Amazon Returns Report: Export It, Then Decode Every Return Reason Code
Amazon already hands you a spreadsheet of every return — with the buyer's reason attached. This free guide shows you where to download the FBA Customer Returns report (and the seller-fulfilled version), then translates every return reason code into plain English so the file stops looking like alphabet soup.
Download the FBA Customer Returns report from Seller Central
If you fulfill orders through FBA, this is the report that tells you why items come back — reason, condition, and buyer comments, per unit. Five steps, straight from Amazon's own menu.
Log in to Seller Central
This report lives inside your Seller Central account — it's a seller report, so buyers don't have access to it. No third-party exporter needed: Amazon generates the file itself.
Open the Reports library
In the main menu hover over Reports → click Fulfillment. You land on the FBA reports library.
Pick “Customer Returns” (FBA)
Under Customer Concessions (or the Returns section, depending on your menu version) select Customer Returns — officially the FBA Customer Returns report. Amazon documents it in help page 200453320, linked below.
Set your date range and download
Choose a date range, then use the Download tab for an immediate file or the Request tab to schedule it. You get a tab-separated file with columns like
return-date,asin,reason,detailed-disposition, andcustomer-comments. Exact column names can vary by marketplace — treat your downloaded header row as the source of truth.Know what this report covers — and what it doesn’t
The FBA Customer Returns report covers FBA orders only. Returns on orders you ship (seller-fulfilled / MFN) live in a separate report — next section. Refunds Amazon issues without requiring the item back don't appear in either returns report.
Path, columns, and reason codes per Amazon's official “FBA Customer Returns report (overview)” help page. Seller Central's menu gets rearranged now and then, so treat Amazon's help page and your downloaded header row as the source of truth.
Returns on orders you ship yourself (seller-fulfilled / MFN)
The FBA report doesn't include returns on orders you shipped yourself — and vice versa. Amazon keeps the two in separate reports, so export both if you sell both ways.
Open Manage Returns
In Seller Central go to Orders → Manage Returns (your menu may label it slightly differently). This covers returns on orders you shipped yourself — seller-fulfilled, or MFN in Amazon shorthand.
Generate the returns report
Use the report/export options on the Returns page to download a file of your return requests — it includes the buyer's return reason, request date, order ID, and SKU/ASIN. Amazon's seller-fulfilled returns API documents the same reason codes, so the decoding table below works for both report types.
Keep both reports if you sell both ways
FBA and MFN returns never mix in one file. If you fulfill some orders through FBA and ship others yourself, export both reports and analyze them together — that's the complete picture of why items come back.
Every Amazon return reason code, in plain English
The reason column in your export uses short caps-lock codes. Here's the full list Amazon documents, grouped the way we analyze them — grouping is ours, the codes and meanings are Amazon's. If a code shows up in your file that isn't here, Amazon added it; the classifier below buckets unknowns instead of guessing.
Buyer intent — “I changed my mind”
Nothing here is wrong with your product. A few of these are normal; a rising share means your listing sets the wrong expectation or your price has drifted above the market.
| Code | What the buyer is saying |
|---|---|
NO_REASON_GIVEN | No reason — “I just don’t want it anymore.” |
UNWANTED_ITEM | Unwanted item. |
ORDERED_WRONG_ITEM | “I accidentally ordered the wrong item.” |
FOUND_BETTER_PRICE | “I found better prices elsewhere.” |
UNAUTHORIZED_PURCHASE | Unauthorized purchase (for example, fraud). |
EXTRA_ITEM | Extra item included in shipment. |
Quality — “it broke / doesn’t work”
The costliest group: refunded units that often come back unsellable. Clusters of these on one ASIN point at your supplier or your packaging, not your listing.
| Code | What the buyer is saying |
|---|---|
DEFECTIVE | Item is defective. |
QUALITY_UNACCEPTABLE | Performance or quality below expectations. |
MISSING_PARTS | Shipment was missing items or accessories. |
NOT_COMPATIBLE | Product is not compatible with my existing system. |
WARRANTY | Item defective after arrival — warranty claim. |
Description — “not what the page promised”
This is the group you fix with photos and bullet points. Amazon has no “not as described” code for FBA returns — buyers pick the closest reason, so watch the free-text comments column too.
