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Items Not As Described” A-Z claims

These claims are very easy to win, regardless if the items were shipped tracked or not. However, the outcome is very dependent on the way, how a seller handles his return requests.

All return requests should be processed (either denied or accepted) within no more than 48 hours. Eligible returns (requested within the Amazon’s 30days mandatory return period) need to be authorised, regardless of the category. Out of policy return requests can be denied.

The most common mistake, which inexperienced sellers make is demanding the buyers to supply proof pictures or explain why are they are asking for a return. Some sellers will dispute the return reason selected by the buyer and call the Seller Support, expecting assurances that they are within their rights to refuse the request. This is often followed by an A-Z claim with a full refund to the buyer.

Also, once a return is authorised, there is no room for any negotiations with the buyer. They are within their rights to return the items.

Once items are returned, the seller should carefully inspect the merchandise and in case that it arrived back in a different condition than sent, it is possible to withold a reasonable deduction out of the refund to cover the loss of value as a result of it or refuse to refund at all (items which are not suitable for returns due to health protection or hygienic reasons if unsealed after delivery) and ask the buyer to supply a pre-paid return label instead, in case that he wants his non-returnable items back.

A very important thing is also knowing how to handle returns for orders placed on different Amazon marketplaces.

The seller is always required to either provide a local return address, pre-paid return label (to have the items returned to his own country) or refund the buyer in full, without requesting the merchandise to be returned.

Here are some example situations with my response templates (click on each link to expose the claim representation):


? - Buyer claiming that items were not as described, without ever contacting the seller






? - Buyer claiming that items were not as described after requesting a return, without returning the items or providing a tracking number as proof of shipping anything back




? - Buyer claiming that items were not as described after the returns period has already expired




? - Buyer claiming that the shipping cost/price was too high and requesting a partial refund without a return






? - Buyer claiming that items were not as described and demanding a full refund/ free item without a return






? - Buyer requesting a refund of the Expedited/Premium Delivery charge after returning his order and getting only a partial refund of product price + Standard Delivery




? - Buyer demanding the remaining order cost to be reimbursed after only getting a partial refund due to returning items in a materially different condition than sent



These are the most common claim types but if you encounter any other situation or if I missed anything, feel free to let me know and I will add it along with an appropriate claim representation.