If you have been selling on Amazon FBA for a while, you already know the truth: operations at scale are messy. Millions of units move through fulfillment centers every day, and even small mismatches can quietly turn into real profit leakage. The good news is that many of these errors fall under Amazon FBA reimbursements, meaning you can potentially get money back from Amazon when inventory is lost, damaged, refunded incorrectly, or fees are charged wrong.This guide is built for experienced sellers who want a repeatable, audit style workflow. You will learn what reimbursements are, the most common scenarios that create eligibility, how to find issues manually in Seller Central, and how an amazon reimbursement tool like SellerSprite can make the process faster and more consistent. Done right, this can recover hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year that would otherwise be left on the table.What Are Amazon FBA Reimbursements?Understanding Inventory Errors and Refund DiscrepanciesAmazon FBA reimbursements are payments Amazon issues to sellers when Amazon is responsible for a financial discrepancy. In practice, that usually means one of two buckets:Inventory issues such as units lost, damaged, or mishandled while under Amazon control.Transaction issues such as customer refunds, returns processing errors, or fee miscalculations.Many sellers assume Amazon catches everything automatically. Sometimes it does, but not always. Reimbursements can be missed because the system never triggers a reimbursement event, the case needs manual documentation, or the issue is buried across reports that do not naturally reconcile unless you audit them.Why Reimbursements MatterReimbursements are not a nice to have. They are operational hygiene. When you run multi SKU catalogs, high velocity replenishment, or tight cash flow, unclaimed reimbursements become a silent tax. Recovering an FBA refund here and there may feel small, but over a year it can materially improve:Cash flow and reorder cyclesTrue contribution margin per SKUInventory accuracy for forecasting and restock planningConfidence in scaling spend on ads and launchesCommon Situations Where You're Owed MoneyLost or Damaged Inventory in Amazon's WarehousesThis is the classic reimbursement category. Your units arrive to FBA, move through transfers, get picked, packed, and stored, and somewhere along the way some units disappear or become unsellable. Common patterns include:Warehouse lost units that never reappearWarehouse damaged units that are written offUnits that flip between statuses (lost, found, damaged) without a clean financial resolutionInventory adjustments that reduce on hand counts without a corresponding saleThe advanced trap is not the loss itself. It is the reconciliation. If you do not tie the adjustment back to the reimbursement, you will not know whether Amazon paid you, partially paid you, or did nothing.Customer Refunds Not ReturnedRefund workflows are another frequent source of hidden losses. A customer gets a refund or replacement, but the product never returns, returns late, returns in a different condition, or returns but never becomes sellable inventory again. In many cases, sellers can be eligible for reimbursement if Amazon does not properly resolve the discrepancy within the allowed time window.Pay special attention to SKUs with high return rates or higher ticket price points, because the dollar impact can be significant, even if the unit count is not.Overcharged FeesFee errors are easy to miss because they look legitimate unless you verify dimensions, weights, and fee categories. Overcharges typically come from incorrect product measurements or classification. This can show up as:Unexpected increases in FBA fulfillment fees after a remeasurementDimensional tier mismatches compared to your packaging specsStorage fees that seem inconsistent with your actual volume strategyIf your fee audit proves Amazon charged the wrong amount, you may be able to dispute and get money back from Amazon. On high volume products, even a small per unit overcharge can add up quickly.Carrier Damages or Warehouse Handling ErrorsNot all damage happens inside the fulfillment center. Inbound shipments can be short received, damaged in transit, or miscounted at check in. Outbound shipments can be damaged during handling, creating customer refunds and inventory write offs. These scenarios can be reimbursable, but they often require stronger documentation.The key is to treat inbound shipping like accounting: every shipment needs proof, clean records, and a reconciliation step.How to Check for Reimbursements ManuallyUsing Amazon's ReportsA manual audit is absolutely possible, but it becomes harder as your SKU count and order volume increase. Start with these core reports in Seller Central:Inventory Adjustment report Use it to spot units removed from inventory due to lost, damaged, disposed, or other adjustment reasons. Your goal is to find adjustments that should have a matching reimbursement event.Reimbursements report This is your record of reimbursements issued. Compare reimbursements to inventory adjustments and return issues to confirm that every eligible discrepancy has a financial outcome.Payments report Use this to verify whether reimbursements actually hit your account and whether amounts match your expectations. This is where you validate the money, not just the event.Advanced tip: do not audit only one report in isolation. Most missed money lives in the gaps between reports. Your process should always be: find a discrepancy, locate the corresponding reimbursement, then confirm it in payments.Filing a Claim Step by StepWhen you find a discrepancy that appears eligible and unresolved, you can open a case with Amazon Seller Support. The quality of your evidence often determines the speed of resolution.Step 1: Define the issue clearlyIdentify the SKU, ASIN, and if relevant the FNSKU.State the event type: lost, damaged, refund not returned, fee dispute, inbound discrepancy.Write down the dates and the units impacted.Step 2: Attach supporting