Amazon Inbound and Outbound Under Control: Two Sides Recovers Over €22,000 in FBA Reimbursements
The Story of Two Sides
"Freeing up headspace and putting the focus on growing the business." — Michael, Two Sides (translated from Italian)
At a Glance
Two Sides Srl is the Italian company of two brothers, Michael and Thomas. Starting out as Amazon retailers of fast-moving consumer goods, they now have several private label lines. Their story began almost as a game, buying products in shopping centers to resell online. Today they move over 2 million euros a year, around 23,000 sales a month.
At these volumes, FBA problems come from two sides:
- Inbound: shipments going into Amazon's warehouses, where what leaves doesn't always match what Amazon records.
- Outbound: Return parcels and Removal Shipments that Amazon sends back, over 150 a month.
For almost 3 years, Two Sides has worked on both fronts with Eagle Eye, the service specialized in recovering Amazon FBA reimbursements. The Eagle Eye team takes on the reimbursement cases that Michael can't close right away. In the warehouse, Vanessa checks every returned package with the Eagle Eye Return Scanner app.
Result: over €22,000 recovered in FBA reimbursements in almost 3 years.
The Challenge
Michael knows FBA reimbursements well. On inbound shipments, he always makes a first attempt on his own: he opens the case, requests reimbursement for the missing units, and waits for Amazon support's response.
Many cases, though, don't close on the first try. The outcome depends on how the case is written, the evidence attached, who responds from support, and how persistently you push. Every case that stays open takes time and energy, and with 23,000 sales a month there's no time to lose, and Michael didn't want to get stuck on a single case and then ruin his whole day.
On the returns side, the method was the one used by many growing companies. Michael tells it like this:
"The method is called «however it comes out». Everything would arrive, pile up on a pallet, and Saturday morning was entirely dedicated to checking all the packages." — Michael, Two Sides (translated from Italian)
He was the one doing that checking. And it was work that mattered: according to Michael's estimate, 80% of the products Amazon sends him as unsellable returns are actually sellable. As he told us, "sometimes all it takes is a quick dusting" and the product is as good as new, other times all it takes is changing the box.
But then there are the cases where the customer pulled a fast one, or pieces are missing from the package compared to what Amazon declared. And there, the mere idea of taking photos, opening the case, and getting into an argument with whoever's on duty is enough to make you say: forget it, it's not worth it. And that's exactly how the money stays with Amazon.
The problem wasn't knowing what to do. It was finding the time to do it, every week, without taking it away from growing the business.
The Solution
Two Sides entrusted both fronts to Eagle Eye, with a method built around the way Michael works.
Inbound: the 15-day rule. Michael makes the first attempt on inbound shipments. When a problem shipment has been closed for more than 15 days, the Eagle Eye team takes it on and follows the case through to reimbursement. No list to fill out, no handoff: the division of tasks is clear from the start. The team works every case with:
- structured, complete write-ups, with all the information Amazon support needs to decide;
- strategic closing and reopening, when the first response isn't the right one;
- alternative angles on the same problem;
- escalation to specialized Amazon departments, when whoever's on duty isn't enough.
Outbound: Vanessa and the Return Scanner. The Saturday morning pallet is gone. Vanessa, who recently joined Two Sides' warehouse team, scans the over 150 Return packages from Removal Shipments they receive from Amazon every month with the Eagle Eye Return Scanner app. When something's wrong, a fraudulent return or missing pieces, Vanessa photographs it directly from the app. From there, the Eagle Eye team opens the case and takes it forward with Amazon.
So the cases that used to make people say "forget it" now become reimbursements, without anyone at the company having to argue with support.
The Results
In almost 3 years of collaboration, Two Sides has recovered over €22,000 in FBA reimbursements. Reimbursements that, without someone following every case, would easily have stayed with Amazon.
On the inbound side, cases that don't close on the first attempt no longer stay stuck halfway. After 15 days they move to the Eagle Eye team, who carries them through to reimbursement. Michael does his part and then doesn't think about it anymore.
On the outbound side, the Return Scanner has turned the Saturday pallet problems into €779 in reimbursements in 3 months, on Removal Shipments alone. Fraudulent returns and missing pieces, which used to make people say "forget it", now get a photo, an open case, and a reimbursement.
And time? Saturday morning is no longer dedicated to packages, and Amazon cases no longer ruin Michael's day. That time now stays with the company: for the new private label lines to launch and for growth.
Could This Work for You?
If you already know how to open Amazon cases yourself, you might recognize yourself in Michael. You do make the first attempt, and sometimes it works. The problem is all the other ones. The ones dragged from one operator to another, made of standard responses that don't resolve anything. And the ones you don't even open, because you don't know you're entitled to a reimbursement, or where to check.
The simplest way is to hand over the whole account to a dedicated team: inbound shipments, returns, Removal Shipments, units lost or damaged in Amazon's warehouses. If you prefer to keep part of the cases, like Michael does, we adapt to the way you work. In the warehouse, all it takes is the right tool to turn every returns problem into a case worth disputing.
"Absolutely yes. The benefits for us were the peace of mind of having an app and having a dedicated service […], and so freeing up headspace and putting the focus on growing the business. Fundamental." — Michael, Two Sides (translated from Italian)
How many reimbursements are you owed that you've never asked for? And how many cases have you left half-done?
You don't have to take our word for it. The first 2 months are free and the fee only applies to what gets recovered.