How to Check If Amazon Lost Your FBA Inventory (Step by Step, 2026)

TL;DR: Amazon tells you when it loses your inventory, but it tells you in a report almost nobody opens, in reason codes nobody explains, and the window to act is short (typically 60 days — confirm your marketplace's policy in Seller Central). This is the manual procedure, report by report. It takes about 20 minutes a week once you have done it twice.

Signs something went missing

• Your sellable quantity for a SKU dropped without matching orders.
• A restock alert fired earlier than your sales velocity explains.
• A return was refunded weeks ago and the unit never reappeared in inventory.
• The Manage FBA Inventory page shows units in Unfulfillable or Reserved that never move.

Any of these is a reason to open the ledger. None of them is proof; the ledger is.

Step 1: pull the Inventory Ledger

1. Seller Central, Reports, Fulfillment. Under Inventory, choose Inventory Ledger.
2. Switch to the Detailed view. The summary view nets events out and hides exactly what you are looking for.
3. Set the date range to the last 60 days. Anything older is typically outside the claim window for warehouse losses — confirm your marketplace's policy in Seller Central.
4. Request the download. Open it in a spreadsheet and filter Event Type.

Step 2: read the reason codes

The Event Type column tells you what happened; the Reason column tells you why. The ones that matter:

• Adjustments with a lost reason (warehouse lost, inbound lost, lost in transit). Amazon could not find the unit. Under the November 2024 policy most warehouse-lost units are reimbursed automatically; verify in Step 4.
• Adjustments with a damaged reason (warehouse damaged, damaged in transit). Not automatic. Claimable if the damage was not caused by you or your carrier.
• Adjustments with a found reason. A plus that cancels an earlier lost. If the pair exists, there is nothing to claim.
• Transfers and receipts. A minus at one warehouse and a plus at another. Not a loss, ever.
• Disposed and liquidated. Amazon destroyed or sold the unit. Claimable only if you did not authorize it and the unit was sellable.
• Customer returns marked unsellable. Check whether Amazon damaged the unit during return processing; carrier-damaged or customer-damaged returns are treated differently.

Step 3: build the shortlist

For every negative adjustment with a lost, damaged or disposed reason, check for a matching positive on the same SKU within a few days. No match means it stays on the list. Write down SKU, FNSKU, date, quantity, fulfillment center and the reason code. Amazon's case form asks for all of them.

Step 4: match against the Reimbursements report

1. Reports, Fulfillment, under Payments choose Reimbursements. Same 60-day range.
2. Match each shortlisted event by SKU and approximate date. A reimbursement with reason Lost: Warehouse and the same quantity closes that line.
3. A reimbursement for fewer units than were lost, or an amount far below your sourcing cost, is a partial. It can be disputed with the ledger row.
4. Anything on the shortlist with no reimbursement is a claim.

Step 5: file the case

1. Open the Inventory Defect and Reimbursement portal, or Help, Get support, Fulfillment by Amazon, FBA inventory reimbursement, depending on your marketplace's current layout.
2. Choose the loss type that matches the reason code. Do not pick a generic category; mismatched types are the most common denial reason.
3. Paste the ledger details: SKU, FNSKU, event date, quantity, fulfillment center. One case per SKU and event.
4. If Amazon asks for proof of ownership, attach the supplier invoice. Keep the case ID.

Reimbursements for inventory lost or damaged before a customer order are paid at your manufacturing or sourcing cost since March 31, 2025. Enter your cost per SKU under Manage Your Sourcing Cost once, or Amazon will estimate it for you.

Why sellers miss this

The ledger is three menus deep, the detailed view is not the default, the reason codes are not documented next to the data, and until late 2024 the 18-month window let everyone postpone. The window is now typically 60 days (confirm your marketplace's policy in Seller Central), so postponing costs you claims. A weekly 20-minute pass, or a tool that runs the same match every day, is the whole difference.

Doing it automatically

Limonene (limonene.app), an AI store manager for Amazon sellers, runs Steps 1 to 4 continuously from your own SP-API data: it reads the ledger, ignores transfers and found pairs, matches every loss against reimbursements, and shows what is still owed per SKU with the claim text ready to paste. Filing stays in your Seller Central account. It works on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de and 17 more marketplaces; the totals it shows publicly today come from its first connected stores on Amazon.eg. If you just want to run this exact check yourself right now, the free ledger check does Steps 1 to 4 above in your browser, no login, and the file never leaves your device; the free estimator gives a rough industry-average range if you have not pulled a report yet.

Last updated: September 2026. Report names, menu paths and claim windows are Amazon's and change; Seller Central is the final word. Not affiliated with Amazon.com, Inc.