The following drama is based upon a true story. The names and details have been changed to protect the innocent.

Gary was gearing up for the dream selling season of most Amazon sellers — the holidays!

His sales in September had been belongings steady, merely he knew that in November and Dec there would be increased sales for his niche. So Gary was planning alee.

It was the start of October, and Gary was already on the phone with his supplier ordering an extra one,000 units for the holidays. Ane of his greatest fears was running out of stock when orders started pouring in.

Gary knew that production for his product was iv to vi weeks, then past ordering in October, he was guaranteeing that his inventory would be filled before the vacation rush.

So when Gary received a shipping confirmation from his supplier in the middle of November that his product was sent to an Amazon warehouse, he was thrilled. Now the simply thing left to practise was to sit back and ride the wave of holiday sales!

Merely a week and a half later on, Gary noticed something peculiar. Fifty-fifty though Amazon was showing that his new inventory had been delivered to Amazon FBA, his inventory stock number wasn't changing.

He decided to investigate since Black Friday was just effectually the corner.

Gary called Amazon support and was told that an investigation would take to be issued to resolve the effect. Within 48 hours, he should receive a response, and the effect would be resolved.

Gary waited patiently for two days, but when three days had passed, he decided to retrieve. After several different phone calls, Gary learned that Amazon couldn't find his new shipment.

It was lost and would have five more days to figure out where it went.

Gary was dislocated, livid, and scared. Black Fri and the entire holiday season was just effectually the corner, and his inventory was quickly running low.

What the heck was Gary supposed to do?

The Difficult Truth

The difficult truth is that stories like Gary'due south happen all the time. Amazon is a big company (understatement of the yr) that is attempting to coordinate a massive amount of merchandise (new understatement of the year!). Therefore, inventory volition be mixed up and lost.

And to make the situation even worse — there isn't much y'all tin practise well-nigh it. It's the cards you've been dealt, my friend. Trust me — you can call, email, chat, curse, and stick pins in a Jeff Bezos voodoo doll, but y'all're non going to speed the process up or change the outcome.

Amazon is the large canis familiaris here. Yous are not. And though that'south non the bulletin they're trying to transport, information technology volition be the message you'll seem to exist hearing during this entire process. Again, trust me — they tin do very well without you.

What Does Amazon Do If They Lose Your Inventory?

Okay, here'due south the short answer - they pay y'all for it.

Look! Don't get besides excited.

In that location'due south a lot more to the story. Merely in general, if Amazon has to admit that they lost your product, they will eolith into your business relationship the sale price of each unit of measurement they lost minus the Amazon fees. So if you were selling your product for $20 and they lost 500 units, they'll pay you $10,000 minus the Amazon fees.

Now for the not likewise exciting function…

How Long Does Amazon Have to Find Your Inventory?

Okay, hither's the brusque answer - as long as they desire.

The truth is Amazon may tell yous they need 48 hours or 3 more days or v more days or i more than week, but in the end, they're probably going to cross each of those deadlines without blinking an eye.

Trust me, I know.

Again, they're a big company with millions and millions of products who are at present trying to locate your shipment of 500 units. Yous're not going to exist at the pinnacle of their to-do list.

Now, I'thou not trying to say Amazon is really thinking this behind closed doors. Information technology'due south but the truth of the matter. They volition exist looking for your missing inventory, but it won't go on them up at night like it volition you.

And since this article is turning out to exist a real picker-upper, permit me only rain a little harder on your parade…

Let'south just say that after 3 grueling weeks, Amazon is pressed to admit that they take indeed lost Gary's inventory. They tally up the units lost and multiply by Gary'south sale cost, and the next matter yous know Gary gets a deposit from Amazon for $10,000 (minus the fees).

Well, at least Gary made his money upward, correct? Now Gary can put that money dorsum into new inventory or even a new product, right?

Not necessarily.

Y'all see, if Amazon is cleaning up a warehouse one day and finds Gary's lost inventory, they can reverse the $x,000 reimbursement by taking it out of the next deposit.

Here'south Amazon's actual policy:

So how long does Amazon have to find the product? That slice of information is conspicuously missing from this specific policy, so no ane can really reply that for sure.

But the truth is Gary could proceeds $10,000 in Nov only to lose $10,000 in December due to his newly recovered inventory.

Trust me. I know.

Why It Hurts So Bad

Initially, yous might be thinking that the real pain here is centered around the lost profit on the product. Gary is out $10,000 for a while.

But even though that's bad, the existent tragedy in these situations is inventory.

Think about Gary'south situation for a moment. What does Gary practice while he'southward waiting on an answer from Amazon? He'due south running out of stock, and the holiday season is upon him.

