Amazon provides and has sole discretion in determining all post-order customer services, including customer returns, refunds, and adjustments related to Prime items. You agree that Amazon may charge the costs of any returns, refunds, or other adjustments and concessions related to Prime items to your seller account. Go to Seller Fulfilled Prime program policy and Customer service for Seller Fulfilled Prime for more information.
Note: Amazon reserves the right to change or amend the terms of the SAFE-T policy, or both at its sole discretion without any prior notice to sellers and the seller shall be responsible for reviewing these changes and informing itself of all such applicable changes.
Certain returns are automatically refunded at carrier first scan. If the return is not automatically refunded, you are responsible for issuing a refund for a return on a Seller Fulfilled Prime order. However, in certain situations, Amazon may issue a refund to the customer on your behalf. When Amazon issues a refund to a customer and you think that you should not be held financially responsible for the charge, you may file a claim for reimbursement via the Seller Assurance for ecommerce Transactions (SAFE-T).
Frequently asked questions about Seller Fulfilled Prime reimbursements
1. Can I be reimbursed if Amazon processes a return on my behalf?
You might be eligible for reimbursement if a customer has been refunded by Amazon for one of the following reasons and the amount reimbursed to the customer has been taken from your seller account.
Note: An order must have already been fully refunded (return shipping cost or restocking fee may be deducted from the refund in accordance with the
refund policy) to be eligible for a SAFE-T claim. Filed claims that do not meet this criterion will be automatically denied.
Below are the scenarios that you might be eligible for a reimbursement. This list does not guarantee a reimbursement, and Amazon maintains all rights to determine what reimbursement value, if any, is issued:
-
Buyer said they never received Item, but I have proof: You are eligible for reimbursement if you purchased the delivery shipping label through Amazon Buy Shipping Services, and the tracking shows the item is delivered but the customer claims they did not receive the package. If you did not purchase the delivery shipping label through Amazon Buy Shipping Services, you must provide signature confirmation of delivery to be eligible for a reimbursement on your SAFE-T claim.
Note: This does not apply to items that are deemed Hazmat or Non-returnable by Amazon unless the return reason is the customer’s fault as described at
Return Reason codes for prepaid returns to learn more about when a return reason is considered as the customer’s fault.
-
Buyer returned damaged item: You are eligible for reimbursement if an item is returned to you in unsellable condition and Amazon determines you were not at fault. (Send appropriate photo evidence linking the return to the purchased product).
Note: Per
Restocking fee policy, if the product is damaged by the customer, the reimbursement will be limited to a maximum of 50% of the order value of the product.
Note: Attach all necessary support documentation (for example, supportive images of damaged item vs new item, image of the return mailing label, tracking ID, delivery proof, or any additional information you deem necessary to review your claim).
-
Buyer returned item that was not what I sent: You are eligible for reimbursement if a materially different item is returned to you and Amazon determines you were not at fault.
-
Amazon enforced the refund including the outbound shipping cost and the return reason is considered the customer’s fault as described at Return Reason codes for prepaid returns. You may be eligible for the outbound and return label cost reimbursement.
-
Buyer returned item after the return period: You are eligible for reimbursement if Amazon initiated a return on behalf of a customer for an item that is outside of the return window.
Note: Amazon calculates the return window for seller-fulfilled orders based on maximum estimated delivery date and three days’ additional time for postmarking the item.
-
Amazon issued a refund to the customer for return delivery label, even though the customer was responsible for paying for return delivery: For items under 50 lb, you are responsible for paying for return delivery regardless of return reason. For items 50 lb or more, you are eligible for reimbursement if return reason is listed as customer fault at Return Reason codes for prepaid returns.
-
The customer requested a free replacement via the Online Return Center, you shipped the replacement, the customer sent back an incorrect item or the original item (not in sellable condition), or Amazon issued a refund to the customer.
You may be eligible for reimbursement for a free replacement if:
-
The customer requested a free replacement via the Online Return Center, you shipped the replacement and the customer sent back the incorrect item or the original item in an unsellable condition.
Note: You must submit the reimbursement claim for the replacement order within 60 calendar days after receiving the original item.
-
The customer requested a free replacement via the Online Return Center, you shipped the replacement and Amazon issued a refund to the customer.
Note: You must submit the reimbursement claim for the original order within 60 calendar days of a refund being charged to your account for the original item. Provide the tracking information, image of the returned item, and image of the return label for the replacement order while filing a claim. Note that Returnless Replacements are not eligible for SAFE-T claims.
Note: After requesting a replacement order, the customer should send the original item back to you within seven days after the replacement request date. You will receive a notification from Amazon to ship the replacement item after the original item is returned. You will only be eligible for a reimbursement claim for the replacement order if the original item is sent back to you in a different condition. Orders that are in transit are not eligible for a SAFE-T claim. For more information, visit
Replacements for seller-fulfilled returns.
2. Are there any restrictions for filing a reimbursement claim for a Seller Fulfilled Prime order?
The following restrictions apply to the eligibility of orders, claim filing, and reimbursement amounts.
Orders and use cases that are not eligible for SAFE-T reimbursement:
-
You are not eligible for reimbursement for refunds that you issued to the customer.
Note: To check if an Amazon-issued refund was applied on your seller-fulfilled order that was returned with a Prepaid Return Label, go to the Orders tab and select Manage returns, search for the return, and then click View more details. If the Resolution says Refund at First Scan or Automated Refund, the refund was issued by Amazon on your behalf.
-
Items lost or damaged in transit, either outbound or return, by any carrier other than Amazon Shipping are not eligible for SAFE-T claims. Instead, you can raise a claim with the carrier for a possible reimbursement. For a lost or damaged package sent using Amazon Shipping, check how to raise the claim here. For a lost or damaged package sent with a third-party carrier, ask the carrier directly about their reimbursement policy.
