$100k Shipment missing, Amazon insists nothing is wrong

#1

Amazon received a shipment from me worth around $100k for FBA fulfillment on July 10. The shipment shows in the system as being received but the products never went up for sale. They are not in my reserved or fulfill-able inventory. They went through FC transfer and then completely vanished from the system.
I have opened multiple tickets and called every day, yet no one is willing to help me. They always say they will open an investigation and then never call back, or they simply close the case and falsely claim that someone else has already provided resolution.

Please Amazon community, what can I do to be taken seriously by customer service? Or is there someone else I can talk to?

#2

A lot of FBA sellers are experiencing this type of issue right now (although maybe not on your scale) and there are multiple threads on this. Please see: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=361633&tstart=0

We are hoping to band together to petition the Executive Team to fix the issues with FBA intake and blaming FBA Sellers for FBA warehouse mistakes.

#3

[https://sellercentral.amazon.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=362363]

#4

These are all potential lawsuits in the making. I don’t know what’s going on with Amazon but they need to seriously consider the repercussions of all these issues before they catch the attention of government agencies. This is straight up fraud/theft.

#5

My goodness, that’s a scope that’s beyond anybody’s anticipation. Now I would definitely be wary of how I send large shipment going forward. Best of luck and I suggest to keep on calling and emailing Jeff executive team.

#6

Can you kindly supply more details? Was this shipment shipped on pallets? How many pallets?
What Amazon address did you ship to?
How did you ship, did you use Amazon partnered carrier through the shipping plan, which one, or did you select private carrier?
Have you been selling for a long time on Amazon or was this your first shipment?
Thank you in advance.

#7

Jeff@amazon.com is probably your last resort. Credit ops team decides whether you get reimbursed or not. Seller support team leads/supervisors can only submit requests to credit ops.

I’m dealing with several unresolved issues with FBA. One issue involves a missing item from a shipment. They claim it was not in the shipment and I am willing to bet my life that it was. This case, along with other cases where FBA is refusing reimbursement, got me reevaluating my future with FBA.

My shipments are $25k to $50k and I’ve been shipping to FBA without any type of carrier insurance (this is not an option when you purchase labels from Amazon). Since FBA is refusing most reimbursements these days, I will not be making anymore shipments to until there’s a viable solution.

I have a case that is nearly 6 months old and nowhere near getting resolved. I wrote to Jeff@Amazon.com about 10 days ago detailing all the issues. Have yet to get a response.

#8

What type of things do you mention in a 6 month old case that hasn’t been said and why is it pending for so long??

#9

My 6 month old case was from a large removal order I placed in February 2017 to avoid long-term storage fees… big disaster… MANY were damaged and missing. FC workers must think removal orders are meant for items to be destroyed. They would not ship items in such sad condition otherwise. One shipment contained a box that belonged to another seller and one my boxes was missing.

Around May/June I received reimbursements (fraction of actual costs) for each of the 8 missing items and 3 wrong items - 3 separate SKUs. I then submitted 3 invoices showing my actual costs. The credit ops team rejected one of the invoices saying it was ‘invalid.’ After several requests, I was told the item description (name) on the invoice did not match ASIN description. The invoice has correct UPC and 90% of the name matches, with very minor difference. No response on the other 2 invoices.

It’s quite scary after reading about TheLeatherman’s suspension for allegedly submitting an invalid invoice (see thread https://sellercentral.amazon.com/forums/message.jspa?messageID=4074741#4074741). My invoices are absolutely valid but what can a seller do if Amazon insists they’re invalid for whatever reason???

#10

It was shipped in boxes to Amazon Fort Worth fulfillment center using Amazon partnered carrier UPS. I have been selling for almost four years.
The items have shown in my daily inventory report and inventory reconciliation as being there every day since they arrived about a month and a half ago.
My lawyer says I need to go to arbitration as the circle of “escalations” and “investigations” has become comical at this point.
Reimbursement was refused because they falsely think the inventory is in FTW FC center due to system error, yet they cannot locate the inventory when asked.
I am up all night every night worrying about this.

#11

So what happened when they ran a bin check?
What did they say?

