For sellers, it is inevitable to encounter return problems. At this time, what sellers need to do is to handle FBA returns as wisely as possible to reduce their losses.
1. Several situations of FBA order returns
(1) The buyer has not received the goods
If the buyer initiates a return, the goods have not been sent by the freight forwarder , the seller can try to intercept the goods and then give the buyer a full refund.
If the goods have been sent and cannot be intercepted, the seller can contact the buyer for negotiation, explain to the buyer that the goods have been sent, and hope that the buyer will sign for the goods first and see if they like it before deciding whether to return it. At this time, if the buyer does not agree to sign for the goods and insists on returning the goods, the seller can negotiate with the buyer to refund only part of the payment based on the cost of the goods, and the goods will be given to the buyer, thereby reducing the seller’s own losses.
If the buyer disagrees with the seller’s proposal of not returning the goods but only partially refunding the purchase price, and if the value of the goods is not high, the seller can refund the full price to the buyer, give the goods to the buyer, and then ask to buy the goods. If the value of the product is high, the seller can follow the normal return procedures.
(2) The buyer has received the goods
The buyer is not satisfied with the goods after receiving the goods and returns the goods. In this case, the goods will be returned to the FBA warehouse for subsequent processing by FBA.
Amazon will evaluate the products returned to the Amazon fulfillment center to determine whether the returned products are “sellable”. If the item is available for sale, it will be placed back into the seller’s sellable inventory.
Once the condition of the returned product does not match or is in a different condition than the originally released product, such as the product is damaged, damaged, lacks required labels, is a prohibited product, or is otherwise unsuitable for sale, Or if the product may pose a threat to the health or life safety of personnel in Amazon’s fulfillment center, the product will be judged to be “unsellable”. The Amazon platform will evaluate the cause of damage to the product based on the actual situation and use this to determine whether the seller meets the compensation requirements.
For returned goods that are judged to be “unsellable”, the Amazon platform will require sellers to hand over the goods to remove the order within 30 days after the returned goods arrive at the Amazon fulfillment center. Sellers may also choose to discard these unsellable goods. Selling inventory.
If the product has potential safety hazards, health risks or liability risks, such as returned goods that are controlled dangerous goods inventory, broken glass, opened personal care and sexual health products, consumer goods with a shelf life For merchandise, bedding, maternal and infant products, etc., sellers need to dispose of them.
2. Amazon’s compensation to the seller after the buyer returns the product
If the goods stored in the FBA warehouse are lost or damaged during Amazon’s management, Amazon will compensate the seller. For refunds generated by logistics orders, corresponding compensation will be paid to the seller; if the compensation amount of the product cannot be calculated in detail, Amazon officials will generally compensate the seller based on the default compensation set for the specific category.
If the seller has refunded the relevant money to the buyer, but the buyer fails to return the returned goods to the Amazon fulfillment center within 45 days after the refund, Amazon will charge the buyer relevant fees to compensate the seller; If the buyer successfully returns the product to the Amazon fulfillment center within the stipulated 45 days, and Amazon determines that the returned product is sellable, the product will be placed back into the seller’s inventory, and Amazon will not compensate the seller. If the returned item is unsellable and Amazon is responsible, Amazon will reimburse the seller but will not add the item back to the seller’s inventory. However, Amazon will not pay any compensation to the seller for any refunds issued directly to the buyer.