Amazon is making an unpopular change to a program that already receives criticism for what some sellers feel is a failure to protect them. Amazon announced on Wednesday, January 21, it would give sellers less time to file SAFE-T claims:
“Effective February 16, 2026, the SAFE-T claim filing window for US seller-fulfilled orders will change from 60 days to 30 days. This update aligns with our standard US return period and A-to-z claim appeal window.
“SAFE-T claims can help protect you against losses from buyer abuse, in-transit damage, or other issues outside your control. With this change to the filing window, the 30-day window starts from either the return delivery scan at your warehouse or the refund date, whichever comes later. For lost shipments, the window begins from the last scan event.
“We recommend that you review any returns or refunds that are older than 30 days you may want to file claims on before February 16. Once the new filing window takes effect, you won’t be able to submit claims for events that occurred more than 30 days ago. This change doesn’t affect any claims that are currently in progress.
“For more information, go to Reimbursement for seller-fulfilled orders.”
The change is even worse for sellers of high-value items who are affected by another change that takes effect on February 8, when Amazon removes an exemption to its Amazon Prepaid Return Label (APRL) program. It will begin requiring all US sellers to use the program regardless of item value. When it announced that policy earlier this month, it tried to assuage seller concerns by stating, “When we issue a refund to a buyer and you believe it wasn’t your fault, you can file a claim for reimbursement through the Seller Assurance for E-Commerce Transactions (SAFE-T) program.”
On the announcement thread announcing the reduction of time sellers had to make SAFE-T claims, one seller wrote with obvious sarcasm, “Great! Now we have less time to have our legitimate claims denied. Thanks!”
