Overview

Customer Service by Amazon (CSBA) is a paid program that lets Amazon handle post-sale customer support on behalf of sellers who fulfill their own orders. Rather than managing buyer inquiries, returns, and refunds yourself, Amazon's customer service team steps in to handle these interactions directly. For sellers looking to reduce operational overhead while maintaining professional customer support standards, CSBA offers a turnkey solution — but it comes with specific requirements and trade-offs worth understanding.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• CSBA only covers self-fulfilled orders — The program handles customer service exclusively for units you ship yourself (Merchant Fulfilled). Orders fulfilled through FBA or other Amazon fulfillment programs are not included, since Amazon already manages customer service for those.
• Amazon makes all refund and return decisions — When enrolled, Amazon determines whether customers receive refunds, adjustments, or replacements on your CSBA-eligible orders. Sellers agree to be bound by these decisions, and deductions are taken directly from seller accounts.
• You cannot interfere with customer communications — Sellers are not permitted to direct or influence how Amazon handles individual customer issues. Communications between Amazon's support team and your buyers are not recorded in Seller Central and cannot be viewed by the seller.
• A 24-hour response window applies — When Amazon contacts you for information related to a CSBA inquiry, you must respond with complete and accurate details within 24 hours, including on weekends and holidays.
• Enrollment requires a Professional account in good standing — Only sellers with Professional selling accounts on Amazon.com who are in good standing can enroll in the program.

How CSBA Works

Once enrolled, Amazon's customer service team takes over responsibility for all post-sale support on your self-fulfilled orders. This includes handling shipment-related questions, processing customer returns, issuing refunds, and making adjustments. The coverage begins for orders placed after your enrollment is confirmed — Amazon will notify you when the process is complete. If an order contains a mix of CSBA-eligible and non-eligible items (for example, some items you fulfilled and some handled by FBA), Amazon's CSBA team will only manage service for the self-fulfilled portion.