’s weight and dimensions.
Types of Amazon FBA Reimbursements Services and Solutions
Now that we’ve outlined what Amazon FBA reimbursements you may be eligible to receive and how these discrepancies can be caused, it’s important to know there are solutions and services available to you to help you reconcile these errors.
1. Amazon Virtual Assistant (VA)
As your Amazon FBA business expands, you will likely begin to outsource some of your tasks to avoid task saturation and focus on optimal growth. Outsourcing your Amazon FBA reimbursements may look like hiring a virtual assistant to track and submit your Amazon FBA reimbursements on your behalf.
However, use caution with outsourcing as not all VA’s will have the in-depth experience to work within the Amazon FBA reimbursement process. Granting access to your seller central account in this manner can be risky. Be sure to properly vet anyone working within your team and submitting Amazon FBA reimbursement claims on your behalf.
2. Independent Amazon FBA Reimbursement claims
Yes, you can learn how to make these claims independently, and you can submit and navigate the claims process with Amazon seller support. Just be mindful that extensive Amazon audits are to be performed to ensure you are receiving the maximum reimbursement. Failure to perform as comprehensive an Amazon audit as possible can mean you are leaving money behind.
Performing Amazon FBA reimbursements independently can take away time from other moving pieces of your Amazon FBA business. It may not be all that realistic to do on your own, yet it is certainly still possible.
FBA Reimbursement Tips:
- It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with templates and excel files before you begin your Amazon FBA reimbursement process. These will be commonly used in your Amazon FBA reimbursement claim process.
- Be prepared to continuously review your reports for ongoing discrepancies. (This is not a set it and forget it approach to Amazon audits)
- Learn how to calculate your estimated claim and understand the data.
- Wisely navigate Amazon seller support with your claim tickets. Be polite but to the point with all relevant available data, and always follow up if a case goes unresponsive.
3. The GETIDA Amazon FBA Reimbursement Solution
While there are certainly a few Amazon FBA reimbursement services available on the market, none offer the robust Amazon FBA reimbursement solutions that GETIDA provides.
So, what is GETIDA? GETIDA stands for Get Intelligent Data Analytics.
GETIDA performs a full Amazon audit going back up to 18 months on all of your transactions, looking for discrepancies within your reports.
What does that mean for you, the seller? It means that your account is being combed through extensively to find the total number of Amazon FBA reimbursements you are eligible to receive. Essentially, no stone or discrepancy is left untouched.
When deciding what FBA reimbursement service or solution to choose from, it’s essential to examine the overall auditing process the company or service provides.
Some services may only offer audits on customer refunds or returns, while others may not have the right team in place who knows what to look for.
GETIDA’s Amazon FBA reimbursement claims department is composed of former Amazon FBA reimbursements employees. The department knows what to look for, how to find it, and how to present it to Amazon because of the team’s experience.
Final Thoughts
Don’t let discrepancies get you down in your Amazon FBA business! Consider this is a normal part of operating on the Amazon platform.
Educate yourself on the various Amazon audits you can perform, or review an Amazon FBA reimbursement solutions provider’s website like GETIDA, for a full scope of details about how the solution can help you get the maximum Amazon FBA reimbursement you are eligible to receive.
Looking for a deal? We couldn’t end this article without sharing GETIDA’s Amazon FBA reimbursement free offer.
$400 Offer for CruxFinder Followers
GETIDA has partnered with CruxFinder to help FBA sellers get access to more funds. They are offering you, the seller, $400 in Free FBA Reimbursements, simply visit GETIDA to claim this offer, and you will be ready to take your FBA auditing to the top level. We hope that you find this article helpful in understanding your Amazon business a bit better. Good luck and stay safe and healthy out there!
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