As an Amazon seller, you could be missing out on a chunk of cash if you aren’t filing for FBA refunds. Some sellers are not aware they are eligible for FBA refunds, while others do not fully understand the process.
You probably already know that Amazon is a master of logistics, and most of the time, this helps your FBA business run well. However, this titan of the industry can still make errors, and sometimes this ends up hurting your bottom line.
When Amazon makes a mistake that costs you money, this is called a discrepancy. This includes damaged or destroyed stock, as well as fee overcharges. In these situations, you are often entitled to an FBA refund, but your time to make the claim is limited. Once the deadline to file has passed, your money will not be refunded.
If this is the first time you are hearing about FBA refunds, don’t be intimidated. With a little help, you could be reunited with your cash.
Let’s get started.
You might be wondering which scenarios merit an FBA refund, and here we’ll look at five of the main FBA refund types. If you wish to ensure that you do not leave any money on the table, you can seek the services of a company such as GETIDA where the entire FBA refund process is handled for you. We’ll talk more about this later.
First things first: the five major areas of loss for FBA sellers are:
Let’s take a closer look at each of these situations.
You probably have no trouble imagining how inventory might become damaged in a large Amazon fulfillment center. However, damage can also occur when your products are in the care of Amazon’s shippers.
In your seller central account, you’ll be able to view details of any damaged items in the “Damaged Inventory Report.” Whenever a product is damaged on its way to the Amazon warehouse, in the Amazon warehouse, or en route to the customer, this report should note the damage. This report also includes records of any products that have gone missing from the fulfillment center in the last 30 days.
Sooner or later every Amazon seller has the disappointing experience of their inventory getting lost. This can be discouraging, especially after you have taken great care in selecting, sourcing, and promoting your products.
Products can get lost when shipped to the Amazon fulfillment center, or while in the warehouse. This could be due to inventory being added to another seller’s account, or a mishandling of barcodes.
Thankfully, a record of losses over the past 18 months is documented in Amazon’s inventory reconciliation reports. GETIDA can be especially helpful in this situation with its expertise in seller account auditing. You might be able to skip the tedious task of going through a year and a half of data in order to get your FBA refund.
Fees are an inevitable part of life for an FBA seller, but that doesn’t mean you should be overcharged. Amazon might accidentally charge you incorrect fees on shipping or storage, and when this occurs, you can file for an FBA refund.
For example, if Amazon uses inaccurate measurements or weights to calculate your shipping fees, you might receive several overcharges as that item is shipped. When filing for an FBA refund in this situation, you take care to provide the correct product dimensions and weight so that Amazon can correct the product details.
Customer returns are another regular occurrence for FBA sellers, but when part of the process is not managed properly by Amazon, you should claim an FBA refund. In order to find out if your account has any returns-based discrepancies, you’ll need to complete an audit of your data.
You might find that a customer returned the wrong item, and Amazon accepted it, or that an item was returned in a damaged state. In some situations, customers are refunded more money than they paid, or they are issued a refund, but never sent the item back.
In each of these cases, you could file a claim for an FBA refund. The amount of money you could be owed in this category might surprise you.
You might be starting to look forward to seeing your FBA refunds flow in, but first, you need to decide how you will approach filing your claims. It is important to consider the needs of your business as you choose the option that fits best. Let’s take a look at some options:
You might opt to learn how to file your FBA refund claims yourself, especially if you are just starting out. Keep in mind that the process of auditing your seller account can be time-consuming and any gaps in your knowledge of the process could mean missing out on cash. As an entrepreneur, your time is a resource to your business, and there might be other areas of your FBA enterprise that require your personal touch more urgently.
Growing FBA businesses make delegation a necessity, and you may already be using the services of a VA for some tasks. When outsourcing your FBA refund claims to a VA, remember that their level of experience could directly impact your bottom line, and if they miss any potential refunds, you’ll never be seeing that money again. Any VA must be trustworthy, but this is especially true for those who file your FBA refund claims as they will have access to your account details.
There are a number of companies that specialize in FBA refund management, but GETIDA stands apart with unparalleled levels of service and experience in the field.
GETIDA stands for Get Intelligent Data, and they use state-of-the-art software to thoroughly audit your transaction data for the last 18 months. This ensures any discrepancies are found, and you won’t miss opportunities for an FBA refund.
Once the discrepancies have been located, GETIDA gets to work filing your claims. This includes any necessary messaging with Amazon regarding the claims. GETIDA’s claims department consists of former Amazon FBA reimbursement employees who know how to communicate effectively with seller support. Thanks to this experienced team, the amount of money refunded to you is maximized when you use GETIDA.
With this new foundation of FBA refund knowledge, you are ready to begin getting your cash back. Amazon’s errors should not hurt your business, and there’s no reason to leave your money on the table.
There is a range of discrepancies that merit an FBA refund and a number of ways you can approach filing your claims. If you think enlisting a specialist is right for you, you can sign up with GETIDA and receive a free estimate of your potential FBA refund. You might have more cash waiting for you than you think. So, what are you waiting for? Get your free estimate today.
