UPDATE
posted June 4, 2021
On May 17, 2021, we announced a policy update about Automatic verification of customer A-to-z Guarantee Claims with proof of tracking. Automatic verification of claims does not change any existing A-to-z Guarantee Claims policies. Please see the following frequently-asked questions for additional information:
1. If I use Buy Shipping Services and ship the items on time, am I protected against A-to-z Guarantee Claims?
If you use Buy Shipping Services, existing A-to-z Guarantee Claims policies will apply. If you ship the items on time and respond to the Buyer-Seller message within 48 hours, you will be protected against any A-to-z Guarantee Claims filed if a customer reports a delivery issue.
If you ensure your shipment carrier has a pick up scan before the order ship-by date, you will not be penalized for delays caused by the carrier. Amazon will cover the cost of these A-to-z Guarantee Claims and they will not affect your Order Defect Rate (ODR).
2. Do customers no longer need to reach out to me before filing an A-to-z Guarantee Claim?
If tracking indicates the item was undeliverable, or was returned to you, then customers will not need to contact you in order to file an A-to-z Guarantee Claim, and the customer claim will be granted. If you disagree with the decision, you can always use the appeal mechanism and provide proof of delivery.
3. What is “proof of delivery”?
Proof of delivery refers to delivery confirmation from your carrier with the customer’s signature.
4. How will my Order Defect Rate (ODR) be impacted if an A-to-z Guarantee Claim was filed due to an item being lost or damaged by the carrier?
If an item is lost or damaged by the carrier and you have included tracking, the tracking will demonstrate that you were not at fault and your ODR will not be affected.
5. How do I get reimbursed for shipping costs?
You can file an A-to-z Guarantee Claim Appeal and request a restocking fee. Read our Guidelines for charging restocking fees.
6. How can I prevent A-to-z Guarantee Claims filed by customers due to delivery issues?
To prevent A-to-z Guarantee Claims filed by customers due to delivery issues, we recommend that you:
If you want to appeal an A-to-z Guarantee Claim, you can contact us within 30 days of the decision and provide proof of delivery and/or proof of an alternate solution agreed to with the customer.
ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT
posted May 17, 2021
From May 24, 2021, we will automatically verify customer claims and offer refunds on your behalf, for specific scenarios where Amazon can verify package delivery using the tracking information provided during order confirmation. This update will simplify the A-to-z Guarantee Claims experience for you and your customers, and will help protect your Order Defect Rate (ODR).
How will this update improve my A-to-z Guarantee Claims experience?
Currently, you must respond to customer messages about delivery issues within 48 hours, review the issue, verify tracking, and refund the order amount to the customer (if eligible). If you do not respond in 48 hours, the customer is more likely to file an A-to-z Guarantee Claim, which may result in an account debit that would negatively impact your account health or ODR.
The automatic verification update will reduce the time and effort it takes to verify a valid claim. If the tracking information entered in Seller Central demonstrates that the customer claim is valid, we will issue a refund. We will carefully review all tracking information to protect you from unjustified claims.
How will automatic verification of Buyer A-to-z Claims work?
Some examples of Buyer A-to-z Guarantee Claims that can be automatically verified using proof of delivery include:
How will I be notified if Amazon resolves an A-to-z Guarantee Claim on my behalf?
If we make a claim decision and issue a refund on your behalf, we will send you a confirmation email to clarify the reason.
How can I appeal an A-to-z Guarantee Claim decision?
You will have 30 calendar days to submit an appeal if you disagree with our decision. The A-to-z Guarantee Claim decision confirmation email will include steps to appeal the decision or you can directly submit your appeals on the Manage A-to-z Claims page using link: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/guarantee-claims/home.html/ref=xx_azclaims_dnav_home#/. You need to provide proof for us to re-investigate the claim, for example, proof that your product was delivered to the customer.
For more information on preventing claims, go to How to prevent A-to-z Guarantee Claims.
“We will carefully review all tracking information to protect you from unjustified claims.”
Why do I not have faith in this statement??
So if a buyer refuses a package, we get stuck with the shipping costs?
Notice the “double-speak” Amazon is famous for. The notice claims that Amazon will “we will automatically verify customer claims and offer refunds on your behalf, for specific scenarios where Amazon can verify package delivery using the tracking information provided during order confirmation.”
