Amazon FBA Reimbursements: Tracking and Recovering Lost Inventory

FBA reimbursements are one of the easiest sources of recovered revenue for Amazon sellers — and one of the most consistently missed. Amazon does reimburse you for inventory it loses, damages or fails to find, but the process is reactive: you are expected to notice the loss yourself and request the reimbursement within a window.

This guide breaks down what to track and how to recover what you are owed.

TL;DR: FBA reimbursements cover lost inventory in warehouses, damaged units, customer returns Amazon failed to refund correctly, units removed but never returned, and shipment receiving discrepancies. Each has its own data trail in SP-API and Settlement reports. Tracking inventory transitions properly across inbound, FBA on-hand, sales and returns surfaces missing units automatically. Most sellers are owed thousands per year they never claim.

The five categories of reimbursable events

Lost in warehouse

Inventory you sent to FBA that never showed up in your available stock. Caught by reconciling inbound shipments against received quantities.

Damaged in warehouse

Inventory damaged by Amazon’s own warehouse handling. Reported in the Inventory Ledger report as a warehouse-damaged adjustment.

Customer return processing errors

Returns where Amazon refunded the customer but never restocked the unit, or restocked it as defective when it was returned in good condition.

Removal order discrepancies

Units you ordered removed from FBA that never arrived at your destination, or arrived in lower quantity than removed.

Shipment receiving discrepancies

Inbound shipments where the received quantity is lower than what you sent (inbound loss).

Where the data lives

• Inventory Ledger report (it replaced the old Inventory Adjustments report) — records every adjustment Amazon makes to your inventory, including “lost,” “damaged,” “found” events.
• Inbound Shipment reports — quantities sent vs received per shipment.
• FBA Returns reports — customer returns and dispositions.
• Removal Order reports — quantities removed and their disposition.
• Settlement reports — reimbursements credited to your account.

None of these alone gives you the full picture. The reconciliation is the value.

What systematic tracking looks like

For each SKU, track:

• Total units sent inbound (from inbound shipment reports).
• Total units received (from same reports, post-receiving).
• Total units sold (from order reports).
• Total units returned and restocked (from returns reports).
• Total units removed (from removal orders).
• Current on-hand inventory (from inventory snapshots).

Math: Sent - Received = Inbound Loss. Received - Sold + Returned - Removed - On-Hand = FBA Loss.

Discrepancies become reimbursement claims.

The claim window

Amazon allows reimbursement claims only within a short window: since late 2024, about 60 days for most warehouse and inbound losses, and Amazon now reimburses many warehouse losses automatically. Past that window, you cannot recover. This is why ongoing reconciliation matters — catching losses in the first weeks is much easier than months later.

How to file claims efficiently

• Identify the discrepancy with specific shipment IDs, removal IDs or transaction references.
• Submit through Seller Central case management with documentation.
• Track case status — some are auto-approved, some require back-and-forth.
• Reconcile reimbursements received against expected amounts.

Several third-party services automate this. Doing it in-house is also viable if your data is in a data layer.

Common patterns to watch

• Inbound discrepancy spikes after major shipments. Often warehouse-side errors that resolve later — wait 30 days before claiming.
• Customer returns missing restock. Amazon refunded but did not restock the unit. Common after holiday returns season.
• Removal orders short on arrival. Compare what you sent vs what your destination warehouse received.
• Lost-and-found events. Amazon sometimes finds units it lost weeks later. Track adjustments both ways.

The bottom line

FBA reimbursements are recovered revenue sitting in your data, waiting to be reconciled. Most sellers leave thousands per year on the table because the data work is tedious. With a data layer that already has inventory adjustments, shipment receiving and order data joined, the reconciliation is automatic.

DataDoe’s Amazon data layer joins the data sources needed for FBA reimbursement tracking so AI tools can flag claimable losses automatically.