What is Customer Service by Amazon?

No Amazon seller sets out to provide bad customer service (at least we hope not), but when it does happen, it can be incredibly damaging to your business. Your seller reputation will suffer, and your profits may soon follow suit as shoppers seek out your competition instead. If it happens enough, Amazon itself will also take notice — and take action.

But keeping hundreds or even thousands of shoppers happy day in and day out isn’t easy. It’s a huge time commitment, and there may be language barriers or other obstacles involved.

Historically, a key benefit of Amazon's FBA program has been its handling of customer service on your behalf. Today, a new standalone service called Customer Service by Amazon (CSBA) gives FBM sellers the same treatment. Here’s what you need to know about the recent rollout of the program, including how you can get it for free.

What is Amazon CSBA?

CSBA is a paid service where Amazon takes care of customer service for sellers who fulfill their own orders. All post-order customer support will be directed to Amazon's customer service network so you do not need to handle these inquiries for yourself.

Amazon says on its CSBA policy page that enrolling in the program has the following benefits:

• An improved customer experience as shoppers will be provided with 24-hour customer service throughout the year
• Clear communication with customers in marketplace-supported languages via phone, instant message, and email
• High-quality customer service that can help reduce A-to-z Guarantee claims, Order Defect Rates, and negative reviews
• Lower customer service burdens during busy selling periods like the holiday season
• Reduced customer service costs and fewer time constraints for sellers

The program is currently available to existing Professional sellers via invite and by default to newly registered sellers on Amazon.com. Upon joining for the first time, you’ll be given a free 30-day trial period. You may opt in and out of the program at any time, but note that if you do stop and later re-enroll, you’ll have to handle any existing customer inquiries until the service officially starts up again.

Customer Service by Amazon Fees

After your free trial expires, you'll be charged a CSBA fee for each self-fulfilled shipped unit based on your customer service performance, which is measured by Contacts per Unit (CPU). Amazon defines a CPU as “the number of order-related customer service inquiries (calls, instant messages, and emails) that Amazon handled on your behalf per total self-fulfilled shipped units.”

Your Customer Service by Amazon fees will be calculated according to your CPU from the previous three months, and your monthly fee rate will be communicated on the first day of every month. For example, if you shipped 1,000 units in the past three months and Amazon handled 50 customer inquiries for you, your CPU for the current period would be 5%.

Amazon’s CSBA fee tier is shown below and can be found in Seller Central.

As you can see, using the example above, the seller would pay $0.10 per self-fulfilled shipped unit.

CSBA Rewards Program

Amazon has also recently created a CSBA Rewards program where sellers can receive free CSBA service for a limited amount of time. To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

1. Ensure customers receive valid tracking information and maintain a Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) of 95% or higher
2. Participate in Amazon’s Prepaid Return Label (APRL) program and maintain an APRL rate of 95% or higher
3. Provide good customer service and maintain a CPU rate of 5% or lower

If you meet these requirements, you'll receive free CSBA for the next month. Amazon will check your eligibility each month and update your fee rate accordingly. You may still be eligible for a discounted rate if your CPU is higher than 5%. Visit the CSBA fees page in Seller Central for more information on this promotion.

6 Things to Know About CSBA

Like any paid service or subscription, you’ll want to read the Terms & Conditions closely before applying. Here are some key things to know as you dig into the pros and cons of the program and decide whether it’s right for you.

1. To enroll, you must be a Professional seller in good standing and respond to seller inquiries from the CSBA team within 24 hours (including weekends and holidays) when more input is needed from you. Reps will rely heavily on your product page for answers to questions or otherwise use their best judgment.
2. You will receive and be able to reply to messages from the CSBA team in your Case Log in Seller Central.
3. Amazon Customer Service follows the standard return policies set by the marketplace, and yours must be up to par. However, if you offer a superior return or refund policy, the CSBA team will follow these terms instead.
4. CSBA provides customer service for all post-order inquiries on MFN orders, with the exception of those related to invoicing and product customization. These questions, along with other pre-order customer inquiries, must be handled by you through Buyer-Seller Messaging. Relevant post-order queries can be transferred to the CSBA team for them to handle on your behalf.
5. Fulfillment by Amazon and/or Seller-Fulfilled Prime units will not be charged as part of the CSBA program.
6. In early 2022, Amazon launched SAFE-T for CSBA orders on Amazon.com. Sellers can now claim reimbursement from Amazon for losses incurred due to CSBA issues, like when a customer has been refunded by Amazon and you want to dispute the charge because the item wasn't received in original condition. Reimbursements will be made in accordance with the CSBA refund reimbursement policy.

You can sign up for CSBA here.

Will You Give it a Try?

The service debuted to mixed reviews on Amazon’s Seller Forums. Plenty of people voiced concern about Amazon’s ability to answer questions about their products (although that’s exactly why you need a highly detailed product listing!). Others were wary about how lenient reps would be with returns as Amazon Customer Service is admittedly very customer-centric. Will refunds and returns be handed out without question?

That being said, as the busy holiday season approaches, this service could really save you some time. If you were previously an FBA seller who pivoted toward self-fulfillment due to the pandemic and Amazon's new warehousing restrictions, it might be a no-brainer (it does seem like the marketplace's solution for keeping former FBA sellers in the fold). But if you've always handled your own orders, you understandably might be hesitant to hand over control of a very important part of the buying experience.

What do you think — do you plan on enrolling or have you already done so? We would love to hear from you!