Amazon reimburse inbound FBA damaged/lost/destroyed in transit value basis?
I have just been informed by the "help" desk after 40 minutes trying to explain to the agent what "declared value" means that it is neither necessary nor possible to enter a DV. He finally informed me that indeed Amazon will reimburse the value of a lost/damaged/destroyed shipment if sent with an Amazon Partnered Carrier, therefore no "declared value" is necessary or available as an option when creating a shipment or a Packing Template. I find this very hard to believe. Furthermore, he was completely unable to explain to me how the value of a lost shipment is determined. Can anybody speak to this?
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DEAR MODERATOR: I see there are some additional topics addressing this issue, but I have not seen any that address my specific question regarding value basis of reimbursement. Therefore I request that you please do not delete this thread. Thank you.
1 reply
Dominic_Amazon
Hi @Seller_5qpQd5FybmhpI,
Dominic from Amazon here, happy to support on this.
If an item you send to us as part of the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service is lost or damaged at a facility or by a carrier operated by Amazon or on behalf of Amazon, we will replace that item with a new item of the same FNSKU or we will reimburse you for it.
Eligibility
For an item to be eligible under this policy, all of the following must be true:
- The item is registered in FBA at the time it is lost or damaged.
- The item complies with FBA product restrictions and with FBA inventory requirements.
- You have sent us the exact items and quantities stated in your shipping plan.
- The shipment for the item is not in canceled or deleted status.
- The item is not pending disposal or was not disposed of at your request or because we have exercised a right to do so.
- The item is not defective and was not damaged by a customer.
- When a lost or damaged item claim is filed, under review, and during any appeals, the seller’s account must be in normal status.
If your item is eligible under this policy and we haven't already reimbursed you, you can file a reimbursement claim. The process to a file a claim varies depending on where the fulfillment process your item is lost or damaged.
To calculate reimbursement value
Because item prices tend to fluctuate over time and may vary widely from seller to seller, we compare several price indicators to determine an estimated sale price for the item when calculating the reimbursement amount. The price indicators we compare are:
- The median price at which you have sold the item on Amazon over the past 18 months
- The median price at which other sellers have sold the same item on Amazon over the past 18 months
- The current list price you have set for the same item on Amazon or the mean list price if you have multiple listings for the same item
- The current list price for the same item from other sellers on Amazon
If we don't have enough information to calculate the estimated sale price of a unit using the price indicators described above, we will assign an estimated sale price based on the price of a comparable product. We may ask you for additional information or documentation to help us determine that value.
If we elect to reimburse you for a shipment to Amazon claim, we will reimburse you for the estimated proceeds of a sale of that item.
If we elect to reimburse you for a fulfillment center operations claim or a removals claim, we will reimburse you for the estimated proceeds of the sale of that item, unless the item was in an unsellable condition when lost or damaged or when removed from the Amazon fulfillment network. For unsellable items, Amazon will reimburse you at a valuation consistent with the estimated proceeds of the discounted sale of the unit. We may ask you for additional information or documentation to help us determine that discounted value.
If we elect to reimburse you for a customer return claim, the value of the reimbursement is based on the refund or replacement given to the customer on your FBA order. If Amazon refunded or replaced an item on your FBA order, we calculate the reimbursement value as the refund amount or the price of the replacement item on the original order minus applicable fees.
If you don't agree with the Amazon valuation of a unit, you can file a claim using the Contact Us page in Seller Central within 90 days after we have issued the reimbursement.
I know this was a ton of info so please let me know if you want me to expand on anything!
Best,
Dominic