Overview

Amazon's Refund at First Scan program automatically issues refunds to buyers the moment a returned item is dropped off at a designated carrier location, rather than waiting for the seller to receive and inspect the return. This mandatory policy applies to all Fulfilled by Merchant and seller-fulfilled orders where Amazon's prepaid return label program is used, and represents a significant shift in how returns are processed for third-party sellers.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Automatic and mandatory — Refund at First Scan is not optional. All seller-fulfilled merchants are required to participate as part of Amazon's effort to deliver a consistent returns experience across the marketplace.
• Prepaid label requirement — Only returns using Amazon's prepaid return labels qualify for this program. Returns where sellers provide their own shipping labels or use self-ship methods are not eligible.
• No seller action needed — Sellers do not need to enable or configure anything. Return requests that are automatically authorized through Amazon's prepaid label program are automatically enrolled.
• Refund notification — Amazon sends refund notification emails whenever a Refund at First Scan is processed, so sellers are informed in real time when money leaves their account.
• Standard refund policies apply — The refund amount is calculated using Amazon's existing return and refund policies, not a separate formula.

How Refund at First Scan Works

When a buyer initiates a return on a seller-fulfilled order and receives a prepaid return label from Amazon, the refund is triggered as soon as the buyer drops the package at an authorized carrier location and it receives its first scan. The seller does not need to wait to receive the item, inspect it, or manually approve the refund. Amazon handles the entire refund process automatically on the seller's behalf. Sellers can view details of these refunds in Seller Central by looking for the "Refund at First Scan" badge on return requests, which distinguishes these transactions from standard seller-initiated refunds.

Refund Calculations and Shipping Costs