I have a buyer that reached out to me demanding a free return label because they found a better price on the item that they purchased from me. I told them that unfortunately returning an item due to finding a better price is not eligible for free returns. I dealt with the barrage of angry messages followed by a return request due to inaccurate website description stating "not the correct color."

She is already asking about her FULL refund even though I didn't get the product back yet. I used to wait the 7 days and have Amazon auto-refund but I do understand that this is not the proper action, especially with an impatient buyer such as this.

This is a constant issue I run into and normally it can be resolved by submitting a Safe-T Claim. However, when I need to directly refund the buyer, I do not know if there is any recourse other than fully refunding them (if the item is in original condition).

This particular situation is not being auto-refunded. Do I have any recourse in recouping the return shipping costs?

There were many suspicious and unusual aspects to this return, and it is something we have never encountered before. This is a complicated situation, so please bear with me.

On [01/27/2026], the customer placed an order for an processor from us ,price $386.99. The order was shipped to the buyer’s address in BEAR, DE.

On [02/04/2026], the customer initiated a return request . A prepaid Amazon return label was generated.

On 02/06/2026, the UPS tracking first showed “We Have Your Package,” indicating that UPS had received the return shipment at their facility in Ft Worth, TX.

On 02/09/2026, the UPS tracking showed “Dropped off at The UPS Store by Customer – Dallas, TX,” even though the tracking had already shown that UPS had possession of the package on 02/06/2026.

Suspicious 1. the same Amazon return label tracking number shows two separate drop-off scans in locations several states away from the buyer’s shipping address.

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According to the detailed tracking history on the official UPS website, the return package experienced multiple failed delivery attempts. The tracking information states: “The street number is incorrect. This may delay delivery. We're attempting to update the address.”

During one of these delivery attempts, we were able to obtain photos of the package from the UPS driver. The photos clearly showed that the envelope was empty and did not contain the returned item.

After noticing this issue, we carefully reviewed the photos of the package labels.

The package appeared to have two labels:

• A large label with sender information that appears to have been manually created. The sender information appears to be entirely fabricated. For example, the state listed is PR, the ZIP code corresponds to Florida, and the city and street address listed do not appear to correspond to any real location. The tracking number printed on this label cannot be found in the UPS system. The only address on the label that appears legitimate is the delivery address, which points to a public storage facility located in the same city and zip code as our address, about 1 mile away from us.

• A smaller label placed on top of the large label that contained our correct return address and the valid Amazon return tracking number. This smaller label did not have a barcode and appears to be an internal UPS routing label.

Suspicious 2： The large return label used for this shipment appears to be fabricated and was not generated through Amazon’s return process.

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Eventually the return package was returned back to the buyer’s address BEAR, DE.

On [2/27/206] After the tracking later showed “delivered,” the buyer immediately opened an A-to-Z claim.

In the A-to-Z claim message, the buyer comments that " I returned the order a month ago using the provided label! But the seller says it was a refund, but I didn't receive anything!“. However, we never told the buyer that a refund had been issued. We only informed the buyer that the package had been returned to their address.

While Amazon was waiting for the buyer’s response during the A-to-Z review process, we received an email notification from Amazon on March 2, 2026 stating that the buyer had withdrawn the A-to-Z claim and the claim was closed.

However, the claim is still marked as seller-funded and is impacting our Order Defect Rate, even though the official UPS tracking clearly shows that the package was returned to the sender and delivered back to the buyer’s city (BEAR, DE) instead of being delivered to our return address.

Suspicious 3: The buyer’s comments in the A-to-Z claim do not match our communication history. The buyer stated that the seller told them a refund had been issued, but we never informed the buyer of any refund. We only informed the buyer that the return package had been sent back to their address according to the UPS tracking. Additionally, the buyer opened the A-to-Z claim immediately after the tracking showed “Delivered,” even though the shipment had actually been returned to the buyer’s city rather than delivered to our return address.

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We have collected supporting evidence including photos of the package from the UPS driver, images of the labels, the full UPS tracking history, and the Amazon email confirming that the buyer withdrew the A-to-Z claim.

If possible, could anyone advise how sellers should escalate cases involving suspected return label manipulation, where the return package was never delivered to the seller and was instead returned to the buyer’s address, yet the A-to-Z claim remains marked as seller-funded and continues to impact our Order Defect Rate (ODR)?

