Amazon Has Lost Your Inventory, What Now?
Amazon.com has evolved into an ecommerce giant and today handles millions of products, all over the world, at their FBA Fulfillment Centers. However, even though Amazon has incredibly high standards for their sellers, they themselves are not perfect. Sometimes, Amazon FBA is the party responsible for damaged or lost items. When this happens, Amazon does have policies set in place to protect their sellers. However, many sellers are not aware of their rights and protections, and, often, Amazon does not provide a fair remedy for sellers.
What Happens When My Amazon Inventory is Lost?
When Amazon loses your items, they are supposed to replace the lost items or pay you for the lost value of the product. However, you will not be reimbursed for your FBA and Selling Fees. These replacement fees are capped at $5,000 per item. Amazon is responsible for items that are damaged or lost at FBA and items that are lost or damaged using an Amazon carrier. Therefore, as a seller, it is your responsibility to manage your inventory and to know if something is missing.
If you notice there is an issue with your items at FBA, there are certain preliminary steps that you may take on your own. You will first need to contact the FBA Fulfillment Centers directly and ask them to search the inventory to locate your items [1]. If they lost the items, then the products will be replaced or you will be reimbursed.
Amazon may replace your items; however, Amazon does not always replace your item with a quality replacement. This is where Amazon suspensions become relevant. If you were selling an authentic item and Amazon loses this item, there is a risk that the replacement supplied will not be authentic. Amazon might purchase this replacement item from another Amazon seller.
Lost Inventory and Amazon Suspensions
If a customer purchases the replacement item (from your Amazon Seller account), and leaves an Amazon Seller complaint that it is counterfeit, you will receive an Amazon suspension and be forced to write appeals to Amazon. This is particularly frustrating Amazon Sellers because they are getting suspended for another seller’s product. It was Amazon who lost the item, Amazon who replaced the item with a potentially counterfeit item, but it is you who is at risk of a seller suspension. The customer does not know that your item was lost and replaced with an inferior product; all they know is that they are unhappy with the item they received.
Unfortunately, these situations do occur, but at Amazon Sellers Lawyer we have helped dozens of our clients with their lost inventory related Amazon appeals. In such situations, it is best to hire an experienced attorney. Amazon Sellers Lawyer handles suspensions every single day and has the ability to handle these tricky situations.
Besides Amazon Appeals, How Amazon Sellers Lawyer Can Help?
While Amazon does have policies to protect their sellers for lost items, not all sellers are adequately compensated. Amazon has a “default price” set for reimbursements of certain items. If Amazon uses the default reimbursement price, there is a risk that you will not receive the full value of your lost item. You will then need to provide to Amazon your invoices to prove the high value of your lost product. We at Amazon Sellers Lawyer will work with you and Amazon to make sure that you receive adequate compensation when Amazon loses your item.
If Amazon does not cooperate, that does not mean the fight is over either. Sometimes Amazon might claim that they never received the inventory an Amazon Seller believes is lost. One of our clients was involved in this very situation, but we were able to help. Because this client saved all shipping and tracking documentation, we were able to verify through postal records that their inventory was sent to and received by Amazon (by time, date, package count and weight). When Amazon wouldn’t cooperate, we “took the decision out of Amazon’s hands” as founding Attorney CJ Rosenbaum likes to say, and filed for arbitration. This case is still pending but we feel confident our client will come out on top. For more information about Amazon and Arbitration, check out our blog at www.AmazonSellersLawyer.com/blog.
What you need to know as an Amazon Seller
If you are selling an item through FBA that is worth more than $5,000, it is in your best interest to purchase insurance for that item. Otherwise, if Amazon loses your item, they will only reimburse you up to $5,000 without insurance; the rest is your loss. Additionally, it is important that when you are sending your products to FBA, that your products are not damaged, expired, or improperly packaged as these items will not be protected by Amazon’s policies. If you realize an item is missing, you need to report that the item was missing at least within nine months from the set shipment delivery date. If the item was lost or damaged by FBA, you will need to submit your claim within 18 months from the time you became aware that the item was damaged or lost.
The Amazon platform hold’s sellers to the highest standards compared to any other e-commerce platform. Sellers who follow policies and abide by the Amazon Participation Agreement should not receive Amazon Suspension as a result of Amazon’s inability to manage inventory. If Amazon will not cooperate with you in recovering your lost inventory, or you are suspended for comingled inventory, give Amazon Sellers Lawyer a call, an experienced attorney is always here to help Amazon Sellers.
Reference
[1]https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200242960
Biography: Amazon Sellers Lawyer is a team comprised of unique individuals with extensive knowledge and backgrounds. They are dedicated to defending the rights of e-commerce entrepreneurs and sellers across all platforms. Founded in 1994 by CJ Rosenbaum, the firm is now emerging as an industry leader as evidenced by its receipt of the Bitbond Best E-commerce Site of 2017 award. Whether a seller is facing an Intellectual Property issue, their funds are being held, or they simply need assistance with a suspension and reinstatement, the team at Amazon Sellers Lawyer has the knowledge and experience to serve sellers day and night, all around the World.
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