Understanding Amazon ASN Chargebacks & How to Avoid Them

For anyone in the retail and reseller world, preventing chargebacks is a major priority. Processing chargebacks is tedious, costs money, and disputing them takes up valuable time. Amazon ASN chargebacks are a common occurrence, and reducing them is key.

Fortunately, with the right know-how and tools, you can do just that.

Sending an Advanced Shipment Notification (ASN) is a common procedure. If you supply to a large retailer and need the stock to go through a warehouse, then the warehouse managers will usually require an ASN to assist with the tracking of the shipment. Amazon regularly works with ASNs for their larger sellers on the site, making sending one a compulsory step in the booking process if you use one of their Fulfilment Centers (FC).

As a vendor, you need to send your ASN to them either via the Vendor Central Portal, or an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) if you are sending a large shipment. The ASN is essentially an electronic list of what’s packed in your shipment, which shows consolidated information about what will be sent via their FC.

Why Use an Advanced Shipment Notification?

An ASN helps the warehouse to track the shipments that they are receiving and sending on for vendors. It gives them advanced warning of the size and shape of the shipment, as well as expectations on arrival time and delivery time. This allows the warehouse, or FC for Amazon, to prepare adequate resources to deal with the shipment.

As ASNs are electronic, you get a much better track and trace visibility on your shipments. It also allows for far easier consolidation of various Purchase Orders (PO) and Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASIN) into one shipment. Both you as the vendor and the people working at the FC have clear oversight on the job at hand, making it easier to ensure nothing gets missed in the warehouse at arrivals and before deliveries.

Why Does Amazon Execute Chargebacks on ASNs?

Amazon relies fairly heavily on ASNs when working with large shipments coming and going through their FCs. They review these documents carefully each time they are sent in and compare them thoroughly to the actual shipments that come through the FC. If there are any errors in the ASN, you could be hit with a chargeback on the cost of the product.

You won’t receive a chargeback on a single shipment, however. Amazon will review your performance over a rolling six-week period to see if you are a repeat offender or not. You can also track the likelihood of receiving a chargeback in Vendor Central. You will receive notifications of errors in your ASNs here, as well as via email from the FC.

The chargeback process is based on the following:

• 95% – 100% – If you have the majority of your ASN information correct in the six-week period, you will receive a chargeback that is 2% of the cost of the products you sent.
• 70% – 95% – If you are between 70% and 95% correct on your ASNs for the period, Amazon will give you a chargeback of 4% of the product costs.
• Less than 70% – If you have less than 70% of the information correct on your ASNs, the chargeback will be based on 6% of the cost of the products sent in that period.

Tips For Preventing Chargebacks on ASNs

Preventing chargebacks from Amazon based on ASNs can be done with a bit of care. You need to have your admin up to date and be sure of your timings to get this process right. The most important things to remember when dealing with ASNs for Amazon are:

• Send the ASNs quickly – Time management is everything with Amazon. They want proper advanced notice so that they can get resources allocated and plan for the shipments coming and going. Amazon’s rules state that you must send the ASN so that they get at least six hours’ notice that delivery will be arriving at the FC. Or within half an hour of the truck departing for the FC – whichever one is sooner.
• Check your shipments – You can keep an eye on your paperwork for all shipments using Amazon via the Vendor Portal. If you know you have a shipment arriving at an FC that day, check to confirm that you have submitted the ASN. The document will be listed next to the shipment details with the Volumetric acceptance. If not, you can always submit it at that stage as a way of preventing chargebacks.
• Make use of the editing feature – In the Vendor Portal, you can edit your ASN after it has been submitted. You can make sure that it has all of the correct details before the shipment arrives. You have until the shipment arrives at the FC or seven days after the initial submission of the ASN to make changes – whichever is sooner.

Chargeback Dispute Process on ASNs From Amazon

The good news is, you can start the chargeback dispute process once they have been issued. However, you need to be sure that your paperwork is in order first.

When you receive a chargeback from Amazon, it’s important to check the accompanying note to see why you were issued the chargeback. From there, you can compare the paperwork on your side and dispute it if you have a case.

The accompanying note will usually say one of three things:

1. No ASN attached
2. No tracking number supplied in the ASN
3. No PO and product number supplied in the ASN

You can supply proof of this being incorrect by looking at the digital paperwork that you logged in to the Vendor Portal. A screenshot of your ASN showing the information Amazon claims is missing will suffice to have the chargeback reversed. If you submitted your ASN via EDI, you can supply a text copy of the document or an XML as your proof.

It can be an ongoing, laborious task to keep up with the chargeback process and those connected to ASNs for Amazon. With software like iNymbus, you can automate the process for disputes, freeing up more of your time to focus on your business. The software will take care of the majority of the work for you, reducing admin and headaches, and helping to improve your bottom line.