FBA partial refunds by return reason: the UK seller setup guide
Reason-based partial refunds are here for UK FBA. Two setup paths, three configurations, and one eligibility check Amazon controls, not you. Here is what to work through before changing any setting.
Amazon now lets UK FBA sellers choose which customer return reasons qualify for a partial refund, and set different percentages by reason. The feature arrived in a 9 October notice and gives you two setup paths: one rule set across all ASINs, or a hand-picked list uploaded by Excel. The part most coverage skips is the one that matters most: the buyer still has to qualify, and Amazon decides that, not you.
Amazon's UK announcement says FBA sellers in the UK (alongside the US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Canada) can now select which return reasons qualify for offering partial refunds. Partial refunds let a customer keep the product instead of sending it back, in exchange for a partial refund percentage you set. You can apply settings to all ASINs with up to three configurations by return reason, or enable partial refunds for selected ASINs by uploading an Excel file that names the products and reasons. Products and reasons you do not include follow the standard return process. Crucially, partial refunds are only offered to customers who meet Amazon's eligibility criteria; Amazon reviews each return request automatically against the customer's profile and purchase history.
What the update actually adds
The FBA Partial Refunds programme itself is not new. The idea has always been simple: for the right return, refunding part of the price and letting the customer keep the item can cost less than shipping it back, processing it and hoping it resells. What changed on 9 October is control. Previously the programme treated eligible returns broadly. Now you decide which return reasons qualify at all, and what percentage each reason gets.
That distinction matters because return reasons are not interchangeable. "Bought by mistake" and "item defective" carry very different economics for your catalogue, your reviews and your supplier claims. Reason-based configuration lets you reflect that instead of running one blunt rule.
Your two setup paths
| All ASINs | Selected ASINs | |
|---|---|---|
| How it is configured | Set partial refund percentages by return reason across your whole catalogue | Upload an Excel file naming the products and return reasons that qualify |
| Configuration limit | Up to three configurations | Whatever your file specifies |
| Anything not included | Follows the standard return process | |
| Best fit | Simple, uniform rules you can describe in one sentence | Catalogues where only certain products or reasons make economic sense |
Both paths are managed on the FBA Partial Refunds settings page in Seller Central, where you can also select whether to offer partial refunds for all or only specific return reasons.
The buyer still has to qualify
This is the line to read twice. Amazon states that partial refunds are only available to customers who meet its eligibility criteria, and that it automatically reviews each return request using the customer's profile and purchase history to verify eligibility and help prevent abuse. If a customer is ineligible, the item is returned to a fulfilment centre as usual.
Two practical consequences. First, configuring a reason does not guarantee a partial refund is offered on every return with that reason; Amazon's eligibility check sits between your setting and the buyer. Second, your returns data will mix outcomes, so judge the configuration on what actually happens in your account over time, not on the assumption that every eligible-looking return converted.
If you are already enrolled
Amazon says that if you are already enrolled in the programme, customers will continue to receive partial refunds for all eligible return reasons. In other words, existing enrolment keeps working; the update adds the ability to narrow or structure it. Whether narrowing makes sense depends on your own return economics by reason, which only your account data can answer.
Before you touch the settings
- Pull your own returns by reason and work out what a full return actually costs you per unit: return shipping, processing, and the realistic resale value of what comes back.
- Decide which reasons, if any, justify a keep-it offer at which percentage. A percentage that saves money on a low-value item can burn it on a high-value one.
- Remember the eligibility layer: model partial refunds as offered to qualifying customers only, not to every return.
- If you change anything, watch returns and refund outcomes in your own account afterwards rather than assuming the configuration behaved as expected.
What this notice does not tell you
Amazon says the programme helps reduce return shipping and processing costs. That is a generic statement about the programme's intent, not a promised saving for your account, and this guide does not turn it into one. The right configuration, if any, depends on your products, margins and return patterns. For the wider picture, our guide to returns operations for UK sellers covers the physical and financial workflow a partial refund setting sits inside, and our explainer on Return and Recovery Insights shows how Amazon's own return metrics are defined before you use them to judge results.
Source: Amazon UK Seller Forums, "Return reasons now available for FBA Partial Refunds", published 9 October 2026: sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/seller-forums/discussions/t/89bd4625-599e-4938-9fd8-c327c1b4eeb5