| Code | What the buyer is saying |
|---|---|
NOT_AS_DESCRIBED | Not as described on website. |
Size & fit — apparel and jewelry variants
Amazon splits fit complaints into category-specific codes. All of them trace back to sizing tables and product photography — the cheapest returns to fix with a better size chart.
| Code | What the buyer is saying |
|---|---|
APPAREL_TOO_SMALL | Apparel: product was too small. |
APPAREL_TOO_LARGE | Apparel: product was too large. |
APPAREL_STYLE | Apparel: did not like the style of the garment. |
MISORDERED | Ordered wrong style, size, or color. |
JEWELRY_TOO_SMALL | Jewelry: too small or short. |
JEWELRY_TOO_LARGE | Jewelry: too large or long. |
JEWELRY_BATTERY | Jewelry: battery is dead. |
JEWELRY_NO_DOCS | Jewelry: missing manual or warranty. |
JEWELRY_BAD_CLASP | Jewelry: broken or malfunctioning clasp. |
JEWELRY_LOOSE_STONE | Jewelry: missing or loose stone. |
JEWELRY_NO_CERT | Jewelry: missing promised certification. |
Fulfillment — “the delivery went wrong”
Mostly out of your hands — carrier damage, late delivery, wrong item shipped. High counts here are worth reimbursement claims, not listing edits.
| Code | What the buyer is saying |
|---|---|
SWITCHEROO | “Amazon sent me the wrong item.” |
DAMAGED_BY_CARRIER | Product was damaged or defective on arrival. |
DAMAGED_BY_FC | Product became damaged or defective after arrival. |
MISSED_ESTIMATED_DELIVERY | “Item took too long to arrive — I don’t want it anymore.” |
Undeliverable & other
Address failures and catch-alls. They inflate your return count without saying anything about the product — filter them before you draw conclusions.
| Code | What the buyer is saying |
|---|---|
UNDELIVERABLE_INSUFFICIENT_ADDRESS | Undeliverable: insufficient address. |
UNDELIVERABLE_FAILED_DELIVERY_ATTEMPTS | Undeliverable: failed delivery attempts. |
UNDELIVERABLE_REFUSED | Undeliverable: refused. |
UNDELIVERABLE_UNKNOWN | Undeliverable: unknown. |
UNDELIVERABLE_UNCLAIMED | Undeliverable: unclaimed. |
OTHER | Return option is not available. |
Codes and meanings verbatim from the “Customer reason” table on Amazon's FBA Customer Returns report help page (checked September 2026). Amazon updates this list occasionally — the help page wins if anything here ever drifts.
You have the CSV. Now find out what's actually driving returns.
The raw report sorts by order, not by problem. Scanning hundreds of rows, you can't tell whether APPAREL_TOO_LARGE is one unlucky week or a sizing chart that lies. Paste your export into the free Return Reason Classifier and it sorts every return into six buckets — buyer intent, quality, description mismatch, size & fit, fulfillment, and other — then ranks your worst ASINs. When you want the full diagnosis, the paid returns attribution report checks your return reasons against your negative reviews, product by product — where both point the same way, that's your real problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find the returns report in Seller Central?
Reports → Fulfillment → Customer Concessions → Customer Returns (the FBA Customer Returns report). Use the Download tab for an immediate file, or the Request tab to schedule recurring deliveries. Returns on seller-fulfilled orders are under Orders → Manage Returns instead.
What does “SWITCHEROO” mean on an Amazon return?
It's Amazon's code for “Amazon sent me the wrong item” — the buyer ordered one thing and got another. It's a fulfillment problem, not a product problem, and repeated SWITCHEROO rows on one ASIN usually mean a warehouse mix-up worth a case with Seller Support.
Why do so many returns say “no reason given”?
Because Amazon lets buyers return with one click, many never pick a real reason. Watch the trend instead of the count: when NO_REASON_GIVEN grows alongside NOT_AS_DESCRIBED or quality codes, buyers are softening the real complaint. The buyer-comments column in the report often says what the dropdown didn't.
Can I automate the returns report export?
Yes — the Request tab schedules recurring report delivery inside Seller Central, no code required. Amazon's Selling Partner API exposes the same returns report types if you want them piped into your own systems.
Got your returns CSV out of Seller Central?
See which problems drive your returns — free
Upload the file you just exported and the Return Reason Classifier sorts every return into six fix-vs-ignore buckets, with your worst ASINs ranked first. Runs on rules, no account needed.
Free · No credit card required
Classify my returns →