Most Amazon FBA sellers have money sitting unclaimed in their accounts right now. Amazon loses damages and misprocesses inventory on a regular basis — and while they do reimburse sellers for these errors automatically in many cases a significant number of valid reimbursements go unclaimed simply because sellers do not know how to find and claim them.

We are Brandhunterz Ltd — a UK registered wholesale sourcing company (Company No: 15342697) — and reimbursement auditing is something we recommend every Amazon FBA wholesale seller does at minimum once per quarter. In this guide we explain every type of reimbursement available how to find unclaimed amounts and exactly how to claim what Amazon owes you.

Why Amazon Owes You Money

Amazon’s fulfilment network processes millions of orders every day. With this scale come inevitable errors — items get lost in warehouses damaged during storage or processing misrouted between fulfilment centres or refunded to customers who never actually returned the product. In all of these cases Amazon is contractually obligated to compensate you as the seller.

The challenge is that Amazon’s automated reimbursement system does not catch every eligible case. Estimates from reimbursement specialists suggest that between 1 and 3 percent of all FBA inventory is affected by errors at any given time — representing significant unclaimed money for active wholesale sellers.

Types of FBA Reimbursements You Can Claim

Type 1 — Lost Inventory

Lost inventory is one of the most common reimbursement types. Items can be lost during receiving misplaced during putaway or lost during inter-warehouse transfers. Amazon typically conducts a search before issuing reimbursement — if the item is found it is returned to your inventory instead.

Type 2 — Warehouse Damaged Inventory

Type 3 — Customer Returns Not Received

This is one of the most commonly missed reimbursement types. When Amazon issues a customer refund it expects the customer to return the item within 45 days. If the item is never returned Amazon should automatically reimburse you — but this does not always happen. Checking your returns report regularly for refunds with no corresponding return is essential.

Type 4 — Inbound Shipment Discrepancies

Always compare the number of units you sent in each shipment against the number Amazon checked in. Discrepancies of even a few units per shipment add up significantly over time. Keep your shipping records and packing lists as evidence when making claims.

Type 5 — Fee Overcharges

How to Find Unclaimed Reimbursements Manually

Here is the exact manual process for auditing your FBA account for unclaimed reimbursements:

Step 1 — Download Your Inventory Adjustment Report

Go to Seller Central — Reports — Fulfilment — Inventory — Inventory Adjustments. Download the report for the past 18 months. This report shows every adjustment made to your inventory including lost damaged and found items.

Step 2 — Download Your Reimbursements Report

Go to Reports — Fulfilment — Payments — Reimbursements. Download for the same period. This shows every reimbursement Amazon has already paid you. Cross-reference this against the inventory adjustment report to identify adjustments that were not reimbursed.

Step 3 — Download Your Returns Report

Go to Reports — Fulfilment — Customer Concessions — Returns. Download for the past 6 months. Look for refunds issued more than 45 days ago where no corresponding return was received. These are eligible for reimbursement claims.

Step 4 — Check Inbound Shipments

Go to Inventory — Manage FBA Shipments — Closed Shipments. For each closed shipment compare the units shipped against units received. Any shortfalls that were not automatically reimbursed can be claimed by opening a case with Seller Support.

Step 5 — Open Cases for Valid Claims

For each valid unclaimed reimbursement open a case in Seller Central — Help — Contact Us — FBA Issue. Provide the specific FNSKU order ID or shipment ID and the nature of the discrepancy. Be specific and factual — include dates and quantities. Amazon typically responds within 7 to 14 days.

Using Tools to Automate Reimbursement Auditing

Manual reimbursement auditing is time consuming especially for sellers with large catalogues and high order volumes. Several tools automate much of this process:

Tool	Cost	How it Works
Helium 10 Refund Genie	Included in Helium 10 subscription	Scans your account and generates ready to submit reimbursement reports
Seller Investigators	25% of recovered amount	Professional service — handles entire claims process for you
GETIDA	25% of recovered amount	Automated audit with human review — no upfront cost
Manual Audit	Free	Download reports — cross-reference — submit cases yourself

For sellers just starting out the manual process combined with Helium 10 Refund Genie is the most cost effective approach. As your business grows and order volumes increase a professional reimbursement service may recover more than their fee justifies.

How Much Can You Expect to Recover?

The amount recoverable depends on your sales volume product values and how long since your last audit. Here are realistic expectations based on typical FBA seller experience:

Monthly Revenue	Typical Annual Reimbursements	Notes
Under £1,000	£50 to £150	Worth doing manually every 6 months
£1,000 to £5,000	£150 to £500	Use Helium 10 Refund Genie quarterly
£5,000 to £20,000	£500 to £2,000	Consider professional service
Above £20,000	£2,000 to £10,000+	Professional service strongly recommended

Common Reimbursement Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake	Consequence	Solution
Waiting over 18 months to claim	Claim window expires — money lost permanently	Audit every 6 months without fail
Claiming already reimbursed items	Account warning for fraudulent claims	Always cross-reference reimbursements report first
Vague case descriptions	Case rejected — needs resubmission	Include specific FNSKU dates and quantities
Not keeping shipment records	Cannot prove discrepancy without evidence	Keep packing lists and shipment records for 2 years

Your Quarterly Reimbursement Audit Checklist

Complete this checklist every quarter to ensure you never leave money unclaimed:

• Download Inventory Adjustments report for past 90 days ✅
• Download Reimbursements report for past 90 days ✅
• Cross-reference adjustments against reimbursements — identify gaps ✅
• Download Returns report — check for unreturned refunds over 45 days ✅
• Review all closed shipments — check units received vs units sent ✅
• Check product dimensions in Manage Inventory — verify FBA fees are correct ✅
• Open cases for all valid unclaimed reimbursements ✅
• Follow up on any open cases older than 14 days ✅
• Record all successful reimbursements in your accounts ✅

Conclusion — Reimbursements Are Free Money — Claim Them

Amazon FBA reimbursements are not a bonus or a nice-to-have — they are money you are contractually owed. Leaving them unclaimed is the equivalent of leaving cash on the table every single month. A simple quarterly audit process takes a few hours and can recover hundreds or thousands of pounds per year depending on your sales volume.

Start with a manual audit using the process outlined in this guide. As your business grows consider using Helium 10 Refund Genie or a professional reimbursement service to automate and maximise your recovery.

For more Amazon FBA wholesale tips and strategies browse our complete course library or find your next wholesale product in the Brandhunterz Brands Directory.