The program clearly states 30 days from receipt of item. I just got a return minutes ago auto-authorized that was ordered 39 days ago, on April 21 (over 30 days), latest estimated delivery date was April 28 (over 30 days), and the item was actually delivered on April 24 (over 30 days).
Am I missing something? Yes I am FBM only, no return setting extending the date…etc
Didn’t you hear? The Holiday return period was extended until June 1st this year… 
But seriously, the answer boils down to this: Amazon is inconsistent sometimes, and it looks like this is one of those times.
I mean I figured, and it shouldn’t surprise me, but until now, since dates are easily trackable and easy to decipher by bots, I’ve never had a problem with such an instance.
It is in a regular 30 day window category, no exemption or anything. I’m chatting with support right now, but they seem confused and are just recycling useless policy garbage…even at one point enforcing my argument that anything over 30 days needs to be manually authorized by seller…haha
I had a support rep tell me yesterday that Buy Shipping protections only cover ODR hits and not AtoZ claims. After linking him the help page and directly quoting the relevant line about claims protection, he said that there is no mechanism for me to get my Buy Shipping charges back which proves he had no idea what I was talking about in the first place.
Support reps are infuriating.
Amazon uses the April 28th date for calculations and not the actual delivery date. Amazon also adds 3 days to allow the buyer time to pickup their package from their mailbox or other delivery location such as a PO Box or business address or a neighbors address.
Basically, Amazon gives buyers 3 extra days to find and open their package to inspect the contents.
I believe your buyers return window would close tomorrow, May 31st.
Side note: I could be wrong.
And, I do not believe this order would qualify for a Safe-T claim, but possibly. It may be worth a try when you inspect the return.
Or an Amazon Locker address, which can present yet-another complication for Amazon’s automated mechanisms’ calculations…
Oh wow, I’ve never heard or seen this ever…is this listed somewhere in their policy? I’m curious if you could post the quote or link (I believe you, I’m just shocked I’ve never heard of this)
That’s what I’ve always seen, and still see whenever I look. I was just curious where this extra 3 days they mentioned above comes from…that was vexing me.
Been there done that, still given a line of BS
Yep this is how they calculate it. Yet again punishing for under promise and over delivery.;
They will never publish this but that is what I have found. They also don’t care about the 14 days to get it back to the seller. I have had people return things 6 months later and still get RFS.
I have argued it and gotten the “amazon uses it’s discretion to insure a positive customer experience”
Ok, thanks for all the input, I have learned something new…As always just another tool in my toolbelt.
Sure thing. I will post a screenshot and link on Monday when I return to work.
The last time this happened to me (37 days after delivery the return process started), the customer sent me a screen shot showing that Amazon was telling them they still had one more day than they used to send the package back. I couldn’t withhold anything for a late return because the customer was doing what Amazon told them, and I couldn’t get Amazon to SAFE-T (after pestering them for days to refund so that I wouldn’t get A2Z’d for failing to refund in a timely manner, which included several support interactions where the rep claimed Amazon can’t refund directly).
No one at Amazon cares that so much is broken, because it’s broken in a way that aids their monopoly. Too bad there’s no such thing as justice, or these people would all be living on the street.
Here is the link to the information from the Reimbursement for seller-fulfilled orders ; 1. SAFE-T Coverage and Eligibility [link]
Side note: I am not sure how Holidays play into the calculation of the return window. I have not taken the time to analyze our return history data.
Thanks for that, I’m baffled I’ve never seen that, heard that, or come across that little tid-bit yet. I stand more informed now.
Without going too far back, our oldest was 362 days (at time of authorization). I know I’ve seen 2+ years though.
What you’re likely seeing is a customer who made themselves a big enough pain that a supervisor pushed through a request to make them go away.
If anyone else wants to see something funny, we’ve had an A to Z claim under review since 2019.
This also happens when the customer receives their mail through a USPS PO Box and their street address is not associated with that mail box. Small rural towns are like this.
