There are three ways to recover Amazon FBA reimbursements: do it yourself in Seller Central, hire a reimbursement service that keeps a commission on what it recovers, or use software that finds and organizes the cases while you keep the full payout. The right choice depends on how many claims you have, how much time your team has, and whether you also sell through Walmart Fulfillment Services.
This guide compares the three options on cost, control and effort, and lists the questions to ask before you sign up for any service.
First: what Amazon already does on its own
Amazon reviews many lost and damaged events itself. In the Inventory Defect and Reimbursement portal, the Resolved tab shows decisions Amazon has already made, and the Eligible for claim tab shows the defects you can still claim. So the job is not to claim everything, but to catch what Amazon did not resolve, and to do it inside the windows:
- Lost or damaged in a fulfillment center: within 60 days of the date it was reported.
- Inbound shipments: up to nine months after verified delivery.
- Customer returns: between 60 and 120 days after the refund.
The full rules are in our Amazon FBA reimbursement guide, based on Amazon’s FBA inventory reimbursement policy.
The three options compared
| Do it yourself | Commission-based service | Reimbursement software | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Your team’s time | A percentage of every reimbursement, commonly 15% to 25% | A subscription; some tools also take a percentage, so check |
| Who finds the cases | You, from Seller Central reports | The service | The software flags them |
| Who submits | You | The service, through access to your account | Depends on the tool; often you, with prepared case details |
| Account access needed | None | Usually a user login to Seller Central | Usually an approved app connection |
| Walmart WFS coverage | Separate manual process | Varies by service | Varies by tool |
| Best for | Low volume and plenty of time | Sellers who want it fully off their plate and accept the commission | Sellers with regular volume who want to keep the full payout |
Option 1: do it yourself
Doing it yourself costs nothing but time. You check the Inventory Defect and Reimbursement portal, compare inbound shipping plans with what was received, review refunds where the item didn’t come back, and file before each window closes.
It works when you have a small catalog and one channel. It gets harder as volume grows, because the windows differ by case type and the information sits in several reports. The most common misses are inbound shortages nobody reconciled and customer refunds where the return window passed.
Option 2: commission-based reimbursement services
These services audit your account, file the claims and charge a percentage of each reimbursement, commonly between 15% and 25%. The upside is that you do almost nothing. The trade-offs:
- Cost grows with your recoveries. The more Amazon owes you, the more you pay.
- Account access. Most need a user login to your Seller Central account to file on your behalf.
- Who gets credit for what. Ask whether the commission applies to reimbursements Amazon issues automatically, or only to claims the service filed.
Option 3: reimbursement software
Software connects to your marketplace data, flags likely reimbursement cases and organizes the evidence. Pricing models vary: some tools charge a flat subscription, others combine a subscription with a commission, so read the terms. It suits sellers who want visibility and control without paying a share of every recovery.
Questions to ask before you choose a service
- Do you charge a percentage, a flat fee, or both?
- Does the fee apply to reimbursements Amazon issued without a claim?
- Who submits the claims, and does that follow Amazon’s and Walmart’s terms?
- What access do you need to my account, and can I remove it at any time?
- Do you cover inbound shortages, customer returns and removals, or only warehouse losses?
- Do you cover Walmart WFS as well as Amazon FBA?
- How do you show which payout matches which case?
- How far back do you look, given that most Amazon windows are 60 days?
Where Crazy Vendor fits
Crazy Vendor is reimbursement software inside a full multichannel operations platform. Its reimbursements recovery flags lost, damaged and uncredited units across Amazon FBA and Walmart WFS, prepares the case details, tracks every case to payout and matches incoming reimbursements to open cases. You submit claims through Seller Central or Walmart Seller Center, the official channels, and you keep 100% of the payout: Crazy Vendor charges no commission on recovered funds.
Reimbursements recovery is part of every plan, from $29/month, alongside orders, inventory, listings, shipping and profit tools for Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento and Wix. Every plan has a 21-day free trial. See pricing, or read how to file a Walmart WFS reimbursement claim.
Frequently asked questions
How much do FBA reimbursement services charge?
Commission-based services commonly keep between 15% and 25% of each reimbursement. Software tools usually charge a subscription, and some also take a percentage.
Is it worth paying for an FBA reimbursement service?
If you have few claims and time to check reports, doing it yourself may be enough. With regular inbound shipments, returns and more than one marketplace, a tool or service usually catches cases a busy team misses. The difference is whether you pay with time, a commission or a subscription.
Can I recover FBA reimbursements without giving anyone a commission?
Yes. You can file claims yourself in Seller Central, or use software such as Crazy Vendor that prepares the cases and charges no commission on recovered funds.
Do reimbursement services cover Walmart WFS?
Some do and some don’t. Ask before you sign up. Crazy Vendor covers Amazon FBA and Walmart WFS in one dashboard.
Last updated November 5, 2026. Amazon’s claim windows were checked against Seller Central help pages on that date.