Seller guide
Which FBA report should I use for lost, damaged, returned, or removed inventory?
Choose an event-first FBA evidence trail from seller-supplied ledger, return, removal, inbound, and reimbursement exports without treating any one report as proof that an inventory claim is eligible.
Name the event before choosing a report
Start with what was observed: an inbound shipment shortage, fulfillment-center adjustment, customer return, removal order, removal shipment, or recorded reimbursement. Keep the seller reference, SKU or FNSKU, ASIN where available, quantity, condition, event date, and source wording. Do not begin with a desired claim type and search reports for supporting fragments; that can join unrelated events and hide the record that actually explains the inventory movement.
Use the Inventory Ledger to trace movement
The seller-supplied Inventory Ledger summary is the balance view: beginning units, receipts, shipments, returns, adjustments, removals, and ending units. The detailed view adds event type, reference, quantity, disposition, reason, fulfillment center, and reconciled or unreconciled quantities. Use the summary to locate the period and SKU, then the detail to identify candidate movements. A ledger difference is an investigation signal, not automatic evidence of loss or reimbursement eligibility.
Match specialized reports to the observed event
For an inbound problem, preserve the inbound-performance or shipment evidence that shows expected, received, and problem quantities. For a customer return, preserve the return and refund records relevant to the supplied event. For a removal, compare requested, cancelled, disposed, shipped, and in-process quantities in the Removal Order Detail report, then use Removal Shipment Detail only for units actually shipped. Keep source identifiers unchanged until the joins reconcile.
Check reimbursements as a separate outcome ledger
The Reimbursements report records approved reimbursement events and reasons; it does not list every potentially affected inventory movement. Search the seller-supplied report by the strongest available references, then compare SKU, quantity, date, reason, cash versus inventory quantity, original reimbursement linkage, and amount. A missing row does not prove a case should be filed, while a matching or reversed row may change what remains unresolved.
Verify today's portal instructions before acting
Build one event packet that names every source and any mismatch, then check the current Seller Central workflow, event-specific window, required evidence, and prior case state. Report names, fields, windows, and processes can change. A deterministic organizer can rank dates and missing records, but it cannot authenticate documents, decide eligibility, open a case, or promise recovery. Keep the result as a human-review draft and record the verification date beside any action.
Tools that help with this
- FBA Reimbursement Deadline + Evidence Tracker ($1.00) — Organize supplied inventory events, dated profiles, evidence gaps, and prior status
- FBA Inbound Problem + Fee Root-Cause Analyzer ($0.50) — Group supplied inbound problem rows when the observed event begins at receiving
- Marketplace Payout Reconciliation Analyzer ($1.00) — Reconcile a recorded reimbursement only after it reaches a supplied settlement
Every paid output is a draft for your review before you publish, appeal, or activate anything. Friday does not access your seller account.
More seller guides
- How do I check whether Amazon already reimbursed an FBA inventory event?
- How do I track FBA reimbursement deadlines and missing evidence?
- How do I organize FBA case evidence without creating duplicate claims?
- How do I reconcile a marketplace payout to orders and the bank deposit?
- How do I recover FBA stranded inventory before auto-removal?