Amazon’s Seller Assurance for E-Commerce Transactions (SAFE-T) program has long been a financial safety net for seller-fulfilled (FBM) sellers. It allowed brands to recover losses from buyer abuse, damaged returns, or missing shipments — often weeks after the original transaction.
That safety net just tightened.
Starting February 16, 2026, Amazon is reducing the SAFE-T claim filing window from 60 days to 30 days, significantly increasing the urgency around return and refund management.
Contents
What Is Amazon SAFE-T?
SAFE-T allows US FBM sellers to request reimbursement after Amazon issues a refund when the seller is determined not to be at fault.
Eligible scenarios include:
- Items returned damaged or materially different
- Buyer abuse or item swapping
- Lost shipments
- Refunds issued due to delivery errors
Only Amazon-issued refunds qualify, and claims must be backed by documentation.
What Changed in 2026
Under the updated policy:
- Sellers have 30 days to file SAFE-T claims
- The countdown begins from:
- Return delivery scan
- Refund date
- Last scan for lost shipments
- Claims older than 30 days are automatically rejected
This aligns SAFE-T with Amazon’s broader refund and appeal timelines but reduces seller recovery flexibility.
Why This Increases Seller Risk
The reduced window exposes sellers to:
- Missed reimbursements
- Faster operational bottlenecks
- Higher unrecoverable return costs
- Margin erosion on high-value SKUs
Legacy workflows built around weekly or monthly audits are no longer viable.
Best Practices Under the 30-Day Rule
To stay compliant, sellers should:
- Review refunds and returns daily
- Use Amazon’s Guided Refund Workflow (GRW)
- Capture images immediately upon receipt
- Track scans and refund timestamps
- File SAFE-T claims proactively, not reactively
How Big Internet Ecommerce Helps
We help sellers:
- Build SAFE-T tracking dashboards
- Standardize evidence collection
- Audit return-heavy ASINs
- Reduce buyer abuse exposure
- Protect margins under tighter timelines
SAFE-T is now a race against the clock.
Schedule a call to safeguard your reimbursements.
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