Invoices for lost fba shipment
I received an email from amazon asking for invoices for a lost shipment. All of the items were purchased from online stores. Is there a correct way to create these invoices that Amazon will accept? Any help gratefully received. Here is the wording they sent:
Relevant official purchase invoice(s) for the missing units that you’ve sent us throughout last six months before the delivery date of the shipment FBA15…
Kindly note that we do not accept Commercial/ Proforma invoices, online order confirmations or any documents that are in Excel, Word and Notepad or a conversion of these formats. Therefore, we request you to provide us the scanned copy of the original invoice in PDF format.
The document can be either in paper or electronic form, such as PDF document. This is used as proof of purchase and does not affect the replacement value of the units. The replacement value is always calculated based on our FBA Lost and Damaged Inventory Reimbursement Policy.
A “Commercial Invoice” does not count as a valid proof of purchase due to commercial invoices are a document used in foreign trade. It is used as a customs declaration provided by the person or corporation that is exporting an item across international borders.
A “Proforma Invoice” does not count as a valid proof of purchase due to they refer to units that are expected to be purchased in the future. Proforma invoices outline a potential future exchange, but do not document an actual purchase of goods. Since the transaction described in a proforma invoice is subject to change or may not even occur, we cannot accept proforma invoices as proof of ownership for inventory that is under investigation.
The invoice must show the purchase of the products from a supplier or manufacturer and include:
- The date of that purchase
- The titles of the missing units
- The quantity purchased
If you are the manufacturer, please send a copy of the packing slip, which must include:
- The date of delivery
- The titles of the missing units
- The quantity shipped
These documents must include the following information:
- The parties involved in the shipping transaction,
- The goods being transported,
- The country of manufacture,
- Company Name,
- Company stamp and
- Signature.
19 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
I know they don’t accept retail receipts for authenticity claims but tbh i’m not sure if they accept them for lost items either ?!
Seller_DTufFoxJuMU0M
By online stores I hope you mean wholesalers? Normally when buying from a wholesaler they send you an invoice, even if its electronic. This is what Amazon want.
If by online stores you are buying from retailers then presumably you were listing the stock as used - like new, and Amazon should accept your receipts (maybe).
You can’t create the invoices, they want proof that you purchased these items, and where you purchased them from and how much you paid for it.
Seller_EHYOwAkoZV3Hb
In short, no! Creating invoices is a quick route to account suspension. But even if you had shop receipts, not sure they would be accepted if you listed the items as “New”, even for FBA shipments.
Seller_DROodOAYHftnc
In addition to the above comments, my first thought is there is no correct way for you to create invoices as that would surely be…ermm, I was going to say illegal ? , but at least not acceptable.
As said they need to come from the supplier.
The email clearly explains what they will and will not accept.
Seller_DTufFoxJuMU0M
I know that Amazon is all about automation, and the generally don’t care about us.
But surely it would be more efficient to pay 100 people to close 100 cases a day in 2 messages, than pay 200 people to close 1000 cases a day that get reopened sometimes dozens of times without any resolution - just that the seller simply gives up…
Quality over quantity 
cases being closed quicker and more efficiently means less cases open at any given time, which means less staff required in the first place? Or let the bots try once or twice, but once a case has been reopened twice it goes to an actual person to be read
Seller_D5flbbPBxRe82
I have joined you in the same boat today. Apparently my shipment has a discrepency (I think they have lost it as the number of units received is zero) and I need to provide invoices. I don’t have invoices though as the product is my own - I assemble it from various components! Following this thread as I anticipate I am about to embark on Round 10 with SS! 
Seller_D5flbbPBxRe82
Hi. So surprisingly I got refunded. I expected 10 rounds in the ring, but they issued the refund. This is what I did if you want to try it:-
On the claim form where it only allows you to upload a single PDF/JPEG image, I submitted a PDF that I had created in Word. The Word doc had all sorts of bits in it…text boxes explaining why I didn’t have a straightforward invoice to prove purchase…bit of screen shots showing purchases from online…bits of screen shots showing bank statement spend. I basically listed all the elements of the shipmetn in a text box then pointed arrows out to each of the (weak) bits of evidence. Saved it all as a single screen PDF and attached that.
Once the case opened, I went back in and explained that I had tried my best to provide the information requested, but that I can’t provide information that I don’t have. I then reattached each item in fullness (because you can add more than one attachment once the case is open).
I thought it would go bak and forth a million times…but hey presto…reimbursement!
Can’t guarantee will work for you…SS is a bit random I have found…maybe I struck lucky with an understanding agent who has seen this before. But I thought I would share in case some of it is of any help.
Sincerely hope it is resolved swiftly for you.
