Buyer bought an item and after receiving it requested a replacement. $0.00 replacement order comes through and we ship out another item (FBM). 45 days later buyer has still not returned the original item, Amazon closed out the return so now buyer received both items but only paid for one. Do I have any recourse here?

Was wondering how other custom and handmade sellers are handling replacement requests from buyers for custom orders that arrive broken, and the said return of that item?

I have contacted Seller Support, and they sent me a link to an article stating that when a buyer requests a replacement, "I would receive a zero-value instant replacement order from Amazon to fulfill the replacement. The buyer has 30 days to return the original item from the time the replacement order was shipped, using the provided Amazon prepaid return label." However, in the 8-9 replacement requests I have received from buyers, I have never received a zero-value instant replacement order for my custom order replacement requests. I informed Amazon of this, but it seems to have disappeared into their black hole.

When a buyer requests a replacement, I use the Buyer-Seller messaging template for replacements, which sends out the message: "Hello, we are sorry to hear there has been a problem with your order. Would you like us to ship you a replacement? If yes, please confirm the address we should ship the replacement to. Regards." Buyers reply back confirming their address, but no such zero-value instant replacement order is ever created.

As for the returns, I'm not particularly interested in receiving the item back. However, there are a few cases where I would have liked to get the item back for various reasons. The article referenced by Amazon stated, "The buyer has 30 days to return the original item from the time the replacement order was shipped, using the provided Amazon prepaid return label." This shipping label has never been generated either.

I really wish Amazon's support system could answer these questions, but from past experience, I don't hold much hope of that happening. At this point, I'm considering just telling the buyers that we cannot offer a replacement and will offer refunds instead. If I decide I want the item back in certain situations, I will tell them I'm sending a shipping label and will refund them when the item is received.

How should I proceed here?

Buyer received original item, claimed it didn't work and requested a replacement. So this is the first return request that's open.

I print label for the replacement item and the buyer immediately opens a second return on the replacement so now I have two open returns. They say the original item works fine now so they don't need the replacement.

The buyer used expedited shipping the first time which made both the first and the replacement urgent. (Not sure if this was malicious or not)

How do I handle these two returns that are sitting open? I still have the replacement in my possession. Do I go through the refund process for the replacement even though it cost them nothing? Do I leave the original return open and let it expire on its own?

Thank you in advance