How do Customer Returns Work for FBA?
As a customer, returns can protect you from having to pay for a purchase that is defective. As an Amazon Seller, returns can be a bit frustrating at times. But, we’ve got a few tips for you to make the whole process smoother and ensure that you don’t accidentally miss a reimbursement.
How Does an FBA Customer Return Work?
Customers submit a request to Amazon to return an item, and Amazon processes it immediately, placing the item’s purchase cost on hold until the item is returned while giving the customer a return shipping label to the right warehouse. Generally, Amazon will notify the seller via an email that the customer requested a return.
From there, once the item arrives at its warehouse, an Amazon employee will determine whether the product is considered sellable or unsellable. Sellable items are returned to your active inventory, where they can be sold to a different customer, while unsellable items are removed.
When an item is determined unsellable, Amazon must decide who was at fault for the damage before deciding who is reimbursed. Reimbursements occur based on a few factors. The customer will receive reimbursement if they return the item to Amazon, and your seller account will be charged for that refund. Your FBA seller account will only receive the money for the product if the customer fails to return the item. It should be noted that the official FBA returns policy declares that Amazon is not responsible for reimbursing FBA sellers if the product is damaged by the customer.This means that if it’s opened, worn, etc, you are not entitled to be reimbursed for that item. While this can be frustrating as a seller, it’s part of owning a business.
For the most part, Amazon favors the customer, and you are most likely going to be required to pay the return fees: the shipping fee, restocking fee, and returns processing fee.
Contesting an Item Marked Unsellable
In some situations, a customer may claim that a product was defective to gain a free return or an Amazon employee marks an item unsellable. It doesn’t hurt to question that decision, and you can choose to request a Removal Order in order to check the product yourself.
Once the item is in your hands, you may discover that it’s in perfect condition. From there, you document the item’s condition and use that information to prove to Amazon that it is, in fact, sellable. To do that, open the support ticket with Amazon in Seller Central with its Help button.However, please keep in mind that this does not guarantee they will agree with you.
Waiting for a Customer Return
It should be noted that Amazon allows customers 45 days to return their item. And that can be difficult to keep track of! Thankfully, Amazon provides a couple ways to do that from an email notification to its “Reports” tab on your Seller Central account.
You can check your returns situation within your Seller Central account. Log in to your Seller Central account, then go to “Reports.” From there, select “Fulfillment” and then click “Returns.” On this page, you’ll be able to easily recognize whether or not you’ve been appropriately reimbursed for returns. You can also generate a report on your returns from the “Reports” page and then selecting “Payments.”
You can also track your returns. Amazon makes this easy by providing the order number in the refund notification email. And within Seller Central, you can track the order by going to the “Orders” page, clicking “Manage Orders” and then selecting “Advanced.” In the search field, enter the order number and check to see the status of the returned item.
Check to See if a Returned Item is in Active Inventory
1. Navigate to the “Inventory” page and select “Manage FBA Inventory.”
2. Paste the ASIN of the returned item into the search field. Press enter to find out information on that item.
Too many “defective” items associated with your FBA account can eventually hurt your seller metrics so it’s crucial that you take the extra steps to verify damage or to correct false claims.
While returns are a normal part of business and nothing to stress about, it’s worth your time and money to keep an eye on them. Unsellable returned items will sit in the FBA warehouse and rack up monthly storage fees, and items that are never actually returned should be reimbursed to you.
Don’t underestimate the importance of staying on top of your returns. After all, every cent adds up, and we know it better than anyone. If you haven’t joined our amazing Facebook community, then we invite you to join us as we are constantly encouraging one another and sharing tips for building better FBA businesses!
