Get weekly tips and tricks on how to succeed as an Amazon seller - Subscribe for FREE today.
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Start Here
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Sales Rank
    • Videos
    • Book Club
      • Book Club Archives
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sales Numbers
  • Resources
  • Deal Lists
  • Coupon Codes
  • Podcast
  • Our Trainings
    • JumpStart Amazon (beginner course)
    • Next Level Amazon (advanced course)
    • The Reseller’s Guide to Replenishables
    • The Reseller’s Guide to Online Arbitrage
    • The Reseller’s Guide to A Year in FBA
    • The Reseller’s Guide to Keepa
    • The Reseller’s Guide to Pricing For Profits
    • The Reseller’s Guide to Sales Rank
    • The Reseller’s Guide to Board Games
    • The Reseller’s Guide to Road Trip Arbitrage
    • Married to Reselling: Balancing Family Life With Your Online Business
    • The Reseller’s Guide to Black Friday
    • Next Level Amazon (advanced course)
  • Members Area

Full-Time FBA

Turn part-time hours into a full-time income via Amazon FBA

Turn Part-Time Hours into a Full-Time Income via Amazon FBA
Home Inauthentic Claims Does Amazon Accept Receipts?

Does Amazon Accept Receipts?

March 1, 2021 By Stephen Smotherman 4 Comments

A common question we see in our Facebook group for Amazon FBA sellers is this one: “Does Amazon accept receipts?”

Actually, if I’m being more accurate, it’s not always posed as a question, but often as this statement: “I heard Amazon doesn’t accept receipts.”

Fact or Rumor?

Before we get into the meat of this blog’s topic, let’s talk for a second about rumors that float around the Amazon selling world. Notice the beginning of that previous statement about Amazon receipts. “I heard…” When you see someone posting/commenting a statement that starts with “I heard…,” you should automatically ask a follow-up question: “Where did you hear that?”

With the does-Amazon-accept-receipts question, the answer is usually, “I heard it in a Facebook group or the Amazon Seller Forums.” Both of those places can be a great a source of information – I mean, we at Full-Time FBA obviously love Facebook groups for sharing information, since we have a group ourselves!

But you also need to approach these crowdsourced pools of knowledge with a measure of caution. Always check to make sure the information you are finding online can be backed up directly with the Amazon guidelines. In the Full-Time FBA group, we diligently strive to make sure the information in our group is correct and in line with the Amazon guidelines, and we ask posters/commenters to back up their statements with direct links to Amazon Seller Central if there’s any question.

Proof of Purchase

OK, back to our main topic. Let’s break down the question “Does Amazon accept receipts?” into a couple of main parts. The first part is the concept of “receipts.”

Amazon sellers often conflate the word “receipts” with “proof of purchase.” A receipt is one type of proof of purchase, but it is not the only type. Here are a few types of proof of purchase:

  • Retail receipt (whether in-person or online)
  • Purchase invoice
  • Packing slip
  • Email confirmation
  • Credit card statement

Each of these types of documentation carries differing levels of “proof” of your actual purchase. An invoice will have more details and specifics (like addresses, line items, UPCs, etc) than a credit card statement with only a dollar amount and store name. Some of the items listed above will suffice as proof of purchase, while others are only good as supporting documents.

Amazon Requirements

The second aspect I want to focus on is the word “accept.” When I see the statement “Amazon doesn’t accept receipts,” I automatically follow up by asking, “Accept them for what?” Why are you needing to submit proof of purchase to Amazon?

There are two main reasons Amazon might require a seller to show proof of purchase for their inventory:

  1. Ungating in a brand, category, or ASIN
  2. Proof of authenticity if there’s a claim against an item they are selling

For the first reason, ungating or brand approval, Amazon requires wholesale invoices and will not accept retail receipts, like Walmart or any other online or in-person retail store. I think this is where the rumor “Amazon doesn’t accept receipts” comes from. Some sellers make this statement without further clarification, and newbie sellers hear it and don’t realize it’s only half true. If you want to be approved to sell a certain brand or category, NO, you cannot submit retail receipts as your proof of purchase. You must submit a wholesale purchase invoice from a manufacturer or distributor. 

For the second reason, proof of authenticity, Amazon typically does accept retail receipts, if they are presented in the right way. For more information about submitting documentation to Amazon when you are dealing with an inauthentic complaint, please refer to the Amazon guidelines page “Create a plan of action to reinstate selling privileges.” 

To dig deeper into this topic, we also recommend following the advice of Perry and Kim Coghlan in their course Resolving Inauthentic Complaints: a complete guide for Amazon sellers. Use the coupon code FULLTIMEFBA to get 25% off this course.

We had Kim Coghlan as a guest on Episode 24 of The Full-Time FBA Show podcast, and she gave a ton of excellent information about dealing with inauthentic complaints and submitting the correct documentation to Amazon. Seriously, you should listen to that episode and take notes. 

Takeaways

Hopefully breaking down the question “Does Amazon accept receipts?” into two smaller points helps clear up some of the confusion on the topic. Here are the main takeaways we want to leave you with on this topic:

  1. A retail receipt is only one type of proof of purchase.
  2. Amazon does accept receipts as proof of purchase in some instances (for inauthentic claims).
  3. Amazon does not accept receipts as proof of purchase in other instances (for ungating purposes).

