EFN Problem
Serious problem with EFN, can anyone help? We are a UK own brand seller. We enrolled in the EFN program in the EU some time ago, and our products are stored in FBA warehousing in Spain. Because we are only VAT registered in Spain (not any other EU country), Amazon's rule is that products can only be stored in Spain. They are then distributed to customers both within Spain and in other EU countries. This works fine. However, the problem we are having is that when a customer returns a product that they bought in Germany (for example), this product is then sent back to FBA Germany. So far, also fine, because to abide by their own rules you would think Amazon would then forward the product back to FBA Spain (these are products in sellable condition). But they don't! Not only do they keep them in Germany (and other EU countries), they charge for storage there even though these products are not for sale because they are not in Spain. Also, because they are not in Spain when you go to Manage All Inventory and FBA Inventory, only the products in Spain FBA are listed. So we don't get proper visibility on those and these products outside Spain increase each time there is a return. And we are charged storage fees each month and now long term storage fees too, which are adding up. We have found out that only by doing a full Inventory Ledger report can these products be seen. We have contacted Seller Support and asked them these questions:
1. How do we stop returns being sent to non-Spain EU FBA warehouses?
2. How can we get the products that are already in non-Spain EU warehouse sent back to FBA Spain warehouses?
For number 1 we were initially told that the returns settings had been set up incorrectly but they were correct now, and that this would not happen again. However, it keeps happening.
For number 2 we were told that this is not possible, that they can only be sent to a third party address within the EU. We don't have such an address as we are UK based and rely on Amazon for warehousing.
We then contacted Seller Support again, and asked these questions:
A. Again, how do we stop returns being sent to non-Spain EU FBA warehouses?
B. As we did not request these products to be returned to non-Spain EU FBA warehouses (and this seems to be against Amazon's own policies), please can we be refunded the monies paid for non-Spain EU FBA storage fees?
C. As we don't have any address within the EU, if they cannot be sent back to Spain FBA our only option is to have these products destroyed (even though they are in sellable condition).
For A and B we received no response about this. For C we were sent information about how to send the products to a 3rd party address within the EU (which we don't have), and the question about destroying the products was ignored.
At this point we gave up with Seller Support and I contacted a third party Amazon service provider and asked them for a quote to get these products destroyed. They have now been looking into this for a week and they cannot yet find out how to do this.
Has anyone experienced a similar situation? Or if someone from Amazon would respond and help, even better. In all fairness we should really have the storage costs refunded, and be provided with a way to stop this happening again, otherwise it is a drain on our business and undermines the viability of the EFN program.
@Sakura_Amazon_
@Sarah_Amzn
@Winston_Amazon
@Simon_Amazon
@Julia_Amzn
@Ezra_Amazon
Spencer_Amazon
Hello @Seller_DJqWlEby6fi8n,
What a situation, I am going to set up a meeting with my contact to find out exactly what is going on and how we can solve it.
I will let you know.
Regards, Spencer
161 replies
Spencer_Amazon
Hello @Seller_DJqWlEby6fi8n,
I am Spencer with Amazon.
Have you had a chance to contact seller support on this issue?
Let me know if you need additional help.
Regards, Spencer
Seller_DJqWlEby6fi8n
To all moderators, please can someone help with this, still no update from seller support.
@Ezra_Amazon @Simon_Amazon@Julia_Amazon@Julia_Amzn@Simon_Amazon@Spencer_Amazon@Winston_Amazon@Maja_Amazon@Ash_Amazon@Abella_Amazon@Angie_Amazon@JiAlex_Amazon
Seller_DJqWlEby6fi8n
Just been charged storage fees again, Germany this time...
Somebody must know somebody in Amazon who can fix this...
On 4th April I received this from Seller Support:
"Thank you for your follow-up regarding the 9 units in unauthorized EU locations. I can confirm that we are coordinating with our internal teams to process both:
The purchase of these remaining units. The reimbursement of associated storage fees.
While I don't have an exact timeline at this moment, I will provide you with a comprehensive update on both matters by next week."
Then on 10th April, this:
"We continue working with an internal team to have this issue addressed.
Be assured that I will promptly reach out with any developments or updates as we progress through our investigation."
Then on 16th April this:
I want to inform you that I will be transitioning from my role, and a new representative will be taking over your case within the next 2-3 days. They will prioritize:
Investigation of the recent Italy fees and cross-account adjustment.
Continuation of the resolution process for the remaining inventory situation.
I have provided them with a comprehensive overview of your case to ensure a smooth transition and continued progress on these matters.
Your new representative will contact you directly once they begin working on your case. They will have access to all previous correspondence and will be fully briefed on the urgency of your situation."
That is now 10 days ago and I've heard nothing since (I've sent reminders and haven't even had an acknowledgement that someone is working on this).
