Understanding Amazon SAFE-T Claim Policies

Retailers have long had to deal with the cost and frustration of returns, but for eCommerce sellers, the difficulties are compounded.

While returns are an issue for all eCommerce businesses, they present some particular challenges for Amazon sellers. Amazon wants to keep customers happy, which means it is often quick to offer refunds to customers. For sellers, that can occasionally present problems.

When you’re stuck paying for a refund Amazon issued even though you already sent the customer a replacement, never got the return, or received an item damaged through no fault of your own, that cuts into your bottom line. Vendors have to swallow a certain number of returns as the cost of doing business, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept every one.

Amazon recognizes that sometimes a refund is provided in error and the seller shouldn’t be stuck with that cost. When that happens, you can open a SAFE-T (Seller Assurance for eCommerce Transactions) claim. Keep reading to learn more about what an Amazon SAFE-T claim is and what happens when you file one.

Using the Amazon SAFE-T Communications Center

On July 15, 2021, Amazon announced its new SAFE-T Communications Center. The Communications Center provides sellers with a centralized location to file new claims and track the status of all those that are ongoing. It reduces the back-and-forth of emails and helps you more easily stay up-to-date on the status of your refund claims.

Within the SAFE-T Communications Center, you can find:

• A list of all your current claims
• The dates when each one needs to be resolved by
• All correspondence related to each claim

You can access the SAFE-T Communications Center by visiting the Manage SAFE-T Claims page in Seller Central. You’ll receive an email letting you know anytime there’s a new message in the Claims Center, and you can navigate within it by selecting between the different tabs organized by claim status (Awaiting Seller Response, Resolved, and Under Investigation).

Amazon’s Seller Fulfilled Prime Reimbursement Policies

Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) has its benefits. You get the increased sales that come with that Prime badge and can save money by using your own warehouses and fulfillment resources. The flip side of all that is being held to an extremely high standard of performance in order to meet the expectations Amazon has led customers to take for granted. With most SFP orders, the seller is responsible for providing the refund. But in some cases, Amazon will issue a refund to the customer on your behalf.

Any refund you issue on your own is your responsibility, but if Amazon provides a refund on your behalf that you feel is in error, you can open a SAFE-T claim. The instances where Amazon will consider a reimbursement are:

• The buyer claimed never to receive the item, but you can show proof otherwise either via the tracking info for an order in which you used Amazon’s Buy Shipping services, or a signature confirmation if you used other shipping services.
• The return the buyer sent was damaged, and Amazon determines you weren’t at fault for the damage.
• The buyer returned a different item than the one you sent.
• You provided the replacement a customer requested, and Amazon still sent a refund.
• The buyer’s return was sent after the allowed return period.

Make sure you submit any reimbursement claim within 60 days of the refund charge hitting your account.

Amazon SAFE-T Claims for Prepaid Return Labels in the Merchant Fulfilled Network

Amazon’s guidelines are different based on the way you sell your products. SFP has one set of rules, and orders that are filled through the Merchant Fulfilled Network (meaning the seller fills them directly but without going through the SFP program) using Amazon’s Prepaid Return labels have a different (but similar) set of policies.

For these orders, if you feel Amazon has provided a refund in error, you can still use the SAFE-T Claims process in a few main scenarios:

• If Amazon’s convinced that the customer abused its return or refund policy.
• If the product is returned in a damaged enough condition that it can’t be resold, and Amazon determines you’re not at fault.
• If the customer sends back a different product than the one you sent them.
• If the customer doesn’t send the product back, as evidenced by the lack of a Return Merchandise Authorization or a “first scan” in the tracking information.

As with SFP orders, you should be sure to submit all claims within 60 days of when the refund is issued. If an item is damaged during the return process and Amazon claims no responsibility, you’ll have to take any claims directly to the carrier.

Amazon SAFE-T Claim Appeals Can Protect Profits

A certain number of the returns you deal with will be your responsibility, and that’s something every eCommerce business owner needs to account for. But sometimes, the issue won’t be your fault and you shouldn’t have to take the financial hit when that happens. By putting a system in place to manage your returns, monitor which refunds aren’t legitimate according to the marketplace's policies, and set up an Amazon SAFE-T claim appeal for each, you can get some of that money back and protect your profits.