Refund Holdback Sample Calculations

The following examples illustrate how the refund administration fee is calculated for a non-BMVD Product.

Example 1: Refund of a single item from an order

Suppose you receive the following two-item order:

Item A (item price)	300.00 EUR
Item B (item price)	50.00 EUR
Shipping on Item A	40.00 EUR
Shipping on Item B	5.00 EUR
Gift Wrap on Item A	5.00 EUR
Gift Wrap on Item B	2.00 EUR
TOTAL	402.00 EUR

You then refund Item A, including shipping and gift wrap (this is commonly done if the customer cancels the order before it ships). Assuming the referral fee for the product category is 15%, the initial holdback is calculated as follows:

Holdback for Item A

=  = Holdback Rate [Referral Fee x (Item A + Shipping Item A + Gift Wrap Item A)]
= 20% x [15% x (300 EUR  + 40 EUR  + 5 EUR)]
= 20% x [15% x 345 EUR ]
= 20% x [51.75 EUR ]
= 10.35 EUR  

But as the holdback for this product cannot be greater than 5 EUR, it is capped at 5 EUR. Note that other item-related charges, such as shipping and gift wrap, are included in the holdback calculation, but tax is not. Amazon does not retain a portion of any refunded taxes.

Example 2: Refund of multiple (different) items from an order

Suppose you receive the same two-item order as described above, but this time you refund the order in full, including shipping and gift wrap (this is commonly done if the customer cancels the order before it ships). The initial refund administration fee calculation applies to each item in the refund, as follows:

Refund administration fee for Item A

= 20% x [Referral Fee x (Item A + Shipping Item A + Gift Wrap Item A)]
= 20% x [15% x (300 EUR + 40 EUR + 5 EUR)]
= 20% x [15% x 345 EUR]
= 20% x [51.75 EUR]
= 10.35 EUR

Refund administration fee for Item B

= 20% x [Referra lFee x (Item B + Shipping Item B + Gift Wrap Item B)]
= 20% x [15% x (50 EUR + 5 EUR + 2 EUR)]
= 20% x [15% x 57 EUR]
= 20% x [8.55 EUR]
= 1.71 EUR

Refund administration fees cannot exceed 5 EUR, so the first is capped at 5 EUR and the second is taken as is, for a total administration fee of 6.71 EUR. Other item-related charges, such as shipping and gift wrap, are included in the refund administration fee calculation, but tax is not. Amazon does not retain a portion of any refunded taxes.

Example 3: Refund of multiple quantities of the same item from an order

Suppose you receive the following three-item order:

Item A (quantity: 2)	600.00 EUR
Item B	50.00 EUR
Shipping on Item A	20.00 EUR
Shipping on Item B	5.00 EUR
Gift Wrap on Item A	5.00 EUR
Gift Wrap on Item B	2.00 EUR
TOTAL	682.00 EUR

You then refund both quantities of Item A, excluding shipping and gift wrap (this is commonly done if the customer returns the order after it has shipped). Because the refund administration fee calculation applies to each unique item in a refund, and multiple quantities of a single item comprise a single item, the calculation is applied one time for both Item A's. Assuming again that the referral fee for items in this category is 15%, the initial refund administration fee (before applying the 5 EUR cap) is calculated as follows:

Refund administration fee for both Item A's

= 20% x [Referra lFee x (Item A's)]
= 20% x [15% x 600 EUR]
= 20% x [90 EUR]
= 18.00 EUR

As this refund administration fee is greater than 5 EUR, it is capped at 5 EUR. No refund administration fee calculations apply to subsequent refunds involving this item because the 5 EUR cap is already met.