But one of the examples given - Buyer refused delivery - full refund when tracking shows delivered back to you - full refund = YOU lose the outgoing postage and an Amazon Refund Processing Fee.
Another example: “If we cannot verify the customer’s claim through tracking information, we will require them to reach out to you to resolve the issue before they file a claim.” So the scammers who claim non delivery even though the Post Office (or other carrier) certifies delivery, they must “reach out” before they file a claim. What are we going to do? The carrier has certified delivery (legal proof in every Court in the United States except the Amazon Kangaroo version). You obviously deny the refund because delivery is legally verified and the scammer files a claim anyway. Guess what Amazon will do - grant their claim for a full refund = YOU LOSE full price of the product, postage to send it and an Amazon refund processing fee.
Appeals - we need to provide proof of delivery - I had that scenario in December, Express Mail, Signature Required - delivered at 10:00 AM, scammer filed an A to Z at 10:30 AM - claim granted. Appeal denied because according to the Amazon “team” the Post Office record (including the scammer’s signature) was not sufficient proof of delivery" - and NO further appeals possible (2 separate cases opened and never replied to). I know many other Amazon 3P FBM sellers over the holiday season with the same results.
Just another way for Amazon to take our money and give it to the scammers.
So wait, if for some unforeseen reason, a package goes out a day late and is still shown as delivered by the time the case is filed they will issue a refund to the thief making an A-Z claim?!
If that is the case, we’re done here, period.
“offer refunds on your behalf”. Amazon makes it sound like they are doing us a favor by taking money out of our pockets.
Wow. So if a product gets damaged or lost by UPS, the customer doesn’t need to contact us to take care of it…it just goes right to A-to-Z and a metrics hit?
Do we still get INR Protection for packages shipped on time?
This sounds like just another way to (insert bad word here) over sellers.
Actually, it seems obvious that it’s not actual ‘sellers’ that they want any more. They only want ‘vendors’ who will ship whatever, to whoever; pay for everything no matter the cost to them.
It’s only about Amazon getting their money.
Thank you, Amazon. Once again, this change will streamline the A-Z claim process and parallel the FBM channel with FBA.
UPDATE
posted June 4, 2021
On May 17, 2021, we announced a policy update about Automatic verification of customer A-to-z Guarantee Claims with proof of tracking. Automatic verification of claims does not change any existing A-to-z Guarantee Claims policies. Please see the following frequently-asked questions for additional information:
1. If I use Buy Shipping Services and ship the items on time, am I protected against A-to-z Guarantee Claims?
If you use Buy Shipping Services, existing A-to-z Guarantee Claims policies will apply. If you ship the items on time and respond to the Buyer-Seller message within 48 hours, you will be protected against any A-to-z Guarantee Claims filed if a customer reports a delivery issue.
If you ensure your shipment carrier has a pick up scan before the order ship-by date, you will not be penalized for delays caused by the carrier. Amazon will cover the cost of these A-to-z Guarantee Claims and they will not affect your Order Defect Rate (ODR).
2. Do customers no longer need to reach out to me before filing an A-to-z Guarantee Claim?
If tracking indicates the item was undeliverable, or was returned to you, then customers will not need to contact you in order to file an A-to-z Guarantee Claim, and the customer claim will be granted. If you disagree with the decision, you can always use the appeal mechanism and provide proof of delivery.
3. What is “proof of delivery”?
Proof of delivery refers to delivery confirmation from your carrier with the customer’s signature.
4. How will my Order Defect Rate (ODR) be impacted if an A-to-z Guarantee Claim was filed due to an item being lost or damaged by the carrier?
If an item is lost or damaged by the carrier and you have included tracking, the tracking will demonstrate that you were not at fault and your ODR will not be affected.
5. How do I get reimbursed for shipping costs?
You can file an A-to-z Guarantee Claim Appeal and request a restocking fee. Read our Guidelines for charging restocking fees.
6. How can I prevent A-to-z Guarantee Claims filed by customers due to delivery issues?
To prevent A-to-z Guarantee Claims filed by customers due to delivery issues, we recommend that you:
If you want to appeal an A-to-z Guarantee Claim, you can contact us within 30 days of the decision and provide proof of delivery and/or proof of an alternate solution agreed to with the customer.
ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT
posted May 17, 2021
From May 24, 2021, we will automatically verify customer claims and offer refunds on your behalf, for specific scenarios where Amazon can verify package delivery using the tracking information provided during order confirmation. This update will simplify the A-to-z Guarantee Claims experience for you and your customers, and will help protect your Order Defect Rate (ODR).
