Still ongoing: Orders marked “lost” even when buyers receive them – we keep losing stock and money
This issue has not gone away, and it’s causing constant stock and financial losses for us—and many other sellers too, from what I can see across the forums.
Amazon is still marking orders as “lost in transit” and reimbursing customers, even when the customer has actually received the item. Some honest buyers are even taking the time to message us:
"I have received the item but it says it's been lost."
"Just wanted to let you know that I received the seeds, thank you."
These customers didn’t need to contact us—but they did. Why? Because they were surprised that Amazon claimed the package hadn’t arrived. And meanwhile, we as sellers get hit: our stock is deducted, the order marked as “lost”, and we're not paid.
This creates a toxic environment. We're being conditioned to view all buyers with suspicion—wondering if they’re trying to game the system. That’s not how good customer relationships are built. We want to trust our customers, but this situation is making it increasingly difficult. It leaves a bitter taste and pushes sellers toward treating every order as a potential scam. We have to save all
We only sell chilli, tomato and sunflower seeds, and when we first started on Amazon, we used to go the extra mile—sending customers freebies with their orders, hoping to build trust, earn great reviews, and share the joy of growing. But now? We’ve had to stop all of that. With so many unjustified refunds and losses, we now only send exactly what was ordered—nothing more, nothing less. That generosity has been stripped away because Amazon’s system has made it too risky to trust.
To make matters worse, we use Royal Mail 1st and 2nd Class Letter services, which are untracked, as allowed under Amazon’s guidelines for low-value, lightweight items. But here’s the absurd part: Amazon cannot track these shipments—yet they’re somehow notifying customers that the item is “lost”.
How can Amazon determine that a parcel is lost on a service that has no tracking data?
This kind of automated assumption is fuelling unnecessary refunds, stock loss, and seller frustration. Amazon is essentially undermining its own sellers based on zero evidence.
And on top of that, we now have to manually save every Royal Mail label outside of Amazon, because Amazon deletes them after 30 days. If a claim is raised later, we’re left with no proof unless we’ve downloaded and stored it ourselves. That’s a significant, time-consuming admin burden just to defend ourselves from a flawed system.
We’ve flagged this repeatedly, and it’s clearly not an isolated issue. See previous threads:
Original discussion here
https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/seller-forums/discussions/t/42c7dee7-231f-442f-9179-8813b57c6944
https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/seller-forums/discussions/t/a4542784-a28e-4866-a6f3-c575b40d31f9
https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/seller-forums/discussions/t/96f65b2a-63fb-43b6-8a9b-d2530dd1d61b
https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/seller-forums/discussions/t/c28eed23-2ee3-493d-acb8-08bd927c1534
This affects customer trust, seller trust, and shows a serious flaw in how Amazon handles logistics and order tracking.
We need Amazon to:
Investigate how and why these orders are marked as lost.
Review the tracking and reconciliation process.
Stop reimbursing customers for items they have received unless there’s clear evidence of non-delivery.
Provide sellers with better protection and compensation for lost stock.
Real numbers from our business
On our own webshop, using Royal Mail 2nd-Class Large Letter, our non-delivery rate is around 1 in 2,000 orders (0.05%).
On Amazon FBM, using the exact same postage, our non-delivery rate jumps to around 1 in 75 orders (1.3%).
That’s a 26× higher “lost” rate on Amazon—clearly driven by Amazon’s own messaging to customers, encouraging them to believe items are missing when they’re not.
40 replies
Seller_i38MVIJDH23AY
If Amazon wanted this to be fixed it would be fixed already.
Seller_K2UC0tJP7wxW2
This is a known tactic for Amazon not enjoying FBM, on untracked items.
Customers go feral for tracking. For instant delivery.
Plus it incentivises customers to get refunded and keep them in the Amazon ecosystem as free items locks them harder into Amazon.
This ain't gonna change sadly!
Seller_9T3qwvrJIaR4w
Is It Incitement to Commit Fraud?
Indirectly, yes. If Amazon’s systems refund customers based on no proof of loss, it:
Incentivizes dishonest behavior (buyers keep items and get refunds)
Penalizes honest buyers and sellers
Creates an environment where fraud is effectively encouraged by system design
This could be legally questionable if enough evidence of systemic abuse is gathered. Some seller groups have explored class-action lawsuits or complaints to consumer protection bodies.
Seller_DOTUDOmLPuJyz
We had the same issue and now send everything RM 2nd Class LL which although not a tracked service is scanned upon delivery which has reduced our "not received" claims significantly.
It has meant an increase in price but has seemed to work.
