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Amazon has launched FBA Damaged Inventory Ownership, a program that lets sellers take direct control of their Amazon-fault damaged inventory. Instead of Amazon assuming ownership (and reimbursing you under its standard FBA policy), sellers who enroll can retain ownership and decide how to handle those units. This means more control—but no reimbursements for enrolled items.

What’s New / The Update

  • Default Policy (Before): Amazon took ownership of Amazon-fault damaged inventory (e.g., warehouse or carrier damage) and compensated sellers under the FBA reimbursement policy.
  • New Option: By enrolling, sellers opt out of that process. Damaged units are sent back to their unfulfillable inventory and marked as Defective.
  • Inventory Management: Sellers can remove, liquidate, or resell eligible units through FBA Grade and Resell.
  • Enrollment & Settings: Sellers can apply this setting globally (all ASINs) or selectively (via CSV upload with up to 10,000 ASINs).
  • Unenrollment: At any time, sellers can revert to the default policy, restoring reimbursements for Amazon-fault damaged stock.

Seller Impact Analysis

  • Greater Control: Sellers can decide final disposition of Amazon-fault damaged goods instead of ceding ownership to Amazon.
  • No Reimbursements: Once enrolled, you won’t get reimbursements for Amazon-fault damaged inventory—only for lost or missing items.
  • Resale Opportunities: Retained units may be eligible for FBA Grade and Resell, helping recover value.
  • Operational Complexity: Tracking and managing damaged stock shifts more responsibility to sellers—requiring stronger reporting and removal workflows.

Recommended Next Steps for CedCommerce Sellers

  • Evaluate trade-off: Decide if keeping ownership is more profitable than reimbursements in your categories.
  • Enroll selectively: Use CSV uploads to test this feature on specific ASINs before expanding across catalog.
  • Set automated removals: Configure removal settings to avoid warehouse buildup of unsellable stock.
  • Track reports carefully: Use Customer Returns, Inventory Ledger, and Reimbursements reports to monitor outcomes.
  • Explore Grade & Resell: Leverage Amazon’s program to extract resale value from returned or warehouse-damaged goods.

Source: Amazon Seller Central

CedCommerce POV

Amazon’s FBA Damaged Inventory Ownership program gives sellers more control but higher responsibility. For some, the chance to manage resale and liquidation directly outweighs fixed reimbursements. For others, reimbursements may remain safer. Connect with CedCommerce today to evaluate your FBA workflows and optimize damaged inventory strategies.

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