by spencer kYou’re reconciling last month’s FBA inventory report and you spot it: a pallet Amazon lost back in the spring that never got reimbursed, and a batch of damaged units you meant to file a claim for that no longer shows as eligible. That’s not a fluke or a glitch in Seller Central. The Amazon FBA reimbursement deadline has gotten a lot shorter, and if you’re not actively watching for lost or damaged inventory, the window to get paid for it can close before you even notice the discrepancy.
As of recent updates to Amazon’s reimbursement policy, most manual claims for lost or damaged FBA inventory now have to be filed within 60 days of the loss or damage showing up in the system – down from a window that historically stretched out much further. For sellers checking their reports quarterly instead of weekly, that’s a real change in how much slack you have before money you’re owed simply disappears.
What Changed With Amazon’s FBA Reimbursement Deadline
For years, sellers had a long runway to catch discrepancies. If a unit vanished from inventory or came back damaged, you could often go digging through months-old reports and still file a claim. Recent policy updates have compressed that runway sharply: Amazon now expects most reimbursement claims filed within roughly 60 days of the event, and claims filed after the window closes get rejected regardless of whether the loss was genuinely Amazon’s fault.
This is a separate issue from how much Amazon reimburses you once a claim is approved – that’s a question of valuation. The claim window is a question of timing, and it matters just as much, because a claim you never file is worth nothing no matter how the payout is calculated. The two changes together mean reimbursements are both smaller per unit and harder to collect on if you’re not paying close attention.
How the Reimbursement Claim Window Breaks Down by Type
Not every kind of loss or damage runs on the same clock. The exact day counts shift as Amazon updates its policies, so treat these as the shape of the current system rather than numbers to bank on – check your own account’s Reimbursements and Inventory Ledger reports in Seller Central for the windows that apply to you right now. Roughly, as of recent updates:
- Inbound shipment discrepancies – units that never showed up as received – typically need to be filed within a window that opens a couple weeks after delivery and closes around 60 days out.
- Warehouse lost or damaged inventory – stock that goes missing or gets damaged after it’s already checked in – generally needs a claim filed within about 60 days of the date the discrepancy first appears in your reports, not the date you happen to notice it.
- Removal shipments lost in transit, where Amazon ships inventory back to you or a freight forwarder and it never arrives, tend to run on a somewhat longer window, while shipments that arrive visibly damaged or incomplete usually need to be reported much faster – often within 30 days of delivery.
- Customer returns that come back damaged or don’t match what was sold typically get evaluated on a delayed timeline tied to the refund date, since Amazon needs to see how the return was processed before a claim makes sense.
The common thread across all of these: the clock usually starts when the event is logged in Amazon’s system, not when you spot it. If you’re not checking reports regularly, you can lose weeks of your window before you even know there’s something to claim.
Why Excess and Slow-Moving Inventory Is the Most Exposed
A fast-selling SKU gets attention almost automatically – you’re checking its numbers constantly because your revenue depends on it. Excess and slow-moving inventory doesn’t get that same scrutiny. It sits, it occasionally gets moved between fulfillment centers, it goes through removal orders and IPI-driven relocations, and every one of those touchpoints is a chance for a unit to get lost or damaged without anyone noticing right away.
That’s exactly the inventory most likely to blow through a 60-day window before you catch the problem. If a SKU isn’t on your weekly dashboard, a discrepancy on it can sit unflagged for two or three months – long enough that by the time you spot it during a broader inventory review, the claim window has already closed. The stock that needs reimbursement tracking the most is usually the stock getting it the least.
How to Protect Yourself From Missing the Window
None of this requires new software or a big process overhaul – it mostly requires putting a recurring check on the calendar and actually doing it.
Pull your reconciliation reports on a schedule
Seller Central’s Inventory Ledger and Reimbursements reports both flag discrepancies between what you shipped in and what’s showing as sellable, returned, or missing. Reviewing these monthly at minimum – weekly if you’re running a lot of SKUs – is the single biggest lever for catching problems while there’s still time to file.
Prioritize aging and slow-moving SKUs specifically
Since these are the units least likely to get noticed through normal sales monitoring, build a separate check specifically for excess and aged inventory. If a SKU hasn’t sold in 60 days, it should also get a manual look at its inventory ledger, not just a decision about markdowns.
File as soon as you spot a discrepancy
Don’t batch claims up to file once a quarter. A discrepancy you catch today and file today is inside the window with room to spare; the same discrepancy caught in eight weeks might already be too late.
When Chasing the Claim Isn’t Worth It Anymore
Reimbursement claims are worth pursuing, but they’re not a reason to keep slow inventory parked in FBA indefinitely. A unit that’s worth reimbursement money if it’s lost is still costing you storage fees every month it isn’t – and the underlying problem for most excess and aged stock isn’t that Amazon might lose it, it’s that it isn’t selling. Tightening reconciliation habits protects the money you’re owed on losses; it doesn’t fix a SKU that just doesn’t move.
For inventory that’s been sitting long enough that you’re more worried about the next storage bill than the next reimbursement check, it’s worth pricing out what the batch is worth moved in bulk instead. You can get a no-obligation estimate through Recouply’s InstantQuote and have a formal offer the same day, which is usually a faster path to cash than waiting on a reimbursement claim to clear.
FAQ: Amazon’s FBA Reimbursement Claim Window
How long do I have to file an Amazon FBA reimbursement claim?
As of recent policy updates, most manual claims for lost or damaged FBA inventory need to be filed within roughly 60 days of the discrepancy appearing in your account, though the exact window varies by claim type. Check your Reimbursements report in Seller Central for the specific deadline shown on each flagged item.
What happens if I miss the reimbursement deadline?
Claims filed after the eligibility window closes are typically rejected outright, regardless of whether the loss or damage was clearly Amazon’s responsibility. There’s generally no appeal process for a claim that’s simply late, which is why catching discrepancies early matters more than the strength of the claim itself.
Does the 60-day window apply to every type of claim?
No – different claim types run on different clocks, and some, like visibly damaged removal shipments, need to be reported much sooner than 60 days. Treat 60 days as the outer edge for most warehouse loss and damage claims, not a universal deadline for everything that can go wrong with your inventory.