It’s a major issue when Amazon loses sellers’ inventory, especially since Amazon’s recent change to its reimbursement policy. But in some cases, what’s worse may be when Amazon finds it.
A couple of sellers discussed what should be good news – Amazon informed them that it had found their inventory it had lost. Except that so much time had elapsed that the inventory was unsellable. Adding insult to injury, the sellers had to pay Amazon disposal fees.
One seller described the challenge in a post in February:
“A product is lost in the warehouse, we spend hours uploading pictures and invoices to get a few percent reimbursed. Then 6 months or two years later the product is found, and the reimbursement is reversed. The seller is now out the time, the product and any proceeds for their products. Further, they must pay to remove the items from Amazon and Amazon has quietly more than doubled those charges.”
A recent instance was when Amazon lost their chocolate seasonal candy in September 2024 and found it in February of 2025, the seller said. “These products have a shorter expiration date and were found either expired or within 30 days of expiration. Amazon insists that because these products were found, they are now my responsibility to remove, at my expense. While also reversing hundreds of dollars of reimbursements I will be out for removal or disposal.”
An Amazon moderator initially replied to the seller saying it looked like a case that could be escalated. He returned and told the seller that, “Upon investigation, the reimbursement was reversed as the units were located and based on the ledger report, they were sellable. As such, there was no lost or expired inventory.”
In another thread from May, a seller wrote, “I got charged $1,100 for a reversed reimbursement for inventory that was lost over 5 months ago!! Does anyone know how to dispute this? I am not even selling these anymore and it was not my fault they were lost in the first place.”
Amazon used to reimburse FBA sellers the amount they would have received had the item sold, but it changed the policy at the end of March. Amazon now bases the reimbursement amount on the product manufacturing cost of the inventory.
The seller who said they had to remove their seasonal candy found in February said normally they would consider it as a part of doing business with Amazon, “But this is the third or fourth time this has happened in just a few months. I keep opening cases, but I get the same response: We reserve the right to reverse a reimbursement, get your stuff out of the warehouse.”
Why doesn’t Amazon have a policy for perishables or seasonal products that they lose, the seller asked.
If Amazon reimburses a seller for lost items, then the items should belong to Amazon, and they can sell or dispose of them as they see fit.
If my car is stolen, insurance pays me for the car. If the police find the car 6 months later, insurance can’t take the money back and say here is your car, they take possession of the car, in whatever condition it is in.