How should sellers audit FBA sourcing costs?
Open the sourcing-cost view for FBA inventory and compare Amazon's estimate with the current, document-supported cost for each material FNSKU. Correct meaningful gaps before a loss or damage event turns that value into a reimbursement input.
Use the product acquisition cost paid to a manufacturer, wholesaler, or reseller, or the supported production cost when you manufacture the item. Keep shipping, handling, customs duties, and other excluded expenses outside this field even when they belong in your internal margin model.
Build a cost evidence register
- Record FNSKU, ASIN, SKU, supplier, currency, unit cost, effective date, purchase order, invoice, and units received.
- Match the invoice buyer name and address to the selling entity and retain the supplier's verifiable business details.
- Reconcile pack quantities, discounts, rebates, credit notes, and currency conversion before calculating the per-unit value.
- Separate product acquisition or manufacturing cost from freight, duties, preparation, inspection, storage, and handling.
- Flag new, seasonal, bundled, multipack, or supplier-switched inventory where the current cost may differ from the prior estimate.
- Assign an owner and review date so stale cost submissions do not remain unchallenged.
Submit and monitor the value
Use the current Manage Your Sourcing Cost workflow for the exact FNSKU, save the submitted amount and supporting documents, and capture the status or request for additional action. Do not assume that an entered value is approved until the portal confirms the outcome.
When a reimbursement is issued, compare the FNSKU, incident, quantity, approved sourcing cost, and credit transaction. If the valuation is wrong, follow the current dispute path and deadline shown by Amazon rather than resubmitting unrelated catalog or fee cases.
Use a reimbursement-readiness checklist
- Every high-value FNSKU has a recent sourcing-cost review and named owner.
- The submitted cost is traceable to legible commercial evidence for the same product and entity.
- Excluded freight, duty, handling, and overhead are held in the margin model, not the sourcing-cost field.
- Currency, pack size, discounts, and credit notes are converted to a defensible unit amount.
- Submission status, Amazon's decision, and later reimbursement transactions are retained together.
- A dispute compares the exact valuation and evidence without counting the reimbursement twice in profit.
Scope and exceptions
Amazon's current US guidance defines sourcing cost as the cost to obtain the product from a manufacturer, wholesaler, or reseller, or to produce it when you are the manufacturer. The guidance excludes shipping, handling, customs duties, and other costs, and Amazon may use its estimate when a submitted value is not accepted.
Review Amazon's current [Manage Your Sourcing Cost](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/GN655EHATZUVWBC3) page and [FBA inventory reimbursement policy](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/G200213130) before submitting or disputing a value. Eligibility, evidence, limits, and deadlines can vary by incident and may change.
Related Amazon seller guides
- [Build an Amazon reimbursement audit](https://amazonmargincalculator.cloud/blog/amazon-reimbursement-audit)
- [Reconcile Amazon FBA inventory with the Inventory Ledger Report](https://amazonmargincalculator.cloud/blog/amazon-fba-inventory-ledger-reconciliation)
- [Build an authenticity complaint invoice evidence pack](https://amazonmargincalculator.cloud/blog/amazon-authenticity-complaint-invoice-evidence-pack)