In this article I will be showing you step by step how to get reimbursed for a fraudulent FBA return.
This will help you get your money back when a buyer blatantly scams you and returns the wrong item.
This will not work for customer damaged inventory or opened items, but there’s no downsides to trying either.
That being said, in my experience it typically only works for fraudulent returns where the item returned is not the same item that you sent in.
Receiving an item in a different condition than you sent it in is considered by Amazon as your problem, so it’s part of the risk you take on when you sell products via FBA.
While I hate getting returns, especially when they are customer damaged, it is part of the price that you pay to get exponential growth and access to Amazon’s massive customer base.
In the end, it’s completely worth it.
When it comes to scams however, I do not consider it a part of the risk of selling on Amazon, and always make sure to get reimbursed.
Amazon has always been on point when it comes to reimbursements.
They typically reimburse you not only the cost of the item, but also the potential profit you would have made had the item sold.
This is great because it’s like an automatic sale.
Follow the steps below to get your money back when a scumbag buyer initiates a fraudulent return.
UPDATE 6/27/24: I FOUND A MORE EFFICIENT WAY TO FIND THE ORDER ID
First, you want to click on Help on the top right corner when you log in to Amazon Seller Central.
This will bring you to the Get Help page where you can create a case with Amazon support.
Select FBA Returns Reimbursement as pictured above.
Next, you want to go to the menu and click on Fulfillment under the Reports section.
This will bring you to the Amazon Fulfillment Reports page.
Click on Removal Order Detail as pictured below.
Now that you’re in your removal order detail page, you want to pull up all the reports of removal orders that were conducted.
You don’t need to know your removal order ID, or any other information.
Simply change the Event Date dropdown menu to show the last 365 days.
If you are taking care of your returns ASAP, it will populate once you do this.
You should file a claim as soon as you get a fraudulent return to maximize your chances of reimbursement.
The longer you wait to file a claim, the lower your chances are of getting reimbursed.
Once you filter by the Last 365 days, click on Generate Report. It will show you all the removal orders that were done in the last 365 days.
As you can see in the photo above, removal order ID “nFFVPegFWI” is the first result that came up.
That is because this is the most recent removal order that Amazon executed, and I just got this return package in the mail.
As you can see in the picture below (the packing slip included in my return package), the Removal Order ID is the same one as the most recent result in my removal orders search.
Now click on the Order ID to see all the unfulfillable items in that removal order.
Press Command-F (MAC) or Control-F (PC) of the ASIN or FNSKU of the item you are trying to dispute. The FNSKU is the code on the product barcode you use to cover the UPC.
I am disputing these Nike Quest 4 running shoes, which were fraudulently stolen from me and exchanged with Target brand shoes.
I used Command-F and typed in the FNSKU that is on the barcode that I placed over the product UPC when I originally sent this item into Amazon. By searching it, I found the exact product and it’s ASIN.
Now copy the ASIN.
Then go to Manage Orders.
When you click on orders, it may automatically open up seller-fulfilled orders.
This is an FBA order, so you must click on View FBA orders (as pictured below) to search for an FBA order.
If you are trying to dispute a seller-fulfilled scam return, this is not the method you want to use. You want to file a SAFE-T claim. More on this coming soon.
Now you want to paste your ASIN in to find the history of FBA orders for this particular listing.
If you just copy and paste your ASIN, no results may show up.
You have to make sure that you set the date range to Last 365 days and make sure you are searching by ASIN and not by title, order ID or another parameter.
Now we’ve identified the scam artist and found the Order ID. That is the number that I have circled in the photo above. You can tell that this is the fraudulent return order because it says “Refund applied”.
Note: Do not contact the buyer. Let Amazon handle this.
They will conduct their own investigation and many return scammers end up getting arrested and already live shitty mediocre lives so just get reimbursed and move on to the next bag.
Now go back to the “Get Help” page where we were creating a new case.
Copy and paste the order ID we’ve just located.
Now, you have to provide additional details.
Describe what happened and how you were scammed.
Here’s what I wrote.
It doesn’t really matter how you say it, just tell them what happened.
You can copy how I wrote mine, or come up with your own message.
It took me approximately 1 minute to write this.
Here’s it in text format if you want to copy/paste for your convenience.
I will bold the key information you must include and most important words.