-
Chargeback claims are not covered by this policy. Review our full chargeback policy for details.
-
FBA orders are not covered by this policy. Go to FBA customer returns policy for the FBA reimbursement policy.
-
Orders with an A-to-z Guarantee claim are not eligible for SAFE-T claims. You have the ability to Appeal an A-to-z Guarantee claim.
-
If you refuse a return shipment for any reason, the order is not eligible for reimbursement.
-
Shipping adjustment charges are not eligible for SAFE-T claims (for example, in cases where a buyer sends back the return in a different or bigger box).
-
If you have selected Returnless Refunds through your return settings or an automated returnless refund was enforced, the order is not eligible for SAFE-T claims.
Timelines and limitations for filing and managing SAFE-T reimbursement claims:
-
Reimbursement claims must be submitted within 60 calendar days of a refund being charged to your account.
-
You can file only one claim per order ID.
-
Reimbursements for a single order will not exceed $5,000. For items valued at more than $5,000, we suggest that you buy third-party insurance.
-
Reimbursements will not include any applicable Amazon fees associated with the sale.
-
Reimbursements may be limited to a percentage of the order value of the product depending on the damage.
3. How can I file a reimbursement (SAFE-T) claim?
Note: If Amazon has refunded the customer and the order has a valid return mailing authorization (RMA), wait until you receive the item or at least 15 days before filing a claim. You can verify whether an order has a valid RMA or not in the Manage Returns section of Seller Central.
Note: The claim will not be processed if you are not a registered account user. If you are not a registered account user, please contact the account administrator and request that your email address is added to the Registered Users list.
-
From the Orders tab in Seller Central, go to Manage SAFE-T claims.
-
Click File a new SAFE-T claim, in the top right-hand corner of the page.
-
Enter the order ID for the return and then click Check eligibility.
-
If your order is eligible, proceed to the next step. If not, please know that there is no appeal option to request the claim be filed and reviewed for the order ID.
-
Select the reason that best describes your case for your reimbursement claim.
-
In your claim, provide detail as why you believe Amazon should reimburse you. For example, you have been overcharged for the return label or the product was returned in an unacceptable condition.
-
Attach all necessary supporting documentation (e.g. supportive images of damaged item, the image of the Return Mailing Label, Tracking ID, delivery proof, or any additional information you see necessary to review your claim), if applicable, and then click Submit SAFE-T claim. You will receive an email confirming receipt of your claim, any future correspondence on your claim should be done on the Manage SAFE-T Claims page.
Note: Communication related to SAFE-T claims can be viewed in the Communication Center in
Manage SAFE-T claims page. Each claim on this page will have an option to view the message in order to check correspondence on that claim. Any attachments can also be uploaded from the same tab.
You can view updates on your claim in the Manage SAFE-T claims page which will highlight the claims that need your response. You can click on the ‘View message’ button that will open the SAFE-T Communication Center where you can read and respond to the message.
Note: It might take up to 24 hours for the claim status to be updated in the Manage SAFE-T Claims page, after you reply.
Note: During the investigation process, Amazon investigators might require you to provide additional information. In such a case, you will receive a notification from SAFE-T team and need to reply within 7 days on the same page in the
Manage SAFE-T claims.
Failure to provide sufficient information in seven days will result in the denial of your claim.
4. How do I check the status of my claims?
To track the status of your reimbursement claims, go to
Orders
> Manage SAFE-T claims
.
-
The navigation menu for Manage SAFE-T Claims differs depending upon the claim status (for example, "Awaiting seller response," "Resolved," or "Under investigation"). When you click a respective tab, claims that have a status change or require a response will be highlighted. You will also get an email notification whenever the status of any claim changes. However, it will be a no-reply email and will contain a link that directs you to the respective claims on the SAFE-T Communication Center on Seller Central.
-
You can search for claims in the specific time period by selecting the box next to Claim Date at the top left to select the data range.
-
You can also search for a specific order ID, ASIN, RMA, or SAFE-T ID using the search box on the top right.
-
For every claim, you can find the information on product name, quantity, claim amount, SAFE-T claim ID, reason, description, attachments that you provided, order date, claim date, claim status, reimbursement amount, and return request date.
5. Can I appeal a SAFE-T claim?
If you do not agree with the SAFE-T’s decision, and you have additional information and evidence to support your argument, you can appeal the SAFE-T claim within seven days of claim decision via the Manage SAFE-T claims page, through the reply option available against all resolved claims. You can appeal a SAFE-T claim only once, so study the denial reasons and provide additional information that will support your appeal.
Manage SAFE-T claims page will indicate “Reply by <Date> <Time>” against each claim. For resolved claims, the timeline to respond will be indicated as “Appeal by <Date> <Time>” against each claim.
Note: Do not reopen the same claim multiple times without any additional information, or you may be flagged for abuse of SAFE-T process and action may be taken against your account.
Note: Do not discuss SAFE-T decisions with Selling Partner Support, because they are unable to influence the decision on a SAFE-T claim. Instead, you should interact directly with the SAFE-T team via
Manage SAFE-T Claims page.
6. Do SAFE-T claims affect my performance?
Filing SAFE-T claims do not count against your performance metrics, but any attempt to abuse the SAFE-T process or seller reimbursement policy may lead to performance action on your account.
When you file a reimbursement claim, you confirm that the details mentioned in the case are true and that any misrepresentation or deviation from the statement may lead to removal of your selling privileges, return of all earlier reimbursements, or any other appropriate action by Amazon.