How will this update improve my A-to-z Guarantee Claims experience?
Currently, you must respond to customer messages about delivery issues within 48 hours, review the issue, verify tracking, and refund the order amount to the customer (if eligible). If you do not respond in 48 hours, the customer is more likely to file an A-to-z Guarantee Claim, which may result in an account debit that would negatively impact your account health or ODR.
The automatic verification update will reduce the time and effort it takes to verify a valid claim. If the tracking information entered in Seller Central demonstrates that the customer claim is valid, we will issue a refund. We will carefully review all tracking information to protect you from unjustified claims.
How will automatic verification of Buyer A-to-z Claims work?
Some examples of Buyer A-to-z Guarantee Claims that can be automatically verified using proof of delivery include:
How will I be notified if Amazon resolves an A-to-z Guarantee Claim on my behalf?
If we make a claim decision and issue a refund on your behalf, we will send you a confirmation email to clarify the reason.
How can I appeal an A-to-z Guarantee Claim decision?
You will have 30 calendar days to submit an appeal if you disagree with our decision. The A-to-z Guarantee Claim decision confirmation email will include steps to appeal the decision or you can directly submit your appeals on the Manage A-to-z Claims page using link: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/guarantee-claims/home.html/ref=xx_azclaims_dnav_home#/. You need to provide proof for us to re-investigate the claim, for example, proof that your product was delivered to the customer.
For more information on preventing claims, go to How to prevent A-to-z Guarantee Claims.
UPDATE
posted June 4, 2021
On May 17, 2021, we announced a policy update about Automatic verification of customer A-to-z Guarantee Claims with proof of tracking. Automatic verification of claims does not change any existing A-to-z Guarantee Claims policies. Please see the following frequently-asked questions for additional information:
1. If I use Buy Shipping Services and ship the items on time, am I protected against A-to-z Guarantee Claims?
If you use Buy Shipping Services, existing A-to-z Guarantee Claims policies will apply. If you ship the items on time and respond to the Buyer-Seller message within 48 hours, you will be protected against any A-to-z Guarantee Claims filed if a customer reports a delivery issue.
If you ensure your shipment carrier has a pick up scan before the order ship-by date, you will not be penalized for delays caused by the carrier. Amazon will cover the cost of these A-to-z Guarantee Claims and they will not affect your Order Defect Rate (ODR).
2. Do customers no longer need to reach out to me before filing an A-to-z Guarantee Claim?
If tracking indicates the item was undeliverable, or was returned to you, then customers will not need to contact you in order to file an A-to-z Guarantee Claim, and the customer claim will be granted. If you disagree with the decision, you can always use the appeal mechanism and provide proof of delivery.
3. What is “proof of delivery”?
Proof of delivery refers to delivery confirmation from your carrier with the customer’s signature.
4. How will my Order Defect Rate (ODR) be impacted if an A-to-z Guarantee Claim was filed due to an item being lost or damaged by the carrier?
If an item is lost or damaged by the carrier and you have included tracking, the tracking will demonstrate that you were not at fault and your ODR will not be affected.
5. How do I get reimbursed for shipping costs?
You can file an A-to-z Guarantee Claim Appeal and request a restocking fee. Read our Guidelines for charging restocking fees.
6. How can I prevent A-to-z Guarantee Claims filed by customers due to delivery issues?
To prevent A-to-z Guarantee Claims filed by customers due to delivery issues, we recommend that you:
If you want to appeal an A-to-z Guarantee Claim, you can contact us within 30 days of the decision and provide proof of delivery and/or proof of an alternate solution agreed to with the customer.
ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT
posted May 17, 2021
From May 24, 2021, we will automatically verify customer claims and offer refunds on your behalf, for specific scenarios where Amazon can verify package delivery using the tracking information provided during order confirmation. This update will simplify the A-to-z Guarantee Claims experience for you and your customers, and will help protect your Order Defect Rate (ODR).
How will this update improve my A-to-z Guarantee Claims experience?
Currently, you must respond to customer messages about delivery issues within 48 hours, review the issue, verify tracking, and refund the order amount to the customer (if eligible). If you do not respond in 48 hours, the customer is more likely to file an A-to-z Guarantee Claim, which may result in an account debit that would negatively impact your account health or ODR.