Hello,
I am writing in regards to a fraudulent FBA return I received. The ASIN I am writing about is B0BWTFFB53. The item I received was not the same item that I sent into Amazon’s warehouse. I sent in a new pair of these shoes, but received a used pair of “A New Day” sneakers which are Target brand shoes, and a completely different item. I have included photographic evidence of this in the attachments of this message. The LPN number is 4660 and the removal order ID is nFFVPegFWI. Please reinvestigate and reimburse me for this fraudulent return. Let me know if there is any other information you need.
Best regards,
Alex Chung
The LPN number is the 4 digit number on the sticker that they put on the product that is being returned.
It will start with LPN and end with a 4 digit number in bold. That is the LPN number. If you do not send it in your message, they will ask for it. Include in your initial message to get faster reimbursement.
Don’t ask them to please give me my money back.
Demand that they reimburse you, because you’ve been scammed.
Do not be a rude dick, just be assertive and ask for what you need.
Make sure your iPhone takes photo in JPEG not HEIC.
You can change this by going to Settings -> Camera -> Formats -> Most Compatible.
Once you set it to this, your images will be saved in JPEG and you won’t need to convert them.
Alternatively, you can go to google and type in “HEIC to JPEG” converter and manually convert your images to JPEG format.
Airdrop photographic evidence from your phone to your computer.
Here are the 4 photos I take:
- Picture of the package with the outside shipping label
- Picture of the removal order sticker on the outside of the box
- Picture of the LPN sticker on the product as well as the included packing slip inside the box
- Picture of the fraudulent return
You can see below which photos I take.
Amazon does not allow you to upload large file sizes, so you’ll probably need to compress your images.
Go to google and type in compress JPEG and compress your files.
Save them to your computer.
Once you’ve downloaded the photos, go back to the case and upload them where it says “Add attachments”. Also include your email so they can get back to you.
Now you’re all done.
Simply wait for them to get back to you. They might need additional information, but this should be everything they need.
They got back to me in less than 5 minutes. Usually they can take up to a few days, but this one was nearly instant.
They reimbursed me $56, which is more than I paid for the shoe originally.
I have no idea how Amazon calculates how much to reimburse you, but they’re spot on.
They always reimburse you the proper amount.
As you can see, I purchased these shoes for $23.98.
At the current market price, it would profit $31.97.
The total payout for this shoe if it sold today would be $55.95.
They reimbursed $56 which is scary close.
They probably utilize artificial intelligence.
Regardless, I’m satisfied and can roll that money back into my business.
Conclusion
Some of you might be thinking to yourself “But why… why do I have to do that? It’s not fair.“
What I would tell you is that you should get a job at McDonalds and become a materialistic consumer with a guaranteed existence of mediocrity.
That might seem a bit harsh but hear me out.
No one asked you to start a business and get rich.
Getting rich involves taking risks and heading straight into problems as opposed to trying to avoid problems like the mediocre.
Many people get hyped when it comes time to make money, but give up as soon as they encounter the first bit of difficulty. This is why they forever stay losers.
Risk = rewards.
No risk = no rewards.
Just look at the herd of college graduates who did everything they could to avoid risk and are now dirt poor.
They did everything they could to cower in the illusion of security and are ironically at the most risk.
To get rich, you must not only embrace problems but turn them into opportunities.
Something like a fraudulent return is a pathetically small issue that happens all the time in the retail game.
There are much worse things that can and will happen in your journey to the top.
Consider this.
Consumers have the guarantee that they can return products whenever they want, with no questions asked when they shop at stores like Walmart or Amazon.
Do you think Walmart gives a fuck if you return a used item?
No, they’re making billions.
They’re getting rich, while the consumers who have all the money-back guarantees are getting poor.
The big players ride without a safety net, and they get the big bucks.
Consumers are so scared to lose a bit of money that they stay right where they are.
Many of you think like consumers but want to get rich like the producers.
Newsflash, you never will.
You must become completely unemotional in order to win at the game.
Become ruthless, even when it comes to your own wins and losses.
Nothing means anything besides the meaning you put upon it.
Losses can be written off to lower your taxes. That’s how you turn negatives into positives.
If you let the slightest inconvenience crush your spirit and make you give up on your dreams, you are destined for a pathetic existence.
In conclusion, get rich now, disregard the minor setbacks and focus on the bigger picture.
As a producer, you have a license to print, while consumers have to work 9-5 jobs to pay for their materialistic lifestyle.
Start thinking like a producer, eliminate problems one by one and move forward by any means necessary.
Best regards,
Alex Chung
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