Refund administration fee

If you refund a customer order for which you have already received payment, Amazon will refund you the amount of the referral fee you paid for the items, minus the applicable refund administration fee.

Time of charge	When the refund is created by the Seller
Fee structure	Per unit returned. Rate based on percentage of transaction refunded or a flat rate.

Referral fees	For all products, Amazon deducts the applicable referral fee percentage calculated on the total sales price.
Closing fees	A closing fee applies to book, music, video, or DVD items.
Fee categories	Fee categories determine which rates apply to a particular product for certain fee types.
Refund percentage	The percentage of refund given to the customer.

First, determine if the product type is a book, music, video, or DVD. Next, determine what percentage of the product charges have been refunded. Using this information, refer to the rate card below:

Product type	Percentage of product charges refunded by seller	Refund administration fee
Book, music, video, and DVD products	100%	$0.00
	Less than 100%	Amazon retains the variable closing fee and credits you a proportional amount of the referral fee originally charged for the order, based on the percentage of the item price you refunded to the buyer.
All other product types	100%	Lesser of $5 or 20% of referral fees

Example 1: Refund of a single item from an order

Suppose you receive the following two-item order:

Item A (item price)	$300.00
Item B (item price)	$50.00
Shipping on item A	$40.00
Shipping on item B	$5.00
Gift wrap on item A	$5.00
Gift wrap on item B	$2.00
Tax on item A	$25.00
Tax on item B	$4.00
Total	$431.00

You then refund item A, including shipping and gift wrap charges (this is commonly done if the customer cancels the item before the order ships). Assuming the referral fee for items in this category is 15%, we calculate the refund administration fee as follows:

Refund administration fee for item A:

= Percentage of the original order-related fee x [referral fee x (item A price + shipping + gift wrap)]

= 20% x [15% x ($300 + $40 + $5)]

= 20% x [15% x $345]

= 20% x [$51.75]

= $10.35

The refund administration fee for this line item cannot be greater than $5, so we cap it at $5. Other item-related charges, such as shipping and gift wrap, are included in the refund administration fee calculation, but tax is not. Amazon does not retain a portion of any refunded taxes.

Example 2: Refund of multiple (different) items from an order

Suppose you receive the same two-item order as described above, but this time you refund the order in full, including shipping and gift wrap (this is commonly done if the customer cancels the order before it ships). The initial refund administration fee calculation applies to each line item in the refund, as follows:

Refund administration fee for item A:

= Percentage of the original order-related fee x [referral fee x (item A price + shipping + gift wrap)]

= 20% x [15% x ($300 + $40 + $5)]

= 20% x [15% x $345]

= 20% x [$51.75]

= $10.35

Refund administration fee for item B:

= Percentage of the original order-related fee x [referral fee x (item B price + shipping + gift wrap)]

= 20% x [15% x ($50 + $5 + $2)]

= 20% x [15% x $57]

= 20% x [$8.55]

= $1.71

Refund administration fees cannot exceed $5, so the first is capped at $5. The refund for the second item will be $1.71, since it is lower than $5. Other item-related charges, such as shipping and gift wrap, are included in the refund administration fee calculation, but tax is not. Amazon does not retain a portion of any refunded taxes.

Example 3: Refund of multiple quantities of the same item from an order

Suppose you receive the following three-item order:

Item A (quantity: 2)	$600.00
Item B	$50.00
Shipping on item A	$20.00
Shipping on item B	$5.00
Gift wrap on item A	$5.00
Gift wrap on item B	$2.00
Tax on item A	$25.00
Tax on item B	$4.00
Total	$771.00

You then refund both quantities of item A, excluding shipping and gift wrap (this is commonly done if the customer returns the items after the order has shipped). Because the refund administration fee calculation applies to each unique line item in a refund, and multiple quantities of a single item comprise a single line item, we apply the calculation one time for both units of item A. Assuming again that the referral fee for items in this category is 15%, the initial refund administration fee (before applying the $5 cap) is calculated as follows:

Refund administration fee for both units of item A:

= Percentage of the original order-related fee x [referral fee x cost of both units of item A]

= 20% x [15% x $600]

= 20% x [$90]

= $18.00

As this refund administration fee is greater than $5, we cap it at $5. No refund administration fee calculations apply to subsequent refunds involving this item because the $5 cap has already been met.

Is the per-item fee for the Individual selling plan credited for refunded items?

No, Amazon also retains the per-item fee. Note that this fee does not apply to sellers subscribed to a Professional selling plan.

What is the maximum refund Administration fee for non-media items?

If you refund a single item in an order, Amazon retains no more than $5 as a refund administration fee. If you refund two different items in an order, Amazon retains up to $5 for each item, for a maximum of $10 as a refund administration fee. Because the formula is applied to each individual line item in a refund, when you refund multiple quantities of a single item, Amazon retains no more than $5 for that line item as a refund administration fee.

What about refunds with tax calculation services?

For information about fees for our tax calculation services, see Tax Calculation Services Terms.