Vendor Returns (Return to Vendor, RTV)

A vendor return, or Return to Vendor (RTV), is inventory Amazon sends back to a vendor’s own warehouse on Amazon’s initiative, with the cost deducted from what Amazon pays the vendor.

Amazon uses “return” for two different things, and they run in opposite directions. A customer return is a shopper sending an item back to Amazon under the marketplace return policy, which Amazon’s return policy and how it affects sellers and vendors covers from the shopper’s side. A vendor return goes the other way: Amazon decides the units should leave its network and sends them back to you.

What it is

Amazon opens a vendor return on stock it has decided to stop holding, usually overstock that never sold through, inventory that has expired or is close to its date, units that are damaged or defective, or items that failed a compliance check.

Whichever reason applies, the sequence is the same. Amazon identifies the units, notifies you, and you review the return and either accept it or dispute it.

The two kinds of return also differ on who pays. Amazon absorbs a customer return on a 1P order, or the third-party seller absorbs it on a marketplace order, while a vendor return is a deduction the vendor carries under the vendor agreement.

Where it lives in Vendor Central

Vendor returns sit under Payments, on the Vendor Returns Debit Note page, which lists each return alongside the debit raised for it, and disputes are worked through Dispute Management. Menu labels and placement vary by region and account type, so check what your own account calls these pages before you build the path into a process.

Why it matters to a vendor

The debit typically posts against your account before you have reviewed the return and before the returned inventory physically arrives, so you are reconciling a charge for units you have not seen. Anything you want to contest has to be filed within 30 days of the debit note appearing.

That gap is the practical risk: a return you do not open until the pallet arrives may already be past its dispute window, and because the cost lands on you rather than on Amazon, repeat returns against one ASIN keep eating that item’s margin. Check the Vendor Returns Debit Note page on a schedule instead of waiting for a delivery to tell you a return happened.

Related terms

• Chargebacks: Amazon’s other deduction against a vendor, charged for a compliance miss, with no inventory coming back.
• Amazon’s return policy and how it affects sellers and vendors: the customer-facing side of returns, including windows, labels, and refunds.
• Glossary index: the rest of the Vendor Central terms and InsightLeap metrics.