Through FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), Amazon handles logistics and customer service on behalf of sellers, which includes customer return processing. Amazon operates in accordance with its own customer return policy when determining whether an item is eligible for return. As a seller, you have no control over whether a product is accepted as a return, even if it is clearly the buyer's fault that the product is damaged or defective.

In most cases, customers can request a return within 30 days of receiving the order. But Amazon can (and does) make exceptions on a case-by-case basis and accept returns that exceed the 30-day limit.

In the event of an exception, Amazon will send an email to the seller notifying them that a return has been initiated and the order fee will be deducted from the seller's account balance.

What happens when an item is returned to an Amazon warehouse?

After Amazon receives a customer's return, it evaluates the product's condition to determine if it's sellable. If the item is unused and still in new condition, Amazon will return the item to your inventory for inclusion in future orders.

If an item is damaged or unsellable, Amazon will determine what caused the damage (Amazon itself, during fulfillment, or the customer). If Amazon causes damage to the product, you will be reimbursed for product returns.

However, if the customer (or carrier) does damage to the product, Amazon will not reimburse you and the product will be marked as "unsellable".

For any item classified as "Defective" or "Customer Damaged", sellers must submit a removal order within 30 days of the returned item arriving at the fulfillment center.

What happens if the customer does not return the product?

If the customer does not return the product to an Amazon fulfillment center within 45 days of initial receipt , Amazon will recharge the customer if the customer has already received a refund and will issue a refund to the seller.

Typically, Amazon will automatically refund you after 45 days. In rare cases, you must open a support case to be reimbursed.

Extend the return period

Amazon allows buyers within 90 days to return eligible FBA Baby category items in new, unopened condition. Opened or used products are not eligible for return during the extended period. Amazon will pay the return shipping fee to the seller for free.

Amazon FBM Return Policy

Returns for sellers who fulfill orders for themselves are little different from FBA. Amazon states in its seller-fulfilled return policy that FBM sellers must match or exceed Amazon's return policy. This means you must accept returns within Amazon's 30-day return period.

Additionally, all returns will be sent to the address listed in your seller account, not Amazon. You need to refund the customer within 2 days of receiving the returned item.

If you are an Amazon Professional seller, you are automatically enrolled in the Amazon Prepaid Return Labels program. Therefore, if a customer requests a return and it is within the accepted time frame, Amazon will automatically send the customer a prepaid return shipping label on your behalf through the Buy Fulfillment service. Individual sellers must opt-in to the program.

For any return requests made outside of the Returns Policy, or deemed exempt, Amazon will send you a return request for human review.

What does this mean for FBM sellers? Unfortunately, this means that the seller will not have the opportunity to communicate with the buyer to try to correct the situation until the customer is automatically refunded.

What if a customer requests a return outside of Amazon's return policy or the returned product is damaged?

In some cases, Amazon allows sellers to charge customers a restocking fee for returns.

The restocking fee is a percentage of the item price (excluding shipping) and depends on the condition of the item being returned.

If you, as a seller, decide to accept a return outside the 30-day return window, or if the returned product is used, damaged, defective, or significantly different, you can charge the customer a restocking fee.

Items returned in their original condition within the time frame accepted by Amazon are not subject to restocking fees.

Below is a breakdown of which return requests are eligible for a restocking fee.

What is the reason for the customer to return it?

When Amazon customers submit a return request, they must select a reason for the return. This will determine who is responsible for return shipping – the customer or the seller.

Amazon lists 72 different official reasons for customer returns, which can be found here. Generally, customers are responsible for reasons related to preference, ordering the wrong size, or changing their mind about wanting the product. The seller is considered liable if the customer cites a function or damage-related cause, such as "damaged due to poor packaging" or "missing parts or accessories."

Here are some other reasons customers cite during the return process, each of which Amazon believes is at fault:

"It's too late"; seller

"Not satisfied with the quality"; the seller

"There are better prices"; customers

"doesn't like the color"; customer

How to Find Out Why Your Customers Returned

You should expect some rewards in the process of running your business. But you should also track the reasons why customers return your products. Especially if you sell private label products, you need to be aware of any recurring issues or issues your product may have so you can fix them as soon as possible.

If you get a lot of "defective" complaints about your product, Amazon may even temporarily shut down your listing until you fix the problem.

For example, if you sell bicycle helmets and customers frequently complain that they don't fit or receive the wrong size, Amazon may suspend your listings —if not your entire seller account.