So we need someone in Amazon who knows how to:
1. Arrange the purchase of these 9 remaining units from us.
2. Arrange the reimbursement of associated storage fees.
3. Stop future storage fees being charged for this.
Among the many 1000's of people that work for Amazon there must be someone who knows how to do this. Who is it please?
Seller_DJqWlEby6fi8n
Hi Spencer,
I've now had a reply from seller support and somebody else has taken over the case. I realise this has now been said many times, but hopefully they can finally resolve this. This is my reply to them:
"It's good to see someone has taken over this case. It's been going on for a very long time as you'll see in your review. I hope you can finally resolve this soon.
The main issues are;
1. The issues that xxxx was working on, as outlined in his message of 4th April, still need implementing. Copy here:
"Thank you for your follow-up regarding the 9 units in unauthorized EU locations. I can confirm that we are coordinating with our internal teams to process both:
The purchase of these remaining units.
The reimbursement of associated storage fees."
2. Stop future storage fees being charged for anything related to this from all marketplaces.
So basically its arranging the purchase of the 9 remaining units from us, arranging the reimbursement of associated storage fees, and stopping future storage fees being charged. That's it.
Please can you get this done as soon as possible so we can move on from this. Thanks very much."
Seller_DJqWlEby6fi8n
Hi Spencer,
Even now still nothing further has been resolved. I have now sent this message to the new contact in Seller Support.
"Please, please, please, what is happening with this case?!?
It is now 6 weeks since I received this email from xxxx:
"Thank you for your follow-up regarding the 9 units in unauthorized EU locations. I can confirm that we are coordinating with our internal teams to process both:
The purchase of these remaining units. The reimbursement of associated storage fees.
While I don't have an exact timeline at this moment, I will provide you with a comprehensive update on both matters by next week.
I understand the importance of bringing this to a conclusion and am actively monitoring the process.
Thank you for selling with Amazon.
Amazon.co.uk Seller Support"
Since then nothing has been resolved and yet more storage fees have been charged for various EU marketplaces.
If you cannot solve the root cause of this immediately, please can you now ABSOLUTELY PRIORITIZE the purchase of the remaining 9 units, and the reimbursement of storage fees.
Is it possible for you to get this done within the next few days please?
Please reply and let me know. Thank you."
So difficult to sell on Amazon under these appalling conditions. And difficult to believe that nobody in Amazon can do anything about it.
Seller_DJqWlEby6fi8n
Hi Spencer,
This is the continuation of this saga. Reply from Amazon on 20/5/25:
I understand your concern about your inventory in Spain not being available to German customers. However, I need to clarify an important point: EFN (European Fulfilment Network) requires exports to be enabled for all EU marketplaces (DE, ES, FR, IT). Without exports enabled, you cannot participate in EFN meaning your inventory in Spain can only be fulfilled to customers in Spain. If you enable exports and enroll in EFN, your customers will return their products to German fulfillment centers and become stranded there.
I understand your hesitation about enabling exports due to concerns about inventory potentially being stranded in other marketplaces. Given this business requirement, your options are:
1. Continue with seller-fulfilled shipping (your current setup)
2. Use a freight forwarder to redistribute your inventory to the specific marketplaces where you want to sell or remove the inventory if necessary.
3. Consider using Pan-European FBA instead, which gives you more control over inventory placement.
For your current inventory in Spain, if you wish to avoid long-term storage fees while maintaining your no-exports policy, we recommend working with a freight forwarder to remove or redistribute the units.
If you do not want to seller-fulfill orders in Germany, you need to remove your FBM offer. For ASIN B01LWZPYED, it currently shows a quantity of "5".
Thank you for selling with Amazon."
We were told to disable international exports for the UK and Spain or the issues in this case would persist indefinitely. I initially believed this referred to exports outside the economic zone—so for Spain, outside the EU. Otherwise, it made no sense, since EFN wouldn’t work without the ability to send from Spain to Germany, for example. But now I’ve been told it means FBA orders can only go within the UK and within Spain—not to any other EU countries. So there is no EFN system.
The proposed solution is to remove items from unauthorized EU warehouses. But Amazon tried to do this for months and failed, eventually purchasing the stock themselves. If Amazon couldn’t remove the items—and we can’t access unauthorized warehouses through Seller Central—it’s obvious we can’t do it either. Amazon knows this.
The truth is the EFN system simply doesn’t work, but they won’t admit it. For 11 months, we’ve wasted time, money, and effort—including setting up VAT in Spain—for nothing. And now we’re told we’re not entitled to any compensation because the loss is merely “perceived.”
Obviously our financial loss is real. Surely Amazon has some ethical considerations and will treat us fairly?!? What do you think, any advice Spencer? (please reply)
Seller_DJqWlEby6fi8n
Hi Spencer,
I've requested an urgent update on the situation from the new person at seller support. I will update here when I receive a reply.
You're tagged, so I guess you are still following this, yes?