The following is a guest post written by our partners at Getida.
Amazon FBA reimbursements can help you transform losses into profits for your business.
As an Amazon seller, growing your business means keeping your eye on opportunities to save money. This is where FBA reimbursements can come in with their proven track record of increasing profitability.
How much can you recover?
Before you begin exploring FBA reimbursements, you may wonder what you stand to gain. According to our research, the discrepancy rate for FBA inventory is between 1% and 3% each year. For example, of 100 items shipped to FBA, approximately 1 to 3 items will be damaged, lost, thrown away, or otherwise unaccounted for.
Keep in mind that this means that Amazon has an incredibly high success rate with 97% to 99% of FBA inventory items handled correctly. Given the staggering size of Amazon’s business, this achievement is impressive.
However, if you are a seller this discrepancy can still make a significant impact. For instance, an FBA seller with $1 million in revenue would lose between $10,000 to $30,000 given a 1% to 3% discrepancy. Getting this cash back in your pocket via Amazon FBA reimbursements is significant gain that can increase your profitability.
If Amazon FBA reimbursements are new to you, there is no need to be intimidated. You can begin putting what you learn here into action as soon as you finish reading this article. Once you start filing for Amazon FBA reimbursements, you may find that there is money waiting for you that could be used to further build your business on Amazon.
Keep an eye on dates
The clock is ticking when it comes to Amazon FBA reimbursements since Amazon gives an 18-month window for sellers to complete FBA audits. During this period sellers can open cases with Amazon regarding discrepancies and receive reimbursements when eligible.
However, if sellers miss the designated deadline for claiming Amazon FBA reimbursements, then they will have forfeit their chance to recover this cash. To avoid this disappointing loss, sellers should schedule regular audits to make sure they file FBA reimbursement claims on time.
What can you claim?
Inventory discrepancies can occur in several ways, but a common one is when items become lost when arriving at the FBA center. If this type of loss occurs, Amazon US sellers have 9 months to claim, and Amazon UK sellers have 6 months. These time frames make it well worth keeping an eye on the calendar when scheduling audits.
Besides losses during inbound receiving, inventory discrepancies can also occur due to products getting damaged, destroyed, or thrown out by mistake. These losses can all be worth noting to claim when filing for FBA reimbursements with Amazon.
Sellers should also keep an eye out for overcharges on FBA fulfillment fees, for example, on shipping. This can occur when there is inaccurate information on your ASIN, or Amazon Standard Identification Number. This can lead to incorrect product weights or dimensions being used, and from that to overcharges to the seller. For this type of discrepancy, sellers have 90 days to claim so it is especially important to audit diligently.
Claim the opportunity
As a seller, maximizing your Amazon FBA reimbursements means transforming a loss into a profit. If you do not claim the opportunity that Amazon offers through FBA reimbursement, you will essentially subject your business to two losses.
Let’s examine these losses: the first is the cost of the inventory, meaning the price you paid to a supplier for the product. The second loss is the profit you could have made by selling that product to a customer. When you file for an Amazon FBA reimbursement though, essentially Amazon purchases the product from you. The money you make from this profit is just as valuable to your business as if a customer had paid you.
As you claim your money back via Amazon FBA reimbursements, you will be getting back both your product’s cost to you and the profit you would have made if it sold. This changes what could have been a double loss into real profit.
As the cash from your Amazon FBA reimbursements comes in, you can consider how to use it to further grow your business. The recovered money could mean more ads, branching out into different products, paying back loans, or whatever your business needs most. What matters is that you will be taking steps in building your business, rather than getting stuck on needless losses.
Start now
Whether this will be your first time conducting an FBA audit or if you have a schedule already in place, you can go forward and begin maximizing profits for your business. Ensuring you are claiming all the Amazon FBA reimbursements that you are eligible for means increasing your business’s profits.
If you are aiming to recover all the cash that is owed to you, consider enlisting the help of an Amazon FBA auditing service such as the one we offer. You can join for free and set up your Amazon account with us. You will only be charged if we secure reimbursements for you, otherwise there is no cost. This means that any investment in this service works for you and your business.
Signing up with GETIDA takes about 4 minutes and gives you immediate access to a dashboard where you can find a free estimate of how much you could potentially recover through Amazon FBA reimbursements. You’ll also find data analytics and visibility into your Amazon account.
With these tools, you’ll be well-equipped to take on your journey as an entrepreneur and unlock the potential of Amazon FBA reimbursements. If that weren’t enough incentive, you can get $400 in FREE FBA Reimbursements to try them out.
If you have questions about how Blue Wheel works together with our partners at Getida, reach out to our team. We would love the opportunity to better improve your eCommerce profile.