Why Every Amazon Seller Needs an FBA Reimbursement Tool

TL;DR

• Amazon FBA errors like lost inventory, damaged goods, and incorrect fees can cost sellers thousands.

• Manual reimbursement tracking is time-consuming, complex, and prone to missed claims.

• FBA reimbursement tools automate claim detection, filing, and follow-ups for faster recovery.

• Automated tools ensure claims are filed correctly, increasing approval rates and maximizing refunds.

• Refunzo helps sellers recover lost funds by handling reimbursements efficiently and accurately.

• Using an FBA reimbursement tool saves time, reduces errors, and ensures sellers get paid what they're owed.

If you're selling on Amazon FBA, chances are Amazon owes you money—and you might not even know it. Lost inventory, incorrect refunds, overcharged fees, and warehouse mishandling happen more often than you think. While Amazon does reimburse sellers for certain issues, many claims go unnoticed or require manual filing to get your money back.

The problem? Tracking and filing Amazon FBA reimbursement claims manually is time-consuming and frustrating. Amazon’s reports are complex, support cases take time, and if you’re managing hundreds or thousands of SKUs, keeping up with lost inventory and refund discrepancies can feel impossible.

FBA reimbursement tools automate the process, track missing inventory, file claims, and follow up with Amazon—ensuring you recover every dollar you're owed without the hassle. In this guide, we’ll explore why every Amazon seller needs an FBA reimbursement tool, how it works, and how it can save you time and money.

Quick guide:

• How Amazon FBA errors cost sellers money

• Why manual reimbursement tracking is inefficient

• How an FBA reimbursement tool works

• Manual claims vs. automated reimbursement tools: which is better?

• How can Refunzo help?
  
  

How Amazon FBA errors cost sellers money

Selling on Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) means Amazon handles your inventory, storage, and shipping. While this makes selling more convenient, it also comes with hidden costs due to Amazon’s internal errors. These mistakes often go unnoticed, and if sellers don’t track them, they can lose hundreds or even thousands of dollars over time.

Common FBA errors that cost sellers money

1. Lost or misplaced inventory

Amazon regularly loses inventory inside fulfillment centers, during warehouse transfers, or when receiving inbound shipments. While Amazon does refund some lost items, many cases go unnoticed, requiring sellers to file reimbursement claims manually.

2. Damaged inventory

Inventory can get damaged by Amazon’s staff while being handled or stored. If Amazon damages a unit, they should reimburse you. However, sometimes they fail to issue a refund unless you identify the loss and file a claim.

3. Overcharged FBA fees

Amazon calculates fulfillment fees based on weight and dimensions, but their system often records incorrect values. If Amazon overcharges you for storage or shipping, you’re losing money on every order.

4. Customer return fraud and mishandling

Some customers return used or different items, but Amazon still refunds them from your balance.

Amazon fails to add returned inventory back to your stock, leaving you with fewer units than you should have.

5. Inbound shipment discrepancies

If you send 100 units to Amazon but they only acknowledge 90, those missing units are often never reimbursed automatically. Sellers need to track and dispute these errors manually.

Why these errors add up

• High-volume sellers lose more money because small errors multiply over thousands of orders.

• Amazon won’t always notify you when a reimbursement is due.

• Claim deadlines exist, so if you don’t file in time, you lose the chance to recover your money.
  
  

Why manual reimbursement tracking is inefficient

Tracking Amazon FBA reimbursements manually sounds simple, but in reality, it’s a time-consuming and inefficient process. Amazon handles millions of transactions daily, and sellers are responsible for auditing their own accounts to catch missing inventory, incorrect refunds, and overcharged fees.

Here’s why manually tracking reimbursements is not a practical solution for most sellers:

1. Amazon’s reports are complex and hard to navigate

Amazon provides multiple reports (inventory adjustments, reimbursements, inbound shipments, returns, etc.), but they don’t consolidate all errors into one place. Sellers need to:

• Download and cross-check different reports

• Identify discrepancies one by one

• Manually calculate what Amazon owes them

This process can take hours every week, even for small-scale sellers.

2. You need to file claims correctly and follow up

Even if you find missing inventory, filing a claim is another challenge. Amazon requires:

• Detailed explanations of each issue

• Supporting documents like invoices and shipment proofs

• Multiple follow-ups if claims are delayed or denied

If any step is missed, Amazon may reject or ignore the claim.

3. Claims must be filed within strict time limits

Amazon has deadlines for reimbursement claims, ranging from 60 days to 18 months, depending on the issue. If a seller doesn’t track these deadlines, they may lose the right to claim reimbursements permanently.

4. High-volume sellers can’t keep up

If you sell hundreds or thousands of units per month, keeping track of lost inventory, damaged goods, and incorrect fees manually is nearly impossible. Many sellers unknowingly lose thousands of dollars simply because they don’t have the time to check every transaction.

5. Manual tracking takes time away from business growth

Instead of focusing on scaling sales, optimizing listings, or launching new products, sellers end up wasting hours on tedious auditing tasks that could be automated.