The automatic verification update will reduce the time and effort it takes to verify a valid claim. If the tracking information entered in Seller Central demonstrates that the customer claim is valid, we will issue a refund. We will carefully review all tracking information to protect you from unjustified claims.
How will automatic verification of Buyer A-to-z Claims work?
Some examples of Buyer A-to-z Guarantee Claims that can be automatically verified using proof of delivery include:
How will I be notified if Amazon resolves an A-to-z Guarantee Claim on my behalf?
If we make a claim decision and issue a refund on your behalf, we will send you a confirmation email to clarify the reason.
How can I appeal an A-to-z Guarantee Claim decision?
You will have 30 calendar days to submit an appeal if you disagree with our decision. The A-to-z Guarantee Claim decision confirmation email will include steps to appeal the decision or you can directly submit your appeals on the Manage A-to-z Claims page using link: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/guarantee-claims/home.html/ref=xx_azclaims_dnav_home#/. You need to provide proof for us to re-investigate the claim, for example, proof that your product was delivered to the customer.
For more information on preventing claims, go to How to prevent A-to-z Guarantee Claims.
“We will carefully review all tracking information to protect you from unjustified claims.”
Why do I not have faith in this statement??
So if a buyer refuses a package, we get stuck with the shipping costs?
Notice the “double-speak” Amazon is famous for. The notice claims that Amazon will “we will automatically verify customer claims and offer refunds on your behalf, for specific scenarios where Amazon can verify package delivery using the tracking information provided during order confirmation.”
But one of the examples given - Buyer refused delivery - full refund when tracking shows delivered back to you - full refund = YOU lose the outgoing postage and an Amazon Refund Processing Fee.
Another example: “If we cannot verify the customer’s claim through tracking information, we will require them to reach out to you to resolve the issue before they file a claim.” So the scammers who claim non delivery even though the Post Office (or other carrier) certifies delivery, they must “reach out” before they file a claim. What are we going to do? The carrier has certified delivery (legal proof in every Court in the United States except the Amazon Kangaroo version). You obviously deny the refund because delivery is legally verified and the scammer files a claim anyway. Guess what Amazon will do - grant their claim for a full refund = YOU LOSE full price of the product, postage to send it and an Amazon refund processing fee.
Appeals - we need to provide proof of delivery - I had that scenario in December, Express Mail, Signature Required - delivered at 10:00 AM, scammer filed an A to Z at 10:30 AM - claim granted. Appeal denied because according to the Amazon “team” the Post Office record (including the scammer’s signature) was not sufficient proof of delivery" - and NO further appeals possible (2 separate cases opened and never replied to). I know many other Amazon 3P FBM sellers over the holiday season with the same results.
Just another way for Amazon to take our money and give it to the scammers.
So wait, if for some unforeseen reason, a package goes out a day late and is still shown as delivered by the time the case is filed they will issue a refund to the thief making an A-Z claim?!
If that is the case, we’re done here, period.
“offer refunds on your behalf”. Amazon makes it sound like they are doing us a favor by taking money out of our pockets.
Wow. So if a product gets damaged or lost by UPS, the customer doesn’t need to contact us to take care of it…it just goes right to A-to-Z and a metrics hit?
Do we still get INR Protection for packages shipped on time?
This sounds like just another way to (insert bad word here) over sellers.
Actually, it seems obvious that it’s not actual ‘sellers’ that they want any more. They only want ‘vendors’ who will ship whatever, to whoever; pay for everything no matter the cost to them.
It’s only about Amazon getting their money.
Thank you, Amazon. Once again, this change will streamline the A-Z claim process and parallel the FBM channel with FBA.
“We will carefully review all tracking information to protect you from unjustified claims.”
Why do I not have faith in this statement??
“We will carefully review all tracking information to protect you from unjustified claims.”
Why do I not have faith in this statement??
So if a buyer refuses a package, we get stuck with the shipping costs?
So if a buyer refuses a package, we get stuck with the shipping costs?
Notice the “double-speak” Amazon is famous for. The notice claims that Amazon will “we will automatically verify customer claims and offer refunds on your behalf, for specific scenarios where Amazon can verify package delivery using the tracking information provided during order confirmation.”
But one of the examples given - Buyer refused delivery - full refund when tracking shows delivered back to you - full refund = YOU lose the outgoing postage and an Amazon Refund Processing Fee.
