When you’re running an Amazon FBA business, there’s a good chance Amazon owes you money — and you don’t even realize it.
If you store inventory in Amazon’s warehouses, some of your products may get lost or damaged along the way. In these cases, you are fully entitled to request reimbursement.
The problem is, tracking and calculating these losses manually isn’t easy. That’s where a tool like Refund Genie from Helium 10 becomes incredibly useful.
In this article, I’ll walk you through how to use Helium 10 to recover the money Amazon owes you.
Does Amazon Owe You Money When You Sell on FBA?
If you’re doing a few hundred sales per month or more on Amazon, there’s a real chance Amazon owes you money — you just haven’t claimed it yet.
So when exactly does this happen?
Lost or Missing Inventory
As your products move between different Amazon warehouses and fulfillment centers, some units can get lost along the way — and never be found again.
This isn’t rare. In fact, it happens more often than most sellers realize. Amazon has scaled massively over the past few years, and with that growth comes increasingly complex logistics.
Because of this, a small percentage of inventory loss is almost inevitable during transfers.
Damaged Inventory in Storage
If your inventory gets damaged while stored in Amazon’s warehouse, Amazon is responsible.
This could happen for simple reasons — a worker drops a carton, items fall off a shelf due to poor stacking, or handling errors during storage. These situations are more common than you might think.
And when they happen, you have the right to request reimbursement.
Your products can also be damaged while being delivered to the customer. Since you’re using FBA, Amazon is responsible for the shipping process.
If the product arrives damaged, that’s on them.
To stay competitive, Amazon pushes for extremely fast delivery times. But speed often comes at a cost — more handling, more pressure, and a higher chance of impact damage.
Packages can be dropped, crushed, or mishandled during transit, leading to damaged products — and again, that’s something you can claim back.
Customer Returns
Returns are normal in eCommerce — customers may not like the product or it may not meet their expectations. But with Amazon FBA, there are specific return-related scenarios where you can claim reimbursement:
- The item is not returned after 45 days: The customer gets a refund but never sends the product back.
- Wrong item returned: The customer sends back a different item, but Amazon still accepts it.
- Returned item is damaged: The product comes back, but it’s no longer in sellable condition.
- Late returns (after 60 days): The return process takes too long.
- Over-refunds: The customer is refunded more than what they originally paid (yes, this happens).
There’s a specific time window in which you can file these claims. That’s why it’s important to follow a consistent process and check for reimbursements regularly.
Overcharged by Amazon
Another common issue is incorrect FBA fees.
Amazon periodically re-measures and re-weights products to ensure accurate billing. Based on those measurements, they calculate your FBA fees.
However, mistakes can happen.
If Amazon records incorrect dimensions or weight, your fees can be significantly higher than they should be. And since everything is automated at scale, these errors don’t always get caught.
That’s why you should always compare Amazon’s fees with your own calculations. If you notice a sudden discrepancy or an unusually high charge, you should contact Amazon to have it reviewed and corrected.
If this goes unnoticed for a long time, Amazon may have already overcharged you — which means they owe you money. And yes, you can claim it back.
How to Request Reimbursements from Amazon
If you’re selling at a decent volume, it’s a good idea to check and request reimbursements at least once a month. Here are a couple of ways to do it:
Review Your Inventory Data
Amazon is aware that these issues happen, so they provide a dedicated report for sellers:
Reports > Fulfillment > Inventory Ledger:
Here, you’ll find a detailed report of all inventory movements and changes. Based on this data, you can identify discrepancies and submit reimbursement claims.
With this manual method, you’ll need to go through the data yourself — which can be time-consuming. It also requires you to understand how to read and analyze the report properly.
If you’re comfortable working with numbers and reports, you can definitely handle this on your own.
Hire a Virtual Assistant (VA)
Hiring a virtual assistant is a great way to save time, and you can hire them on an hourly basis to keep costs under control.
A VA can go through your data, identify issues, and open cases with Amazon support to request reimbursements:
They essentially handle the entire process for you — from analyzing reports to submitting claims.