PROTECT YOUR ACCOUNT

Your Amazon account health is very important to keep in good standing. Too many unresolved inauthentic complaints can lead to lower seller metrics (and cause you to miss out on buy box time) and even worse can lead you to a suspended Amazon account.

I’m here to tell you that dealing with false inauthentic claims doesn’t have to sideline your Amazon business. My friend, Kim Coghlan, has created Resolving Inauthentic Complaints: a complete guide for Amazon sellers. It’s an easy-to-follow course on the exact steps to take when dealing with inauthentic claims on Amazon. The course includes video walk-throughs, PDF downloadable worksheets, and everything else you need to know to properly remove these inauthentic complaints from your account.

The Resolving Inauthentic Complaints: a complete guide for Amazon sellers course will give you the peace of mind knowing exactly what to do when the false inauthentic complaints start to hurt your Amazon seller account metrics. Be sure to use the coupon code FULLTIMEFBA and you’ll get 25% off the cost. I’ve gone through this course myself, and it opened up my eyes to exactly how to fix these issues when they come up and steps to lower the chances of inauthentic complaints from even happening in the future.

Filed Under: Account Health, Account Suspension, Copyright Infringement, Counterfeit, Inauthentic Claims, Restrictions, Troubleshooting

Avatar photo

About Stephen Smotherman

Stephen loves helping people turn part-time hours into a full-time income via Amazon FBA. When not reselling or blogging, Stephen enjoys reading with his wife Rebecca, playing games with his kids, serving at his church, and watching baseball.

Comments

  1. Wendy says

    March 8, 2021 at 8:49 pm

    In the event Amazon has lost an shipment and they ask for proof of purchase to research the claim will a receipt suffice. I do mostly media and the receipts typically aren’t specific for the title of a vintage book but usually a broad term like vintage hardback and a price. I’m not sure how to insure the inventory from Amazon mistakes if detailed receipts just don’t exist

    Reply
    • Avatar photoStephen Smotherman says

      March 9, 2021 at 10:16 am

      If the receipt has the item’s UPC or a good description of what the item is, then usually yes, they will accept the receipt. But if the receipt is not obvious what you purchased, then no. For vague “vintage book” on the receipt, then they will usually not accept it.

      Reply
  2. Stacey Welch says

    May 19, 2021 at 11:23 pm

    Hi. Amazon recently lost a large number of items from one of my shipments, some new and some used. They are requesting an invoice for reimbursement.

    I have receipts for the new items. Will Amazon accept these instead of the requested invoices? Is it a problem to have listed items purchased in a store as new?

    I have some general receipts from thrift stores for some used books, but others are from garage sales, etc. any advice for these?

    I have been selling on Amazon for years and don’t want to endanger my account. Is it better to just let this go and take the loss?

    Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Umar says

    March 23, 2022 at 6:22 am

    So if you are retailer arbing on Amazon , we should aim for the non-restricted categories?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

​Enter your name and email to receive your free copy of Seller Central Tips: Reimbursements, refunds, and how to correct other possible Amazon glitches.

​We respect your email privacy.

Connect With Us!

Twitter Updates

Follow @FullTimeFBA

Recent Posts

  • Podcast Episode 182 – Dealing with Counterfeit or Intellectual Property (IP) Claims on Amazon (Part 2)
  • Podcast Episode 181 – Dealing with Counterfeit or Intellectual Property (IP) Claims on Amazon (Part 1)
  • Podcast Episode 180 – How to Earn 5 (or even 6) Figures a Month on Amazon
  • How to Get Approved to Sell Restricted Brands on Amazon
  • Podcast Episode 179 – How to Follow Rabbit Trails to Find More Inventory to Sell

Smarter Sourcing

Board Game Profits

Archives

Navigation

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Coupon Codes
  • Sales Numbers
  • Resources
  • Videos
  • Podcast
  • Our Trainings

Navigation

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Coupon Codes
  • Sales Numbers
  • Resources
  • Videos
  • Podcast
  • Our Trainings

Our Trainings

  • JumpStart Amazon (beginner course)
  • The Reseller’s Guide to Replenishables
  • The Reseller’s Guide to Online Arbitrage
  • The Reseller’s Guide to Keepa
  • The Reseller’s Guide to Pricing For Profits
  • The Reseller’s Guide to A Year in FBA
  • The Reseller’s Guide to Sales Rank
  • The Reseller’s Guide to Board Games
  • The Reseller’s Guide to Road Trip Arbitrage
  • Married to Reselling
  • The Reseller’s Guide to Black Friday
  • Next Level Amazon (advanced course)

Disclaimer

At times we might use affiliate links for services or products we endorse. If you click through and purchase one of these items, I will make a small commission on the sale, but your price will not be any higher. I only post these links when I firmly believe they will help you and your business, and I do not endorse products or services that I haven’t personally used and found to benefit my business.


Copyright © 2023 Full Time FBA | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Designed By Digital Business Managers

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • Cleantalk Pixel

    Get weekly success tips on how to succeed as an Amazon seller - Subscribe for FREE today.

    Your Privacy is protected.

    x