Allow'southward say that Gary calls upwards his supplier and begs for a two week turnaround time on his production. Fifty-fifty if that were possible, he'south still lost two weeks of his peak sales season.

The best scenario is that Gary tin get a two calendar week turnaround on his product, then be completely reimbursed by Amazon for the lost inventory one week later. In that narrative, Gary doesn't lose much since the $10,000 from Amazon is like selling 500 units in the last 3 weeks.

Just retrieve, Gary doesn't really know for sure if that $ten,000 will stay in his account or not due to Amazon'due south reimbursement policy.

Only for sake of argument, let's say that Gary is able to phone call up his supplier and social club 500 more units in a ii calendar week turnaround. And in 2 weeks, Gary is pleased to meet that this shipment actually gets entered into his inventory. Great! He'due south back to full capacity for the month of December.

Merely then Amazon emails him and announces that they have actually discovered Gary's lost inventory. It's at present added into his electric current inventory.

Is this a good or bad thing?

Well, it's good that Gary now has an aplenty amount of inventory. He might not be ordering again for a while. Simply keep in heed, Gary has at present placed two orders very closely together which means he'll have two hefty payments to brand which volition as well be due closer together.

See the problem? When yous're get-go starting out, cash flow is the main issue, and a situation like Gary's can be a nightmare in the cash flow department.

This is why reinvesting your profits back into your business early is so crucial. You can listen to episode 34 of Sellercast where Jon built a 7 figure ecommerce business in 1 yr while withal working a total time day job to get an extreme movie of how much yous could reinvest in your business organization if your core focus is on growth.

What Y'all Shouldn't Do

1. Don't look. If you notice that inventory has shipped to an Amazon warehouse but isn't showing upwardly in your inventory, email, call, or conversation with support right away. You may be saving yourself some valuable fourth dimension.

2. Don't lose information technology. You'll exist angry, and I get that. You'll feel cheated, and I sympathize. And I'm not saying you can't limited that anger and hurt through a phone call or email. Just what yous don't demand to do is go cray-cray on the Amazon rep. Believe me when I say you volition need them on your side, and bravado your peak is just affecting you. It volition not speed upwards or alter the outcome. You are like a small fish threatening a prowl ship. They won't heed your warnings.

iii. Don't let your inventory get likewise depression. Now sometimes you can't command unexpected increases in sale, but by all ways necessary, don't play the close game with your inventory. Avoid being under a tight deadline by keeping your inventory fully stocked every bit much as possible.

4. Don't visit Jeff Bezos' firm and hurl your product at his windows while shouting obscenities. This will not end well. Trust me, I know.

(I'yard just kidding well-nigh that terminal office. I never did that.)

What Yous Should Do

1. Brand noise. When you start trying to resolve the situation of your lost inventory, at some point you're going to experience like y'all're getting nowhere with Amazon. Y'all'll be frustrated at the lack of response, the lack of activeness, the lack of business organisation. But don't give upward. Don't stop calling, emailing, and chatting with customer back up. The old adage remains true - the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Let Amazon know that yous are not going to let up until the issue is resolved.

2. Contact your supplier quickly. If you have a adept human relationship with your supplier, contact them as presently as Amazon confirms that your inventory is actually missing. You may not need to place your order immediately, but get alee and explicate your state of affairs to them. And so, if you practise need to place a new order a few days later, they'll understand the need for a quick turnaround.

3. Email jeff@amazon.com . Now this is no guarantee, but some sellers have had success by sending an email directly to Jeff Bezos. Now of form, "directly" isn't to be taken literally, only some sellers have experienced a quicker resolution once they've taken this route. I honestly don't know from feel if this helps, merely it can't hurt to try.

iv. Use the client support survey. At the end of every Amazon investigation, you'll receive a customer survey question that asks for your feedback apropos their support. Don't skip on this i. Allow Amazon know exactly what your experience was like and how information technology made you feel. Express your thwarting if the investigation took a long fourth dimension to resolve, and explain how the situation personally affected your business. The more Amazon sellers who speak up, the more than take a chance we have that Amazon volition answer by figuring out how to resolve these issues in the future.

Conclusion

Losing your Amazon inventory is ane of the most frustrating experiences every bit a seller. But what makes is the absolute worst is when you have no clue what to exercise or what the possible outcomes volition exist. Hopefully, this article gives you lot more clarity about both of those issues.

You'll need to be firm but patient and loud but respectful. Settle in for the long booty, merely human activity like every e-mail will speed up the process. You may be a little fish in the ocean but make the biggest splash y'all can.

If you lot're reading this article considering Amazon lost your inventory hopefully they'll observe it soon. In the mean fourth dimension, you might also spend a few minutes to create your gratuitous Salesbacker account. Become started with Salesbacker here.