If you already have a team or business partners, you can also delegate this task internally.
If your potential reimbursements are significant, hiring a VA makes a lot of sense. But if you’re still operating at a small scale and the amounts are minimal, it’s probably not worth the extra cost.
Use a Third-Party Service
There are specialized services that help Amazon sellers recover reimbursements. One example is Getida — you can use their service to handle the process for you:
These platforms save you time, eliminate the hassle of analyzing data, and remove the need to manage a virtual assistant. Overall, they’re very convenient.
Of course, they’re not free.
Unlike doing it yourself, these services charge a fee — typically a percentage of the recovered amount. But from a business perspective, time is often more valuable than money.
Once you start making consistent revenue, you’ll realize that saving time becomes a priority. If a service like this helps you stay focused on growing your business, then paying a small fee is usually worth it.
How to Use Refund Genie to Claim Reimbursements from Amazon
There’s a highly effective tool for recovering money from Amazon: Refund Genie, a feature within Helium 10. It helps automate the entire process and saves you a significant amount of time — you’ll only need a few minutes each month:
The downside is the cost.
To access Refund Genie, you need the highest-tier Helium 10 plan, which is around $250 per month. That’s quite expensive for beginners.
But if you’re already running a profitable Amazon business, this becomes a relatively small investment compared to the value it provides.
Here are the steps to use Refund Genie:
Connect Helium 10 to Your Amazon Seller Account
First, you’ll need to purchase Helium 10. I’ve already written a detailed guide about it — feel free to check it out.
Once you have your Helium 10 account, the next step is to connect it to your Amazon Seller Central account. This allows Helium 10 to sync with Amazon and pull your inventory data:
Run a Refund Genie Report
In the Helium 10 dashboard, go to the tools menu and select Refund Genie:
You’ll see reports organized by marketplace, account, or month. You can also set it up to generate reports automatically every month.
This is the report you’ll use to submit reimbursement claims to Amazon.
Rename the Spreadsheet File
After downloading the report, you’ll get an Excel file (spreadsheet). Before sending it to Amazon support, you should rename the file so it’s easy to identify:
For example:
[Brand Name] – Lost/Damaged Inventory Report
Open a Case and Contact Amazon Support
Go to:
Help > Get Support > Selling on Amazon:
Then explain your issue and request reimbursement. Here’s a simple template you can use:
Hello,
The items included in the attachment are showing up in my inventory adjustments as being lost, damaged, or destroyed.
I’m requesting reimbursement for them. Please see the attached files.
Thank you so much for your time!
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Make sure to replace “[Your Name]” with your actual signature:
After that, attach the report file you downloaded from Helium 10. It’s best to include no more than 5 Excel files per submission — sending too many files at once can slow down the process.
Keep in mind, Amazon won’t reimburse you at the full retail price. They calculate reimbursement based on the average selling price, minus applicable fees.
The exact calculation isn’t something you need to worry too much about — as long as you’re getting your money back.
Also, Amazon typically won’t notify you when you’re eligible for reimbursement. If you want to recover what you’re owed, you need to be proactive.
Make it a habit to check and request reimbursements every month.
Final Thoughts
You can claim reimbursements from Amazon for products that were lost or damaged due to their mistakes. In many cases, this can add up to a few hundred — even a few thousand dollars per month:
If you’re just starting out and operating at a small scale, this isn’t something you need to worry about right away. But once your business reaches a mid to large level, you should make reimbursement checks a regular habit.
You might be surprised — it could even be enough to pay for a new laptop.
When you’re running an online business, never waste money — no matter how much you’re making. There was a time when I earned a lot, but spent carelessly. Eventually, my business slowed down, and I found myself short on cash.
Looking back, I kept asking myself why I didn’t manage my money better.
So here’s the takeaway: stay disciplined, protect your profits, and build your business the right way.
Wishing you success — and if you want to go deeper, feel free to explore more Amazon resources on JamesTheMarketer. See you in the next article.