How an FBA reimbursement tool works

An FBA reimbursement tool is a software or service designed to automate the process of identifying, tracking, and filing reimbursement claims for lost inventory, overcharged fees, and other FBA-related errors. These tools help save time, reduce mistakes, and ensure you recover the maximum amount of money Amazon owes you. Here’s how they work:

1. Automated inventory tracking

FBA reimbursement tools or Amazon FBA reimbursement services connect directly to your Amazon Seller Central account and automatically monitor your inventory for discrepancies. They track every unit in your inventory and compare it with Amazon’s recorded stock. The tool will notify you when it detects:

• Missing inventory

• Damaged products

• Items marked as lost or destroyed

2. Identify overcharged FBA fees

These tools audit your FBA fees, ensuring that Amazon hasn’t overcharged you for storage, fulfillment, or shipping costs. The tool cross-checks your product’s weight, size, and storage fees with your actual products’ dimensions and alerts you when:

• Incorrect fees are applied

• FBA charges are too high based on your product’s real weight or size

3. Automatic claim generation

Once the tool identifies discrepancies, it automatically generates reimbursement claims for you. Instead of manually filing claims through Seller Central, the tool will:

• Fill out the necessary claim details

• Attach required documentation (such as shipment records or inventory reports)

• Submit the claim directly to Amazon

4. Claim management and follow-ups

Amazon inventory reimbursement tools also help track the status of claims. They notify you when:

• Claims are approved and funds are reimbursed

• Claims are rejected and need to be resubmitted or escalated

• Amazon needs more information to process the claim

The tool will also automatically follow up on pending claims to ensure Amazon processes them promptly.

5. Regular auditing and reporting

These tools perform regular audits, constantly reviewing your account for any missing reimbursements or new errors. Instead of checking manually every week, the tool keeps your account up-to-date and generates detailed reports showing:

• All past reimbursements

• Claims submitted and their status

• Potential areas for improvement

6. Integration with other seller tools

Some FBA reimbursement tools integrate with other Amazon seller tools, such as inventory management or accounting software. This allows you to have a comprehensive view of your business and helps with better tracking and reporting.

Manual claims vs. automated reimbursement tools: which is better?

When it comes to recovering lost inventory, overcharged fees, and incorrect refunds from Amazon FBA, sellers have two choices: track and file claims manually or use an automated reimbursement tool. While both approaches can help recover money, automated tools are far more efficient and effective, especially for high-volume sellers.

Let’s break down the differences between manual claims and automated reimbursement tools:

1. Time and effort required

• Manual claims: Sellers must download multiple reports, cross-check inventory records, identify discrepancies, and file claims one by one. This can take hours every week and is prone to human error.

• Automated tools: The tool scans your account automatically, finds errors, and generates claims for you. No manual tracking is needed.

• Winner: Automated tools – Saves time and reduces workload.

2. Accuracy in identifying lost inventory and overcharges

• Manual claims: Sellers might miss discrepancies because they rely on manual checks, which can overlook minor losses or miscalculations.

• Automated tools: These tools analyze data continuously, ensuring every lost unit, damaged product, or fee overcharge is detected.

• Winner: Automated tools – Identifies more reimbursement opportunities.

3. Filing and managing claims

• Manual claims: Sellers must create and submit claims one by one through Seller Central, following Amazon’s strict guidelines.

• Automated tools: Automatically fill out and submit claims, attaching the necessary documentation to increase approval rates.

• Winner: Automated tools – Automates claim submission for efficiency.

4. Following up on reimbursement cases

• Manual claims: Amazon doesn’t always approve claims right away. Sellers have to track case statuses and manually follow up if needed.

• Automated tools: The tool monitors pending cases and automatically sends follow-ups to Amazon to ensure claims are processed.

• Winner: Automated tools – Ensures claims are not ignored or forgotten.

5. Success rate and approval rates

• Manual claims: If a claim is incomplete, missing documents, or not worded properly, Amazon may reject it. Many sellers also forget to appeal denied claims.

• Automated tools: Tools use pre-optimized claim templates and track documentation, improving approval rates. Some tools also escalate cases if Amazon rejects a valid claim.

• Winner: Automated tools – Higher success rate due to better claim filing.

6. Cost comparison

• Manual claims: Free, but costs sellers time and potential lost reimbursements due to missed claims.

• Automated tools: Typically charge a small percentage of successful reimbursements or a monthly fee, but they recover more money than manual tracking.

• Winner: Automated tools – The cost is justified by increased reimbursements.
  
  

How can Refunzo help?

Refunzo is designed to take the hassle out of Amazon FBA reimbursements by automating the process, ensuring that sellers recover every dollar Amazon owes them. Instead of spending hours tracking inventory losses, overcharged fees, and return mishandling, Refunzo does the work for you—saving time, reducing errors, and maximizing your reimbursements.

What Refunzo does for sellers

• Automated inventory audits – Refunzo continuously scans your Amazon Seller Central account to detect lost, misplaced, or damaged inventory that qualifies for reimbursement.

• Claim submission and follow-ups – The platform automatically files claims with Amazon, ensuring they include the necessary documentation and meet Amazon’s policies for faster approval.

• FBA fee optimization – Identifies incorrect weight or dimension charges that result in overpaid FBA fees, helping sellers recover excessive costs.

• Customer returns monitoring – Tracks refunds issued to customers and ensures that returned products are properly restocked—if not, Refunzo files claims on your behalf.

• Full claim tracking – Refunzo monitors every claim’s progress and follows up with Amazon support to make sure Amazon FBA inventory reimbursements are processed without delays.