documentationExport the relevant lines from the Inventory Adjustment report.Export the Reimbursements report for the same SKU and date range.For inbound issues, include shipment ID details and any proof of delivery you have available.Step 3: Open the case and request the resolutionSubmit a concise case message, then attach evidence files.Ask for the specific action: reimbursement issuance, reimbursement correction, or fee adjustment review.Keep a record of the case ID and outcome so you can measure recovered value over time.Step 4: Follow up like a professional operatorIf the case stalls, follow up with a clear summary and reattach the strongest proof.If the case is denied, request the reason and respond directly to that reason with additional documentation.Time Limits and PolicyTime limits are where most sellers lose money. Historically, many claim windows were long, often up to 18 months for some categories. In recent policy updates, many reimbursement claim windows have tightened significantly, with some scenarios requiring action in as little as 60 days. Certain claim types may have different windows, so you should treat reimbursements like a recurring operational close, not a once a year cleanup.Also note that Amazon may calculate reimbursements differently depending on the issue type and policy version. For some inventory events, reimbursements may be based on your sourcing or manufacturing cost instead of retail price. This makes it even more important to keep clean cost records and validate whether reimbursement amounts make sense for your business.Amazon Reimbursement Tools and ServicesHow Automation Tools WorkAn amazon reimbursement tool typically does three things well:Find discrepancies by scanning report patterns that humans miss at scale.Organize evidence so each case has the right documentation quickly.Support a repeatable workflow so you do not miss deadlines and you can track outcomes.The best tools do not replace your judgment. They reduce the time you spend hunting through reports, and they help you operate consistently month after month.Popular Reimbursement ToolsSince this guide is for the SellerSprite ecosystem, here are SellerSprite tools that support reimbursement recovery workflows:SellerSprite FBA Reimbursement AssistantSellerSprite FBA Reimbursement Assistant is designed to support a consistent reimbursement review routine. Instead of occasional manual digging, it helps you identify common FBA discrepancies worth reviewing, organize documentation faster, and track your reimbursement workflow as a repeatable habit. Think of it as an operations layer that helps you stay on top of Amazon FBA reimbursements before deadlines expire.SellerSprite Business DashboardReimbursements are easier to catch when you spot inventory anomalies early. The SellerSprite Business Dashboard helps you monitor key performance signals in one place, including SKU level trends that can hint at inventory issues, unexpected stock drops, or operational inconsistencies that deserve a deeper look.SellerSprite Product Tracker and Browser ExtensionWhen a SKU suddenly behaves differently, such as stock falling faster than sales suggest, the fastest operators investigate immediately. SellerSprite Product Tracker and the SellerSprite Browser Extension help you validate changes quickly, cross check listing status, and keep an eye on product signals that can correlate with reimbursement eligible events.Costs vs. BenefitsReimbursements are a classic trade: time versus recovered money. Manually, you pay with attention and hours. With tooling, you pay for speed and consistency.Manual approach: lower direct cost, higher time cost, higher risk of missed windows at scale.Tool supported approach: faster audits, better organization, more consistent recovery, easier tracking over time.The simplest way to evaluate ROI is to treat reimbursements like a profit center: track recovered dollars each month, compare against the time you spend, and decide whether automation support is justified. For many mature sellers, the real benefit is not just recovering money. It is protecting focus.Tips for Managing Reimbursements ProactivelyRegularly Audit Your AccountBecause claim windows can be short, the winning strategy is frequency. Set a schedule that matches your volume:High volume catalogs: weekly quick checks, monthly deep dive.Mid volume catalogs: biweekly checks.Smaller catalogs: monthly checks.The point is not perfection. The point is consistency. A simple monthly routine can dramatically improve how much you recover.Keep Good RecordsReimbursements live and die on documentation. Build a lightweight record system:Download key reports regularly and store them by month.Keep inbound shipment details organized by shipment ID.Maintain current product cost records so you can validate reimbursement amounts.Track case IDs and outcomes so you can measure success rate and recovery value.Stay Within Amazon's RulesTreat reimbursements like compliance, not combat. File only claims you can support. Avoid duplicate claims, do not inflate numbers, and do not submit cases without evidence. Protecting your account health is always more valuable than winning a single reimbursement dispute.Conclusion: Don't Leave Money on the TableEvery Dollar Counts in EcommerceMature sellers win on systems. If you already optimize listings and ads, reimbursements are the next layer of profit protection. Amazon FBA reimbursements are not theoretical, they are real money that can improve cash flow, stabilize margins, and fund growth initiatives you actually control.Take ActionPick one move today:Run a quick manual check in Seller Central using Inventory Adjustment, Reimbursements, and Payments reports.Start a monthly reimbursement close routine and track outcomes.Use SellerSprite FBA Reimbursement Assistant to keep the workflow consistent and reduce missed opportunities.Doing nothing has a cost. The sellers who build a routine are the ones who consistently get money back from Amazon, recover the missed FBA refund dollars, and keep their operations clean as they scale.