If you are a long time Amazon "legacy seller," there's a high likelihood that you've contributed significantly to Amazon's profit. It's also likely that selling with Amazon has earned your business a much larger profit than it would otherwise gain.
Working with Amazon is an excellent way to increase your online presence. Amazon will handle the bulk of your advertising and marketing on the platform. You can reach a much broader audience and capitalize. However, not all sales are final. Sometimes, you have to consider Amazon refunds and the effect they have on your revenue.
As a seller, your return and refund policy should conform as much as possible with Amazon's commitment to the customer and also its high expectations for its sellers; if you fail to meet them, you may lose your ability to continue being a seller.
We'd hate to see that to you. So, in the guide below, we'll explore the Amazon refund policy and how it affects your business. Let's get started!
In most cases, refunds begin with a return request from your customer. Before you can determine how to handle the refund, you likely need to process the return.
To do so, go to Manage Seller Fulfilled Returns on Amazon Seller Central. Here, you can review your requests and either authorize or decline them.
If you authorize a return, wait until you have received the package in your facilities before taking further action. Amazon recommends you respond to a return request within 24 hours of receiving it.
Once you've received the returned product, check the packing slip and Return Mailing Authorization number to ensure this is the expected return. After confirming the return, Amazon wants you to issue your refund within two business days of receiving the item.
If you fail to comply with this policy, Amazon reserves the right to issue a refund and charge the cost to your seller account. Amazon strives to provide speedy transactions and deliveries for its customers. As such, the company expects you to meet their standards.
However, Amazon also recognizes that carriers may scan the package before they deliver it to your facility. In such cases, they do provide you some flexibility in your processing speed. Still, it's best to process and pay refunds as soon as possible to comply with Amazon's policy.
Now that you know more about Amazon's policies and processes surrounding refunds let's discuss how to issue refunds. Issuing a refund requires you to follow these basic steps.
First, find the order you wish to refund under Manage Orders. Once you've located the request, click the Refund Order option in the Action column. You can also click the Order ID and select Refund Order on your Order Details page.
At this stage, you'll see an option for a refund amount. You have two choices in how you pay the refund. These options are full and partial payments. For now, we'll explain how to refund it in full.
First, click the box next to Refund full amount. Next, select the Reason for the refund. You have the option to leave notes for your buyer and yourself.
It's often a wise customer service practice to include a note to the buyer explaining why they received a given amount. It's always polite to apologize to the customer for their dissatisfaction as well.
You can also leave a note for yourself to keep for your records. This personal note lets you track your actions on order and any concessions or promises you've made the buyer.
As an Amazon seller, you retain some rights and privileges for how you choose to refund a customer. For example, if a customer simply no longer wants a product that you described accurately, you can choose not to repay them.
You may also decide not to request a return for your product and grant the payment anyway. You can do this automatically through rules you define, or you can discuss this option with the buyer through messaging. You can learn more about these transactions by researching Returnless Refunds.
Depending on the circumstances of the refund request, you may also choose to provide a partial refund. We'll explore how to do this below.
First, select the cause for your payment, just as you would for a full refund. Once you've done so, go to the Amount to refund column. Here, you can enter the sum of money you'd like to refund the buyer.
If you choose, you can also refund additional costs like gift-wrapping or shipping costs. Once you've entered the amount, leave a note that explains why you've opted to offer this sum to the buyer.
Leaving this note helps avoid confusion or controversy about the received amount. Depending on the circumstances, you may want to inform the buyer before issuing the refund that they only qualify for partial reimbursement.
Once you've written this note, you can leave a personal note for yourself. After you've done this, click Submit Refund.
Once you've submitted the payment, wait for about 15 minutes for your data to update. Submitting the refund amount shuts down any related buyer return requests. However, bear in mind the buyer can open a new refund request if they don't receive their total amount.
If you manually pay a refund, it will retain a Pending status for a maximum of two hours. This time frame gives you a buffer if you realize you've made a mistake in your payment.
Sometimes as an Amazon seller, you will require refunds from Amazon themselves. Navigating this process can be much more challenging than issuing refunds yourself.
If you find yourself in this position, work with a reimbursement service! We work with Legacy Sellers to help ensure they receive all the money Amazon owes them. Discover more about our services today!
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