How to find and appeal Amazon fee overcharges

Amazon processes millions of fee calculations automatically, and it gets some of them wrong — a SKU measured as oversized when it isn't, a referral percentage above your category rate, a fulfillment fee charged twice. Sellers who audit their settlements routinely recover a few percent of fees. Here's how to catch them. Start by running your report through the free audit tool, which flags the suspicious lines for you.

1. Reconcile first — every time

Sum every line's amount and confirm it equals the settlement's deposit total-amount. A gap means a line is miscategorised or missing, and every profit number built on top is unreliable. SettleClear does this automatically and shows the exact gap.

2. Dimension and weight errors (the big one)

The FBAPerUnitFulfillmentFee is driven by measured size tier and weight. Amazon periodically re-measures items, and errors push a standard-size product into an oversized tier — doubling or tripling the fee. If a SKU's per-unit fulfillment fee suddenly jumped, check its recorded dimensions against reality and file a measurement dispute.

3. Referral fee percentage

Divide the Commission by the item price. If it exceeds your category's published rate, flag it. Category misclassification is a common cause and is appealable.

4. Duplicate or phantom fees

Scan for the same fee type appearing twice on one order, or fees on units that were never shipped. These show up as reconciliation noise and are straightforward reimbursement cases once documented.

5. Lost, damaged, and un-returned inventory

Reimbursements for warehouse-lost or damaged units, and for customer refunds where the item was never returned, are frequently owed but not automatically paid. Cross-check refunds against returned inventory.

6. Document and file within the window

Export the flagged lines (SettleClear gives you a clean per-SKU CSV), attach evidence, and open a case in Seller Central. Eligibility windows apply — typically you have a limited number of days from the event — so audit every settlement promptly rather than once a year.

Learn the fee types behind these charges, read the settlement glossary, or audit your report now.