Before your product is flooded with negative reviews, figure out what's going on. If you have unsellable inventory, you can request a removal order to have the product shipped back to you so you can inspect each item.

One way to understand why a customer is returning a product is to check the Policy Compliance section of Seller Central. I'll show you how.

In Seller Central, we'll click on the "Performance" tab, then "Account Health." In that section, we can look at Policy Compliance.

It looks like my account health rating is green – awesome!

But wait – next to "Product Condition Customer Complaint" we can see that there is a complaint.

Upon further investigation, we can see that the cause is a "defective" product. We can also see action taken by Amazon: the listing is removed.

To restore your listing, you must click "Appeal" and submit a plan of action to Amazon. Essentially, you have to explain to Amazon how you solved the problem and the steps you took to prevent it from continuing to develop.

You can see the reason for each return requested by doing more detective work .

In Seller Central, go to the Reports tab, then Fulfillment.

On the left side of the screen, click Customer Offers, and then click FBA Customer Returns.

Here you will be able to generate a report showing all your FBA customer returns within the specified date range. You will be able to see Order ID, Merchant SKU, ASIN, FNSKU, Title, Quantity, Fulfillment Center, Disposition, Customer Return Reason and Return Status.

Note the Disposition, Customer Return Reason, and Status columns. Sometimes under customer return reasons, customers will leave a note explaining exactly what is wrong or missing with their order.

It's a good idea to get a handle on your returns so you can catch any major issues before your listing gets removed or before customers start leaving you negative reviews.

No return refund

Amazon's return refund policy was introduced back in 2017, but sellers are still angry that customers can keep some products and still get a refund.

Amazon decides to do this if the product is of low value, the return shipping is too high, or if the product is difficult to resell once it is returned. We're not sure where Amazon sets the price threshold, but we know it takes a lot of time and money for Amazon to process returns. In some cases, it's just not cost-effective.

Sellers often benefit from simply refunding the customer without the hassle of processing returns, especially if the product is defective or damaged in transit. The real concern for sellers is that Amazon automatically refunds customers without the seller's consent.

FBM sellers can set up no-return refund rules for their seller account under Returns Settings in Seller Central. There, you can set the price range, product category, reason, and return window.

Are customers abusing Amazon's return policy?

It's clear that Amazon will do everything in its power to please customers. That's why they have such a lenient return policy, customers can return for any reason within 30 days.

As with any such policy, you're going to run into some customers who abuse it and try to get a refund for almost every purchase they make.

Luckily, Amazon catches this behavior and actually bans customers from shopping on the site if they find their return policy abusive.

How to process your return

To help reduce the potential loss of returned or damaged items, Amazon has created a number of different programs to help sellers recover some money or find a new home for returned, damaged or used items.

FBA Clearing

The FBA Liquidation Program is designed to help sellers liquidate excess inventory and customer returns instead of destroying inventory and avoid paying additional storage fees.

How it works: Submit a liquidation request in Seller Central and Amazon will evaluate several factors to determine the average selling price of your product. Wholesale liquidators will pay approximately 5% to 10% of the average selling price of the product. Once your inventory is purchased by a liquidator, Amazon will pay you within 60 days.

The program is a great way to recoup some money from excess or used inventory, rather than paying Amazon to return or destroy items.

FBA grading and resale

The FBA grading and resale program allows sellers to relist and sell unfulfilled returned inventory as used items, rather than paying Amazon to destroy or return the item to you.

How it works: Submit your unfulfillable inventory to the program, and Amazon will assess the condition and grade the item for you as used -like new, used-very good, used-good, or used-acceptable. After your product is rated, Amazon will create a new listing for you.

Instead of creating more waste and destroying unfinished inventory, the program helps sellers cover potential losses in returning items.

FBA donation

Another option for your returned or backlogged items is to donate them through Amazon's FBA donation program. The program allows sellers to donate eligible inventory to select U.S. charities.

This earth-friendly alternative brings new life to your products instead of destroying them and creating more landfill waste. Amazon has partnered with Good360 to distribute donated FBA inventory across a network of nonprofits in the United States.

The program is a special way for sellers to reduce waste, get rid of unwanted inventory, and donate needed items to those in need. It can even offer sellers some tax benefits.

How does the Amazon return policy affect you?

If you want to sell on Amazon, you have to follow Amazon's rules – whether you agree or not!

As we mentioned, returns are just part of running an e-commerce and Amazon business or any retail business.

To help limit the number of your returns, focus on creating high-quality products and well-optimized listings with as much information as possible.