Amazon’s recent changes to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) reimbursement policies and claim eligibility window might be both a boon and a bane for your eCommerce business. In a single announcement, Amazon made sweeping policy changes that included automated reimbursement claims for some lost or damaged items and a narrower window to submit manual claims. 

The new policy updates are set to take effect in two phases: October 23, 2024 (eligibility claim window policy) and November 1, 2024 (automated FBA reimbursement policy). These changes might affect your ability to recover losses as an FBA seller. Here’s an overview of the most recent policy changes and important takeaways for FBA sellers.

Automatic Reimbursement for Amazon FBA Sellers

Beginning November 1, 2024, Amazon will start automatically reimbursing FBA sellers for items that are lost or damaged in fulfillment centers. This proactive approach means reimbursements will be filed immediately when a fulfillment center reports one of your items as lost or damaged—sparing you from researching and submitting manual claims on a case-by-case basis. 

It’s nice to see Amazon stepping up to initiate reimbursement claims automatically, but they specify that almost all fulfillment center operations claims (lost/damaged items) and customer returns cases are eligible for automatic reimbursement. You’ll still need to submit manual claims in some cases:

• All removal claims
• Some customer returns cases
• Lost/damaged item claims not detected by Amazon

If Amazon doesn’t automatically catch an operations claim, you’ll need to file it manually. Tracking Amazon reimbursement claims in Seller Central will help you stay on top of both automated and manual claims. 

Key Takeaways: Amazon will automatically reimburse you for almost all customer returns cases and items lost or damaged in fulfillment centers. If you don’t automatically receive a reimbursement and you believe your inventory was damaged or lost in an Amazon fulfillment center, or if it’s a removal claim, you’ll still need to file a manual claim.

Amazon Manual Claims Eligibility Window

Starting October 23, 2024, the manual claims eligibility window is narrowing by almost 90% for FBA sellers. Your window of eligibility still varies by claim type, but the general window now ranges from 15 to 120 days. Before, eligibility windows varied from 14 days to 18 months. 

Here’s how the recent policy changes are affecting Amazon FBA sellers:

• Manual claims for lost or damaged items have to be submitted within 60 days after items are reported as misplaced or damaged.
• FBA customer returns claims must be submitted 60-120 days after the refund/replacement date. 
• Removal claims for items lost in transit must be submitted 15-75 days from the shipment creation date.
• All other removal claims have a 60-day window after you receive the returned shipment.

Let’s compare the previous and new manual claim windows and see how much time you’ll have to submit claims under the new policy changes. 

• Fulfillment center operations claims (lost/damaged): Up to 18 mo.→60 days
• Customer returns claims: 60 days-18 mo.→60-120 days
• Removal claims (lost in transit): 14 days-18 mo.→15-75 days
• Other removal claims: Up to 18 mo.→60 days

The new policy narrows the 18-month customer returns claim window to just 60-120 days. That means you’ll have about 89% less time to file returns claims. 

While the new policies may be frustrating for sellers, being aware of the shorter windows will ensure you’re still able to recover losses on a timely basis. Prioritize submitting claims as soon as the window opens (15-60 days, depending on the claim type). 

These timeframes are important to note because you can’t submit Amazon reimbursement claims before or after the window opens and closes. For example, customer returns claims cannot be submitted before the 60-day mark to ensure returned items can be returned and processed before the claim is filed. 

Key Takeaways: The new eligibility window policy narrows your time to submit a manual claim up to 89%, with some claim windows shrinking from 18 months to anywhere from 60 to 120 days maximum. Amazon will not reimburse you for claims outside the new windows. 

Outlook for Amazon FBA Sellers

How are the new policy announcements going to affect you as an FBA seller looking forward? You will need to make some process adjustments of your own to accommodate the changes. 

The new automated reimbursement claims stand to benefit your business by making the claims process more hands-off. Instead of discovering and manually filing all operations claims for items lost or damaged in Amazon warehouses, the system will now automatically flag and file FBA reimbursement claims for you.

The downside is that the new system isn’t perfect and won’t catch every potential claim. You’ll still need to carefully track and review your inventory, being ready to file manual claims for items that the system misses or does not track (like removal claims). 

 The claims eligibility window policy changes are harder to swallow because they significantly limit the amount of time you have to recover losses that are not automatically reimbursed as an FBA seller. 

Starting October 23, 2024, some types of manual claims will need to be filed within 60 days where the previous window allowed you up to 18 months. Customer returns claims now have the biggest eligibility window, allowing you 60-120 days (previously 60 days to 18 months). 

Once each policy change goes into effect (October 23 and November 1, 2024), Amazon will update the FBA Inventory Reimbursement Policy online.

Learn how Mayan can help you tackle any new Amazon policy