Amazon Releases “Manage Your Costs” Dashboard for Reimbursements
Amazon recently released a dashboard that shows sellers the calculated reimbursement cost they'll receive for lost and damaged inventory.
Last year, Amazon announced they would pay sellers either an estimated cost by evaluating comparable products or allow sellers to upload their own costs. However, there was one big caveat—Amazon only allowed the “EXW Cost” and excluded expenses like tariffs and freight, which annoyed many in the seller community. Previously, Amazon had compensated based on the estimated selling price.
You can access the “Manage Your Sourcing Costs” inventory page at https://sellercentral.amazon.com/inventory-reimbursement/cost-management
Seller Reactions to Amazon's Estimated Costs
The preliminary reaction to Amazon's estimated product costs has, for the most part, been positive. Many sellers are reporting that Amazon’s reimbursement amounts are above their actual manufacturing costs—though still lower than previous reimbursement amounts.
There is also concern that Amazon’s estimates may fall significantly short of true landed costs, especially with the impact of new tariffs.
Sellers still have the opportunity to upload their own inventory costs, but they will not be allowed to include the following expenses in reimbursement claims:
- Shipping costs
- Handling fees
- Customs duties
- Inbound placement service fees
Given these restrictions, many sellers are simply accepting Amazon’s calculated reimbursement costs.
Inventory Reimbursement Services
There was some concern in the Amazon SaaS and services space that the new inventory reimbursement policy could significantly undermine the business model of many Amazon reimbursement services. Amazon has promised to proactively reimburse inventory costs—unlike the previous system that required sellers to open support cases.
However, it remains to be seen how thorough Amazon will be in proactively identifying reimbursements. Some sellers remain skeptical. As of now, reimbursement services like GetIDA (EcomCrew's preferred reimbursement service) continue to offer valuable support to sellers.