#12

Hello Ephron-Tech,

I am reviewing your case in conjunction with the information I am compiling for management in relation to the FBA Ineligible for Reconciliation issue.

If I have questions, I will send you a Private Message. You can access Private Messages by clicking on the ‘Messages’ link near the top of every forums page.

-Susan

#13

Susan,

Can you add us to the list? Here are the details:

Shipment name/ID
Name: FBA (7/23/17 9:02 PM) - 1
ID: FBA4Z90H0R
Amazon Reference ID: 84O7ZYBR
Shipment contents
3 MSKUs
60 Units
Shipment status
DELIVERED
Created: Jul 23, 2017
Updated: Jul 28, 2017

Shipment was delivered but never received. They keep moving the reconcile/investigation date. I can’t even open a case. Mean while we get notices about being out of stock - no kidding, they lost our shipment and won’t investigate.

Thanks,

-Ana

#14

Hello,

I reviewed the shipment in Seller Central and it will not become eligible for investigation until after August 19, 2017.

-Susan

#15

Having the same problem. Shipment was delivered on 18-July but never received or checked-in. And still not eligible for reconcile/investigation after 30 days. Cases opened but helpless. Still waiting. I also think the shipment is lost and won’t be investigated.

Edited by: CaseCarnival on Aug 20, 2017 10:49 PM

#16

Have you all checked your past FBA shipments? After having a few separate shipments being on “RECEIVING” status for months I opened a case. In both cases, each shipment was missing hundreds of units from the total amount shipped. Amazon informed me that these “missing units” were checked into stock under a DIFFERENT shipment ID. From YEARS ago. Seems they picked some random deleted shipment from a long time ago and checked the inventory in under that ID.Check your received Inventory report to see where your units are being checked into, and under what shipment ID

#17

Hi
Have you even got reconciliation date ?
I have the same problem. Shipment was delivered more than a month ago but never checked-in also there is No reconciliation date !!

#18

Mine isn’t $100k, but it’s been 4 or 5 shipments in the last month. Last one was that they received a package at 9 lbs, 4 items. The said they received the 2 items that totaled 2 lbs. So where did the other 7 lbs go that you said you received?? Was told, sorry, ineligible for investigation, we have to close this case.

This is stealing. They can’t provide pictures of the boxes being unloaded, so we have to take the fulfillment centers word when we KNOW we sent in the inventory. Being a single mom and not a business, this is just awful.

What can we do???

#19

If Susan is researching your issue you are in good hands. It may take her some time, but from what I’ve seen, she always follows-up either privately or publicly. She’s helped restore several seller accounts that were hacked where sellers had tens of thousands of dollars stolen. If your issue is legit I would hold out bashing Amazon (even though its warranted) until she reports back.

Also, are your items Hazmat in any way, from storage to shipping to disposal? Amazon has been getting very picky about these items in their warehouses.

#20

This is truly saddening, reading through the replies here, and seeing what a corrupt company Amazon has become. This is straight up theft. I for one am questioning the future of my business here. There are many other e-commerce sites gaining momentum that may be a better fit.
I have been worrying nonstop for almost 2 months at this point. I have a small child who may quickly learn the harsh realities of living in debt after his Pop takes this kind of a hit.

SusanH has generously offered to help, though I don’t know how much longer I can afford to wait. My attorney is considering filing a DTPA (Deceptive Trade Practices) case against Amazon, but I really hope that doesn’t become my only recourse. Though going that avenue would allow me to claim opportunity cost and emotional damages as well.

Amazon policy states that units lost at a fulfillment center for 30 days become eligible for reimbursement. The problem is that Amazon will not admit that these units are lost. I ask you, if they are not lost, then why can no one find them??? They keep saying they know where the units are, and investigating only to find out they units are not actually there. Last I heard they are in a freight center in Ohio, but yet, why can they not find them?
At this point, even if they are found, they would likely be un-sellable due to being damaged, banged up and the circuitry fried from sitting out in the heat.

On top of all this, a box with another inbound shipment worth $14k was registered lost by UPS a week ago and no one seems to be willing to help until I use the “reconciliation” tool, which is impossible because the shipment is still “receiving”…due to the box being lost.

I have had about as much as I can take.

Best of luck to you