Changes to FBA Reimbursements from 2025
Amazon has announced a series of changes to the reimbursement policies for "Fulfillment by Amazon" (FBA) for 2025. These changes are intended to make the processes more transparent and flexible, but at the same time present new requirements for sellers. While the adjustments for reimbursement requests and the calculation of reimbursement amounts aim to create a fairer basis, they could mean additional effort for many sellers.
After Amazon had already announced changing the period for eligible reimbursement requests to January 9, 2025, the reimbursement policies for lost or damaged units in FBA inventory will now also be adjusted to March 10, 2025.
For items that are lost or damaged before a customer order, Amazon will in the future reimburse based on calculated manufacturing costs and no longer based on estimated revenue (denotes the estimated selling price of the item for which you receive a refund, minus percentage sales fees and shipping fees)
Reimbursement Requests (01/09/2025)
- Lost or damaged items in logistics center: Request must be submitted within 60 days after loss or damage report.
- Customer returns: Submit request between 45 and 105 days after refund or replacement delivery (not before 45 days have elapsed).
- Items lost in transit: Submit request between 15 and 75 days after shipment creation (not before 15 days have elapsed).
- Shipments to Amazon (nothing changes here): Submit request no later than 6 months after delivery to Amazon
Amazon is not making it easier for sellers to get their money back for lost units.
Manufacturing Costs (03/10/2025, for items lost or damaged before a customer order)
- Amazon provides a cost estimate based on comparable products (Amazon, other sellers, wholesale).
- You can now specify your own manufacturing costs or use the automatic estimate and adjust it later.
- From end of January 2025: Manage manufacturing costs in the "Damaged Inventory and Reimbursement" portal via the new "Manage Manufacturing Costs" page.
These changes to the reimbursement policies and the new options for specifying manufacturing costs are intended to provide more transparency and flexibility, but require careful adjustment of internal processes to keep track of all deadlines and innovations.
