Amazon FBM: Only 3 Days to Respond on Returns (from 11 August2025)

From 11 August 2025, Amazon is tightening its rules for sellers using the FBM (Fulfilment by Merchant) model. If you ship to Germany or the UK and a buyer requests to return a product worth more than €25 (or £20), you will have just three calendar days to react. Miss that deadline, andAmazon will step in, refunding the customer directly from your balance – while the product stays with them.

This update impacts your finances, your operations and your account health. Below, we’ll explain what’s changing, who’s affected, and how to avoid unnecessary losses with tools like APRL and a local return address.

What changes on Amazon from 11 August 2025?

The new rule requires FBM sellers to act within 72 hours of a return request for higher-value products sent to Germany or the UK. Within this time you must choose one of the following options:

• Issue a return label manually.
• Approve a returnless refund (customer keeps the item, you refund the money).
• Let Amazon generate an automatic prepaid label via APRL – but only if you have a valid local return address in that country.

Fail to do any of the above, and Amazon will refund the buyer itself – taking the money from your balance, with no chance of recovering the item.

Source: Amazon Seller Central

Who is affected?

This policy concerns sellers who:

• operate under the FBM model,
• ship products to Amazon.de or Amazon.co.uk,
• sell items priced above €25 or £20,
• dispatch orders from outside Germany or the UK (e.g. from Poland).

Previously sellers had longer to react. Now, from August 2025, silence after 3 days equals: automatic refund, funds withdrawn, and goods lost.

What happens if you don’t respond?

If you fail to respond within the 3-day limit:

• the customer is refunded,
• the product remains with them,
• money disappears from your account,
• you cannot claim reimbursement through SAFE-T,
• your account metrics may decline.

In short: doing nothing guarantees financial loss.

Casestudy: why a local address matters

Imagine you sell bathroom sinks to Germany with an average order value of €800.

• No response within 3 days:
  The buyer keeps the sink (€800) and Amazon refunds them (€800). Add shipping (€60) = €1,660 lost.‍
• No local return address:
  You must issue an international return label(€55–70), plus cover transport back to Poland. High costs, delayed process.‍
• Returnless refund:
  You refund €800 and the buyer keeps the item worth €800. Add shipping = over €1,600 lost.

In each case, the absence of a local return solution or slow reaction translates into pure loss.

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APRL and a local address – why you need both

APRL (Amazon Prepaid Return Label) and a local return address work together. Without a local address, APRL cannot generatea label. Without APRL, Amazon may default to refunding the buyer. That’s whenthe dreaded returnless refund often comes into play.

With Shopreturns you can set up addresses inGermany and the UK, integrated with APRL, so labels are sent automatically andreturns are processed on time.

How Shopreturns helps

At Shopreturns we provide both pieces of the puzzle:

• local return addresses in Germany and the UK, fully compliant withAmazon’s requirements,
• complete APRL activation and support – return labels sent automaticallywithout your manual involvement.

Additionally, we handle and consolidate returns for you, so no request goes unanswered, even at weekends or on holidays.

Summary& next steps

If you sell onAmazon using FBM and your products exceed €25 or £20, the new rule is critical: respond to every return request in 3 days or risk losing both your goods and your money.

Checklist:

• Do you already have a local return address in DE and UK?
• Is APRL active on your account?
• Can you respond within 72 hours to all return requests?

If the answer is “no” to any of these, take action now. Partner with Shopreturns to secure your local return address and APRL setup – before Amazon’s system decides for you.