Case ID: 19602593201

If you use Amazon Buy shipping and ship on time you have some protection. Otherwise, there is none and even signature delivery wont protect you.

Seller_gfp8IhTOwPvEY

who foots the bill Amazon or the seller? Any insight would be appreciated.

I used my same template or method that normally works.

Is an Amazon employee available to explain why this claim was denied?

None of our FBM items offer free returns.

This is not a soft-line or fashion item.

SAFE-T claim ID

69073-67053-5533747

1st reason: The issue you reported is not covered by the Prepaid Returns for Seller Fulfilled Order program.

2nd reason: The ASIN of the items for which you requested a reimbursement of the cost of the return label is eligible for free returns. By offering free returns, the seller is responsible for the cost of the return shipping regardless of the return reason. Furthermore, Amazon requires you to offer free returns for soft-line and fashion items, such as apparel, shoes, watches, or jewelry. You will be enrolled into free returns for such items automatically.

3rd reason (duplicate): The ASIN of the items for which you requested a reimbursement of the cost of the return label is eligible for free returns. By offering free returns, the seller is responsible for the cost of the return shipping regardless of the return reason. Furthermore, Amazon requires you to offer free returns for soft-line and fashion items, such as apparel, shoes, watches, or jewelry. You will be enrolled into free returns for such items automatically.

4th reason: We understand that you may not agree. However, we stand by our decision. The claim will remain closed and no further investigation will happen for this issue and we may not reply to further communications about this issue.

I’ve always known some shady Amazon sellers hire people to leave negative reviews to hog resources and edge out competitors—but I never thought their tactics would be this low. Let me be clear: our warehouse staff tests every product and accessory one by one before shipping to Amazon. I swear 100% of our products are fully functional and defect-free.

Let’s start with my new CD player listing. Shortly after it went live—before inventory even arrived at Amazon (still in transit)—a customer ordered it. I was thrilled, thinking this product might take off.

The rest went smoothly: goods arrived on time, inventory went live, and Amazon shipped quickly. But I was blindsided—As soon as the customer got the product, she hit me with a 3-star review. she claimed the remote didn’t work and the manual’s text was too small. But our manual’s font is industry standard, and I’ve tested hundreds of those remotes—none have failed. It can’t be broken out of the box.

I rushed to fix it, but Amazon’s system is inflexible: I must send a generic return template first to contact customers. I sent the template, then a digital manual (telling her to zoom in, since I thought she might be older) and walked her through the remote’s usage in detail. That should’ve solved all her “problems.”

I was naive to think she cared. She didn’t care about the remote or the manual—instead, she threw a fit because the “refund” button in the template wasn’t clickable. I explained repeatedly that FBA returns go through Amazon, not me, and I couldn’t change the template. I even sent a screenshot, but she refused to let up.

I swallowed my pride and begged her: this is a new product, and one bad review could kill it. I asked her to re-test and change the review if I fixed everything. She agreed, and I finally breathed easy—thinking the worst was over.

But the nightmare was just starting. I waited three days, hoping for a better review—and got a gut punch. She updated it: “EDIT: dealing with the seller after THEY contacted me has been a NIGHTMARE! So I changed from a 3 star to 1!” She dropped it to 1 star! And she never returned the product—I’m sure she tested it, saw it worked, and still left the 1-star review. Now, I’ve been running ads to promote this CD player for half a month, zero sales. It’s a dead listing, and I’m helpless.

It’s not just the CD player. Another new product got a 1-star review after a few sales. The customer claimed it was broken: “Left Phono Input does not work,” and said he’d buy elsewhere. The joke? The left side of the product isn’t an input at all—it’s an output port, which is clearly marked with printing! He didn’t even figure out the basic ports before leaving a scathing review.

I contacted Amazon support repeatedly, reported both reviews, and sent emails with evidence of malicious intent. But nothing worked—Amazon just sent a generic reply saying they couldn’t remove the reviews.

This has happened multiple times. One of my products even ranked second on the top list before, but a bunch of negative reviews popped up out of nowhere. Whenever my ranking rises a little, some negative reviews come in—there are even people leaving bad reviews without buying the product at all. I contacted Amazon about this too, but they just said they respect every review. I’m just a small seller trying to run an honest store with quality products. I’ve never done anything underhanded or screwed over a competitor. So why can’t these low-life competitors leave me alone? I’m at my wit’s end—these malicious reviews are breaking me. Has anyone else been through this? I’m begging for advice.