Help CenterSummary: After a Seller determines what they want to send to Amazon, they create a shipment within their Seller Central account. Amazon then determines what warehouse the Seller will ship the inventory to for storage. The seller has the option to either purchase shipping for the shipment directly through Amazon (known as Amazon Partnered Carrier) or they can purchase shipping through a source of their choice and enter the shipping details (tracking numbers, weights, etc.) into the Seller Central shipment. Once the shipment has shipped, Amazon will track the status of the shipment and once it is received at the destination warehouse, will begin receiving the items into the Sellers sellable inventory for customers to purchase.
If all of the items are not received at the fulfillment center (i.e. the Seller sent in 100 units of a specific item, and Amazon only received 95 of the units) we can open a claim with Amazon to seek reimbursement for the missing 5 units.
Amazon will launch an internal investigation to understand why the missing 5 units were not received into the Sellers inventory. During their investigation, if they are able to locate the items in the warehouse, they will add the missing units to the seller's account. If they are unable to locate the missing units, then Amazon can process a reimbursement to the Seller's account for the missing units. (There is no one exact formula Amazon uses to assess a value for the missing units, however; the general rule of thumb is Amazon will reimburse each missing unit for the price , minus the fulfillment fees).
FAQs:
1) Amazon didn't receive all of my items, how can I file a claim for the missing units?
A: Before a shipment is eligible for reconciliation (the process of investigating missing units from a shipment) the shipment must be in a "closed" status. A shipment must be created by the Seller, then marked as shipped. Amazon will track the shipment through to it's fulfillment warehouse and begin receiving the inventory. Generally, if all units are not receved within a few days, Amazon will keep the shipment open in the event that some of the shipment got delayed in transit, or part of it was misplaced on the unloading dock when the shipment was delivered. Amazon may keep a shipment open for as much as 30 days after the last units were received in hopes that the remaining units show up. After about 30 days of inactivity on the shipment, Amazon will mark the shipment as "closed" and then it will become eligible for reconciliation. Once the shipment has been marked as closed, Getida will automatically find the discrepancy and begin the claims process. Our claims team will review the shipment and determine that the missing units are valid. Once this is completed, they will update the Seller dashboard with what documents are required for us to move forward with filing the claim.
2) Amazon didnt receive all of my items and Getida has not yet filed a claim for the missing units?
A: Before Getida can file a claim, the shipment must be in a closed status. After Amazon has marked it as 'closed' we will begin working on the shipment to validate that there is a claim to be filed. Once this is validated, the claims team will update the clients Getida dashboard and specifiy which documents are required for us to file a claim. If we do not receive the necessary documents, an email notification will go out on a monthly cadence as a reminder of what we need to file the claim. Once we have the required information (usually a packing slip or proof of purchase, and delivery confirmation) we will be able to file the claim.
3) What evidence is the Seller required to provide so Amazon can investigate the missing units?
A: Amazon requires proof that the items in the shipment were actually shipped.
- POD - A proof of delivery confirms that the shipment arrived at the Amazon fulfilment center. The proof of delivery is either tracking number information, or a BOL showing the shipment was delivered. Amazon will cross-reference the tracking infomration and confirm that it was in fact delivered. Additionally, Amazon will also check the weights of the shipment and compare it to the expected weights of what was expected to be delivered. For example, if the seller sent in 100 units of an item, and the weight listed in Amazon's database for a single one ofthose items is one pound, Amazon will expect the shipment to be just over 100 pounds (extra weight is factored in for packaging).
- POP - A proof of purchase or a packing slip. Amazon wants to verify that you took legal ownership of the physical items you indicated on your shipment plan. If your shipment plan shows that you shipped 100 units of a specific produts, Amazon will require verification that you procured those 100 units thorugh a reputable supplier. In the event that the seller is the manufacturer of the product and they don't source their items from a 3rd party (i.e. they are brand owner, brand registered, private label, etc ), then the Seller can submit a packing slip using the DocMaster tool which has the product name and the quantity they shipped in their shipment.
If you have a pending document request, please send copies of the documents to info-requests@getida.com
4) How long does it take for a claim to be approved?
A: After a claim is filed with all the necessary paperwork, claims are usually approved within 5-7 business days. However, depending on the value of the claim this time-frame could change.
5) Amazon denied my claim, do I have any options to appeal?
A: If a claim is going to be denied, Amazon will let our claims team know why and provide us the opportunity to rectify any issues that could lead to the denail of a claim. Usually this is because there was an issue with the POD or POP. In that case, we will work with the Seller to clarify what the issue is so they can get it corrected and sent back over to us so we can continue working with Amazon on the claim.
If a claim was denied however no clarification was provided, we can reopen the claim and request that Amazon investigate the issue again.
Occasionally Amazon will flag the claim as 'investigation completed'. This indicates that Amazon has done a full investigation on the claim, and confirmed that they have substantial evidence on their end to verify the claim is not valid. Any claims that have been flagged as 'investigation completed' cannot be processed by Getida.
6) How long do I have to file a claim?
After a shipment has closed with discrepancies, the Seller has 9 months in the North America marketplace and 6 months in the EU marketplace to file a claim. If either of those windows pass without a claim ever opened for the discrepancy, Amazon will close the claim window and reimbursement cannot be granted for any discrepanices on the shipment.
7) I entered the wrong tracking information for my shipment and now I can't adjust it. Can I still file a claim for a discrepany on this shipment?
A: Yes. We all understand that sometimes, mistake happen. While Amazon's interface wont allow you to modify the tracking information in Seller Central, we can still file the claim on your behalf. We will require the correct tracking information (and POP) to move forward with these claims. If no tracking information (or BOL) is available for the shpment, unfortunately we will not be able to move forward with filing.
8) My shipment was closed and nothing was recevied on it and Getida has still not filed a claim for it. What is the delay?
A: If a shipment is closed with nothing received and no tracking information was provided, Getida's system will wait 4 months after the shipment creation date, and 21 days after the shipment close date to trigger a document request from the client.
9) Getida is requsting documents for an inbound claim, but I never sent the shipment to Amazon. How can I close this shipment out?
A: If you are a seller who is private-label, you can close the shipment out in DocMaster (see image below). If you are a reseller of the items on the shipment, the please reach out to your Account Manager for assistance and we will be happy to close the claim on our end.
10) I submitted the requested documents however the dashboard still says "Awaiting Documents". Why is this?
A: After you submit the documents to us, we will upload them into our system for filing. This can take up to 48 hours for the documents to get into our system and your dashboard updated with the new status of the claim. If the status has not updated after 5 business days, please reach out to support@getida.com for assistance.