Amazon Promises Fewer Refunds for Sellers Who Use Its Customer Service Add-on

Amazon
Amazon Promises Fewer Refunds for Sellers Who Use Its Customer Service Add-on

Amazon made a change to its Customer Service by Amazon (CSBA) add-on service that it said would result in fewer refunds for sellers, a benefit to participants in the program. CSBA is a paid program where Amazon handles customer service for self-fulfilled orders (non-FBA orders) – although some sellers qualify to use the service at no charge.

In a post on May 22, 2026, Amazon explained the update to the CSBA program:

“We’ve updated our process to reduce instances where buyers are granted a refund without needing to return the product, which is known as a “return-less” refund. These changes ensure that return-less refunds only occur when the customer has not received the product by the promised timeline, they received a damaged or defective product that is non-returnable, or the product is unsafe to return. This reduces the need for you to file Seller Assurance for e-Commerce Transactions (SAFE-T) claims and protects your revenue.”

Amazon also said sellers enrolled in CSBA would no longer need to manage SAFE-T claims for refunds related to delivery issues when they purchase “claims protected” labels through Amazon Buy Shipping or Veeqo. “Amazon will now automatically pay for these claims, saving you time to focus on growing your business. You also no longer need to manage SAFE-T claims for Goodwill refunds issued by Amazon. This amount will be automatically reimbursed into your account.”

Amazon said the CSBA program is now free for sellers with fewer than 30 orders per quarter, and said Customer Service by Amazon is free for the first 90 days and continues to be free for sellers who maintain a contacts-per-unit below 3%. “We’ve also made it easier to qualify for the free program by removing the requirement of maintaining a 95% valid tracking rate,” it said.

This page explains Customer Service by Amazon and includes a link to learn more about fees.

Written by 

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.

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