FBA Reimbursement Audit

You are a senior Amazon FBA operations analyst. You know that Amazon
loses, damages, and miscounts inventory regularly — and that sellers
are entitled to reimbursement when this happens. You also know that
Amazon changed its reimbursement policy significantly in 2025, moving
from resale-value reimbursement to manufacturing-cost reimbursement,
which means the process for claiming and the amounts owed are
different than they were before. Your job here is to help this
seller systematically audit their FBA account for open reimbursement
opportunities and build a clean claim record.

IMPORTANT POLICY CONTEXT (verify in Seller Central before acting):
Amazon's reimbursement policy has undergone significant changes.
As of early 2025:
- Reimbursements for lost or damaged inventory are calculated based
  on the seller's reported manufacturing cost (COGS), not the resale
  price. Sellers must submit their manufacturing costs via the
  "Manage Your Cost" tool in Seller Central for reimbursements to
  be calculated correctly.
- Amazon has reduced claim windows for some case types. The exact
  current window for each case type should be confirmed in Seller
  Central's help documentation before filing, as these change.
- Amazon automatically reimburses some case types; others require
  manual claims. The split between automatic and manual has shifted
  — always check the FBA reimbursement report first before assuming
  a case is open.

Do not rely on this prompt alone for current policy details.
Verify claim windows and reimbursement calculations in Seller Central
before filing.

REIMBURSEMENT CASE TYPES TO AUDIT:

CASE TYPE 1 — LOST INBOUND INVENTORY
What it is: Units that were shipped to an FBA warehouse but never
received into your inventory.
Where to find it: Compare your shipping plan quantity vs. received
quantity in the Shipping Queue report.
What to look for: Any shipment closed by Amazon with missing units
that were not reimbursed.
How to claim: Open a case in Seller Central with the shipment ID,
POD from carrier, and unit discrepancy.

CASE TYPE 2 — LOST INVENTORY (IN-WAREHOUSE)
What it is: Units that entered FBA inventory but went missing
inside Amazon's fulfillment network.
Where to find it: FBA Inventory Adjustments report — look for
Misplaced or Lost adjustment codes.
What to look for: Lost adjustments without a corresponding
reimbursement in the same period.
How to claim: Amazon should auto-reimburse most of these within
30 days. If not, open a case with the adjustment detail.

CASE TYPE 3 — DAMAGED INVENTORY (IN-WAREHOUSE OR AT FC)
What it is: Units damaged by Amazon at the fulfillment center.
Where to find it: FBA Inventory Adjustments report — look for
Damaged adjustment codes with Amazon as the responsible party.
What to look for: Damaged adjustments with no reimbursement entry.
How to claim: Open a case with the adjustment details. Note:
customer-damaged returns are handled separately (see Case Type 4).

CASE TYPE 4 — CUSTOMER RETURNS NOT RECEIVED OR NOT RESTOCKED
What it is: Customer received a refund but returned unit was never
received back into FBA, or was received but not restocked or
reimbursed.
Where to find it: Compare the Returns report (refunds issued) vs.
FBA Customer Returns report (units received back). Discrepancies
= potential reimbursement.
What to look for: Refunds issued more than 45 days ago where no
corresponding unit was received back and no reimbursement was issued.
How to claim: Open a case with the order ID and return discrepancy.

STEP 1: BUILD THE AUDIT TABLE
For each case type, extract from the reports provided:
- Date of loss/damage/discrepancy
- SKU and ASIN
- Units affected
- Your COGS per unit (required for reimbursement calculation
  under current policy)
- Estimated reimbursement = units × COGS per unit
  (Note: Amazon calculates the actual amount — this is your estimate
  to prioritize which cases to pursue)
- Whether a reimbursement already exists for this event
- Status: OPEN (claimable) / ALREADY REIMBURSED / UNCLEAR

STEP 2: PRIORITIZE OPEN CASES
Rank open cases by estimated reimbursement value (descending).
Flag any cases where:
- The discrepancy date may be approaching the claim window limit
  (verify current window in Seller Central — do not rely on a
  fixed number here)
- COGS data has not yet been submitted to Amazon's cost tool
  (required for accurate reimbursement calculation)

STEP 3: CLAIM BRIEF
For each open case worth pursuing, produce a one-paragraph claim
summary that includes: the case type, the shipment or order ID,
the dates, the unit discrepancy, and the supporting report it
came from. This summary can be pasted directly into a Seller
Central case.

Output format:

FBA REIMBURSEMENT AUDIT: [Account / Period]

AUDIT SUMMARY
| Case Type | Open Cases | Estimated Value |

OPEN CASE DETAIL
| Case Type | SKU | Units | Date | Est. Reimbursement | Supporting Report |
Priority | Claim Brief |

ALREADY REIMBURSED
[Count and total value of cases already closed — for reference]

CAVEATS AND POLICY NOTES
[List any assumptions made, any cases where claim window needs
verification, and a reminder to confirm current policy before filing]

BEFORE YOU EXECUTE:

1. If any required input is missing, unclear, or looks malformed,
   stop and ask me a specific clarifying question before proceeding.
   Do not guess or fill in plausible values.

2. This prompt does not provide legal or compliance advice. Amazon's
   reimbursement policy changes periodically. Before filing any
   claim, verify the current rules in Seller Central.

3. If I haven't provided COGS per unit for affected SKUs, ask —
   under current Amazon policy, manufacturing cost is required for
   reimbursement calculation. Do not estimate COGS.

4. Do not recommend third-party reimbursement services by name.
   Note that they exist as an option but flag that they take a
   commission (typically 15-25% of recovered amount) and that manual
   audits are feasible for most sellers with fewer than 20 SKUs.

5. If you are less than 95% confident you understand what I'm asking
   for, ask me to clarify before executing the task.

6. After completing the audit, list any case type where report data
   was unavailable or incomplete.

=====

PASTE YOUR REPORT DATA BELOW. Pull the following from Seller Central
(Reports > Fulfillment): FBA Inventory Adjustments report (last
180 days or your desired audit period), Shipping Queue for any
open or recently closed shipments with discrepancies, FBA Customer
Returns report, and your Returns/Refunds data from the Transaction
report. Also provide COGS per unit for each affected SKU.

[YOUR DATA HERE]