Another example: “If we cannot verify the customer’s claim through tracking information, we will require them to reach out to you to resolve the issue before they file a claim.” So the scammers who claim non delivery even though the Post Office (or other carrier) certifies delivery, they must “reach out” before they file a claim. What are we going to do? The carrier has certified delivery (legal proof in every Court in the United States except the Amazon Kangaroo version). You obviously deny the refund because delivery is legally verified and the scammer files a claim anyway. Guess what Amazon will do - grant their claim for a full refund = YOU LOSE full price of the product, postage to send it and an Amazon refund processing fee.
Appeals - we need to provide proof of delivery - I had that scenario in December, Express Mail, Signature Required - delivered at 10:00 AM, scammer filed an A to Z at 10:30 AM - claim granted. Appeal denied because according to the Amazon “team” the Post Office record (including the scammer’s signature) was not sufficient proof of delivery" - and NO further appeals possible (2 separate cases opened and never replied to). I know many other Amazon 3P FBM sellers over the holiday season with the same results.
Just another way for Amazon to take our money and give it to the scammers.
Notice the “double-speak” Amazon is famous for. The notice claims that Amazon will “we will automatically verify customer claims and offer refunds on your behalf, for specific scenarios where Amazon can verify package delivery using the tracking information provided during order confirmation.”
But one of the examples given - Buyer refused delivery - full refund when tracking shows delivered back to you - full refund = YOU lose the outgoing postage and an Amazon Refund Processing Fee.
Another example: “If we cannot verify the customer’s claim through tracking information, we will require them to reach out to you to resolve the issue before they file a claim.” So the scammers who claim non delivery even though the Post Office (or other carrier) certifies delivery, they must “reach out” before they file a claim. What are we going to do? The carrier has certified delivery (legal proof in every Court in the United States except the Amazon Kangaroo version). You obviously deny the refund because delivery is legally verified and the scammer files a claim anyway. Guess what Amazon will do - grant their claim for a full refund = YOU LOSE full price of the product, postage to send it and an Amazon refund processing fee.
Appeals - we need to provide proof of delivery - I had that scenario in December, Express Mail, Signature Required - delivered at 10:00 AM, scammer filed an A to Z at 10:30 AM - claim granted. Appeal denied because according to the Amazon “team” the Post Office record (including the scammer’s signature) was not sufficient proof of delivery" - and NO further appeals possible (2 separate cases opened and never replied to). I know many other Amazon 3P FBM sellers over the holiday season with the same results.
Just another way for Amazon to take our money and give it to the scammers.
So wait, if for some unforeseen reason, a package goes out a day late and is still shown as delivered by the time the case is filed they will issue a refund to the thief making an A-Z claim?!
If that is the case, we’re done here, period.
So wait, if for some unforeseen reason, a package goes out a day late and is still shown as delivered by the time the case is filed they will issue a refund to the thief making an A-Z claim?!
If that is the case, we’re done here, period.
“offer refunds on your behalf”. Amazon makes it sound like they are doing us a favor by taking money out of our pockets.
“offer refunds on your behalf”. Amazon makes it sound like they are doing us a favor by taking money out of our pockets.
Wow. So if a product gets damaged or lost by UPS, the customer doesn’t need to contact us to take care of it…it just goes right to A-to-Z and a metrics hit?
Wow. So if a product gets damaged or lost by UPS, the customer doesn’t need to contact us to take care of it…it just goes right to A-to-Z and a metrics hit?
Do we still get INR Protection for packages shipped on time?
Do we still get INR Protection for packages shipped on time?
This sounds like just another way to (insert bad word here) over sellers.
Actually, it seems obvious that it’s not actual ‘sellers’ that they want any more. They only want ‘vendors’ who will ship whatever, to whoever; pay for everything no matter the cost to them.
It’s only about Amazon getting their money.
This sounds like just another way to (insert bad word here) over sellers.
Actually, it seems obvious that it’s not actual ‘sellers’ that they want any more. They only want ‘vendors’ who will ship whatever, to whoever; pay for everything no matter the cost to them.
It’s only about Amazon getting their money.
Thank you, Amazon. Once again, this change will streamline the A-Z claim process and parallel the FBM channel with FBA.
Thank you, Amazon. Once again, this change will streamline the A-Z claim process and parallel the FBM channel with FBA.