I wish somebody could explain to me why Amazon can refund customers even though the product has not been returned but we have to wait 60 days to get a reimbursement from Amazon. I have over 100 items like this. I’ve contacted Amazon so many times escalated it to supervisors they all tell me you have to wait 60 days to see if the customer returns it.
Unfortunately, that’s just how Amazon’s FBA return system is designed. Amazon refunds the customer immediately, even before the item is physically returned, because they prioritize customer experience. But on the seller side, Amazon gives the customer a full 60-day window to send the item back before they classify it as “not returned” and issue you a reimbursement. So even if you know the customer isn’t sending it back, Amazon won’t reimburse early, the system forces the full waiting period.
If you have over 100 units pending, that’s normal frustration but not unusual. Once the 60 days pass, Amazon will either reimburse automatically or you can request reimbursement through a case with the FBA Inventory team. The timeline feels unfair, but it’s standard across all sellers.
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I hear you. It feels completely backwards, Amazon refunds the buyer instantly, but we have to wait 60 days hoping the item gets returned.
The reason? Amazon gives customers the benefit of the doubt. They assume the item will come back and wait 60 days before calling it a loss. Only then can you request a reimbursement under the “unreturned refund” policy.
It’s frustrating, especially at scale. The best move is to set a reminder to open a reimbursement case exactly on Day 61. It’s a manual process, but it works.
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We have to wait up to 60 days because Amazon assumes there’s still a chance the customer might send the item back. They give them 30 days to return it, then add more time for shipping delays and checking it back into inventory. So basically, they take zero risk with the customer… and put all the risk on us.
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Unfortunately, as others said, it is specifically the customer-centric, generous returns policy that motivates high volumes of buyers to shop on Amazon.
There are sellers who vigorously fight each refund but most simply account for the losses as a cost of doing the business.
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It’s really a crazy situation sometimes with Amazon. It varies from account to account and is not the same for every seller, as it depends on the business and fulfillment model. Sometimes Amazon considers certain orders or fulfillment strategies to be slightly risky based on the products, and that’s why this happens.
If you are confident that everything is in order with your product and fulfillment, the best option is usually to wait out the period, as there is often nothing support can do. That said, Amazon sometimes releases things unexpectedly sooner than the estimated fix time.
Amazon’s reimbursement and release policies can be complex and differ depending on the account type and fulfillment model, so the safest approach is to make sure everything is correct on your end and wait through the specified period.