Guide · Amazon Vendor Central Retail
Vendor Central chargebacks are deductions Amazon takes from vendor payments for breaking a rule in the purchase order, shipment, or receiving process. Amazon groups them into categories, and most are generated automatically from timestamps and document comparisons, which makes them hard to dispute and possible to prevent. This page walks the retail categories a vendor shipping to Amazon's fulfillment centers actually sees, the operational cause behind each, the fix, and what evidence wins a dispute.
How Amazon groups them
Amazon organizes vendor chargebacks into problems with purchase orders, advance shipment notices, preparation, packaging, the transportation process, the receive process, and Direct Fulfillment. The last is covered in the Direct Fulfillment chargebacks guide; the first six are the retail vendor's world. Amounts are set by Amazon, published in Vendor Central and your vendor agreement, and expressed variously as a percentage of cost, a per-unit or per-carton fee, or a flat charge; they change, so this page describes the trigger and the fix for each and leaves the current rate to your account.
Purchase order problems
| Chargeback | What triggers it | Operational cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| PO On-Time Accuracy: NotOnTime | Freight ready date requested after the ship window, or prepaid delivery requested after the delivery window | Confirmation made without checking the window; routing requested late | Confirm only windows you can meet; request routing as soon as the PO confirms |
| PO On-Time Accuracy: NotFilled | Shipped fewer units than confirmed | Confirmed everything, shipped what was on the shelf | Confirm from allocated stock with a floor; backorder or reject the rest honestly |
| Unconfirmed PO units | Shipped units that were never confirmed on the PO | Shipping against the original request after Amazon revised it, or against unacknowledged lines | Re-acknowledge every revision; ship the confirmed quantities only |
| Overage | Received more than the PO or ASN quantity | Pack errors, wrong revision | Pack to the acknowledgment; ASN to the pack |
| Rejected PO rate (select categories) | Rejecting a large share of confirmed quantity in categories Amazon flags | Over-confirming then cancelling | Confirm accurately the first time; this one reduces your cost offer rather than deducting |
ASN problems
| Chargeback | What triggers it | Operational cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASN missing or late | Shipment reaches the FC with no ASN on file | ASN sent end of day or after pickup; WMS not connected | Send the ASN from the shipment event, before the carrier leaves |
| ASN accuracy | ASN quantities, SKUs, or carton contents disagree with what was received | ASN built from the plan instead of the pack | Generate the ASN from the packed cartons, not the PO |
| PRO/BOL mismatch | PRO or BOL on the ASN differs from the carrier appointment | Manual re-keying between systems | One source for the PRO, carried to ASN and appointment together |
Preparation, packaging, receive
| Chargeback | What triggers it | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Prep: poly bag, bubble wrap, suffocation warning, taping | Units arrive without the prep Amazon’s item requirements specify | Prep rules per SKU in the pack station; prep before carton close |
| Packaging: oversize, damaged, missing carton content label | Cartons outside dimensional or weight limits, or unlabeled | Carton templates per SKU; content labels printed from the ASN data |
| Label non-compliance | Unscannable or missing carton, pallet, or item labels | Labels from the same data as the ASN; scan check at close |
| Receive process: shortage, overage | Received quantity differs from ASN quantity | ASN from the pack; reconcile before pickup |
These are the categories that can be disputed with photographs and documentation, because they turn on what was physically in the carton. Keep pack photos with the ASN reference for anything Amazon has charged before.
Transportation
| Chargeback | What triggers it | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Late carrier appointment / unconfirmed appointment | Appointment requested or confirmed outside Amazon’s timelines | Request routing the day the PO confirms; confirm appointments as they are offered |
| Missed carrier pickup | Freight not ready when the collect carrier arrives | Freight ready date tied to the pack, not the PO date |
| Freight ready outside window | FRD after the PO ship window | Confirm only achievable windows; backorder the rest |
When one is wrong
Disputes are filed in Vendor Central, per chargeback, inside a limited window after issuance. PO, ASN, and transportation chargebacks are generated from date-stamped events, so the only evidence that wins is a timestamp that contradicts Amazon's: the API transaction record for the acknowledgment or ASN, the EDI 997 and transmission log, the carrier's appointment confirmation, the pickup scan. Prep, packaging, and receive chargebacks are won with pack photos, carton content records, and the ASN. Keep the transaction ID and status of every document you send Amazon; that file is the dispute case and the early warning that a document never landed.
Prevention
The PO-side chargebacks are confirmation discipline, and that is what the Vendor Central Retail integration automates: acknowledgments from per-SKU rules inside 24 hours, confirmed quantities tied to real stock and a floor, every revision re-run so shipments match the current PO, invoices per PO at the acknowledged cost. The shipment-side chargebacks depend on the warehouse or 3PL that packs and ships to Amazon, and on the ASN and labels being produced from the same data; InfiPlex hands that operation the confirmed PO, the destination, and the window, and connects to the systems that do the packing. Ask us how your current routing, labeling, and ASN flow would fit; there are moving parts and they differ by vendor.
Frequently asked
The questions that come up when the first deductions appear in Payments.
Problems with purchase orders, advance shipment notices, preparation, packaging, the transportation process, the receive process, and Direct Fulfillment. Retail vendors shipping to fulfillment centers see the first six.
A deduction when confirmed units are not shipped or delivered inside the PO window, either NotOnTime (freight ready or delivery requested after the window) or NotFilled (fewer units shipped than confirmed).
You shipped units that were not confirmed on the current version of the PO, usually because Amazon revised the PO and the shipment followed the original request, or because lines were left out of the acknowledgment and implicitly rejected.
An ASN that is missing when freight arrives, arrives late, or disagrees with what was received: quantities, SKUs, carton contents, or a PRO or BOL that does not match the carrier appointment. Building the ASN from the packed cartons rather than the PO prevents most of it.
Yes, per chargeback in Vendor Central inside a limited window. Date-stamped categories (PO, ASN, transportation) need a contradicting timestamp from your API or EDI records or the carrier; physical categories (prep, packaging, receive) are won with pack photos and documentation.
The purchase-order categories: late or incomplete acknowledgments, over-confirmation that becomes NotFilled, and shipping against stale revisions. ASN, labeling, and transportation chargebacks are prevented in the warehouse process that packs and ships to Amazon, fed by the OMS with the confirmed PO and window.
No. Retail chargebacks come from shipping to Amazon's fulfillment centers: PO accuracy, ASN, prep, packaging, transportation, receiving. Direct Fulfillment chargebacks come from shipping to the customer: cancellation rate, ship method mismatch, late acknowledgment and confirmation. They are separate categories with separate causes.
Store the transaction ID and status Amazon returns for every acknowledgment, ASN, and invoice you submit, the carrier appointment and pickup confirmations, and pack photos keyed to the ASN reference. That record is both the dispute evidence and the alert that a document did not land.
Resources
Acknowledgments inside 24 hours, quantities tied to real stock, every revision re-run, invoices that match. The rest we hand to your warehouse correctly.
Send us a month of your chargeback export and we will tell you which are confirmation problems, which are shipment problems, and what fixes each. Contact us, email info@infiplex.com, or call 888‑770‑0857.
InfiPlex™ is a trademark of InfiPlex. Amazon, Vendor Central, and Selling Partner API are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. InfiPlex is an independent integration provider and is not endorsed by or affiliated with Amazon. Program rules, deadlines, and chargeback amounts are set by Amazon and change; verify current terms in Vendor Central before relying on them. ©2026 InfiPlex. All rights reserved.
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