Affective March 10, 2025, Amazon is updating their inventory reimbursement policies. This has sparked outrage in many sellers, as they feel this is unwarranted and will have an overall negative impact on their businesses.
How Has Amazon's Inventory Reimbursement Policy Changed?
Currently, Amazon sellers who utilize the FBA program get reimbursed for lost items based on the item’s customer-facing price. Starting in March, the reimbursement amount will amount to the product costs, which is typically considerably less than the price. Many believe this is unfair because it’s outside of the seller’s control when Amazon loses inventory.
Why Amazon's New Inventory Reimbursement Impacts Sellers:
As one might expect, getting reimbursed for what is likely around half of what you were previously being reimbursed is sure to have a less than desirable effect on your overall profit levels. A quick look at the seller forum post will give you an idea of just how upset people are about this upcoming change.
There are several different factors that go into product costs when selling on Amazon, such as shipping cost and customs, however, these factors cannot be included in your product cost. Only the cost of manufacturing or purchasing the actual product is recognized by Amazon.
Maximizing Your Inventory Reimbursement on Amazon in 2025:
Come late January, a new Manage Your Manufacturing Cost page will be available to manage costs. Amazon sellers may want to consider adding in their item costs to ensure they receive adequate reimbursements on missing item costs, rather than allowing Amazon to perform their "estimates" on your costs, which can be taken from competitors with lower production costs.
Some sellers are understandably wary of sharing their costs with Amazon, as it’s sensitive data and there’s no telling what could be done with it. However, at the end of the day, your choices starting Match 10 are between accepting a reimbursement that’s potentially lower than your cost or sharing that data.
If you're a client looking for more information, contact your account team! If you’re interested in learning more about how Blue Wheel can aid in your brand efforts in online marketplaces, schedule a consultation with our team, we would love to hear from you.
Julia Asburry is the Senior Marketplace Support Analyst at Blue Wheel, where she plays a vital role in enhancing Account Health and Customer Service management. Her work empowers our clients to not just sustain, but truly thrive in the eCommerce landscape. With over half a decade of diverse experience in the industry, she wears many hats within the organization, bringing a wealth of expertise that propels us forward and helps set us apart.
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