Seller_KJmU5xliSK0Bl
I have been calling the buyers bluff, by saying that the item is shown as delivered. Are you sure you have contacted the correct seller? This has now worked 5 times, where I hear nothing more from the buyer. It may not be 100% true but you have to fight lies with lies. AMAZON STOP SENDING INCORRECT MESSAGES! We need to stand as 1 and start a petition.
Seller_HwaQlgFnhSuGS
Same here, just had one waiting for me.
Buyer subsequently admits receipt of order. I am just so grateful our orders are low value
Not only should this message not be sent, but orders delivered late should be returned, not given as a freebie. It belongs to us and Amazon just give it away!
Seller_ZVAz3d5lZuGid
Will tag in some forum mods again - as they did say this would be escalated, but the practice is still going on, and ALWAYS at a loss to the sellers.
PLEASE can this be escalated/looked into again, as it has a very detrimental impact on sellers, with refunds being dished out EVEN when the customer has acknowledged they have received the item.
@Julia_Amazon @Ezra_Amazon @JiAlex_Amazon @Roberto_Amazon
Seller_5BmbL9wJF7d3W
I've had an interesting reply to this from the Escalation Department. They are basically blaming the carriers for not sending delivery information to Amazon's system which results in issues with tracking visibility. Nothing about stopping sending the messages. This is what they said:
"We encourage sellers to use carriers that provide real-time tracking updates to Amazon’s system, including Royal Mail. However, it's important to note that some carriers may not be relaying delivery information to Amazon's system, which can result in issues with tracking visibility.
For your reference, here is a list of recommended carriers that work with Amazon’s system to provide real-time tracking updates:
Domestic deliveries: Amazon Shipping, APC, Arrow XL, DHL Parcel UK, BJS, DPD, DX FREIGHT, Fedex, GLS, Evri, Panther, Parcelforce, Royal Mail, TNT, TUFFNELLS, UPS, Whistl, Yodel, MHI, The Delivery Group (TDG).
In summary, it’s most likely that the carrier you're using is not providing delivery information to Amazon's system, which is why the tracking status might not be showing correctly."
I have contacted them again stating that I use Royal Mail which is one of their recommended carriers and asked if they are going to stop sending the messages stating an item may be lost and to ask for a refund. I'll let you know what they say but I'm pretty sure they'll just blame it all on Royal Mail rather than their flawed system.
Seller_ZVAz3d5lZuGid
What a fob off ! Most of those carriers do provide real-time tracking - as an example, I use Yodel for some of mine and my VTR is 100% and has been for years now, and most of those mentioned have GPS and take photos on delivery (which we know Amazon will not accept !) - so we are still fighting a losing battle. The emails they send out are incitement to fraud.
Seller_5BmbL9wJF7d3W
Depending on their next response I will be writing to my MP about this and I suggest others do too. They are inciting fraud and they know it.
Seller_wOYdrOWjeoIWY
Same here — this is totally a VTR issue. We ship from India to the US using DHL Express, and our VTR has dropped dramatically even though all shipments are delivered and signed for.
Because of this, Amazon is marking orders as “lost in transit”, buyers are being told the item wasn't delivered, and we're getting flooded with refund requests and A-Z claims — all for orders that were actually delivered.
This isn't a carrier problem — DHL Express tracking is fully updated with delivery scans. It’s Amazon’s system that’s failing to recognize it, and we keep getting the same reply: “Please contact the buyer.”
It’s frustrating and unfair — we’re losing money, stock, and account health for doing everything right.
Seller_Z1VmZ3fbCMGeu
It is hard to believe this is still happening. Amazon have been "investigating" for ages now without any change.
I lend my full weight and support to all sellers. We send everything tracked as they are high ticket items but even then Amazon often sides with the customer despite clear proof to the contrary.
You said it - toxic.
Seller_540qgZMXuuXdD
These 'lost' messages are just part of the problem now. They've encouraged more dishonest behaviour. I've started having an influx of customers demanding refunds on the due date, claiming they haven't arrived, though in most cases, the items arrived at least the day before. They are just trying their luck.
Now, without a prompt, dishonest customers are seeking refunds. Six within the last 48 hours. Fraudulent claims are occurring in around 1 of every 50 orders.
Julia_Amzn
Hello @Seller_2PJJEd2rbDKIb and all Sellers contributing to this discussion,
Thank you for bringing this up. This is indeed a known situation that many sellers have brought up on Forums in the past. We are aware it's a long process, but I want to assure you that we are actively working on improvements.
Thank you for actively addressing your cases and examples; we will keep you informed of any updates.
Best regards, Julia.
Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn
So.many issues today with customers emailing about "lost" items
Also it now seems just as common place for customers to complain the item has not been received on time and demand a refund. This is partly driven by Amazon emails giving stupidly long revised delivery dates when an Item does not arrive on time.
Other platforms not 1 person has had an issue today. So it is certainly problem just with Amazon.
