December 22nd, 2021
What is Customer Service by Amazon?
CSBA is a paid program that allows you to leverage Amazon’s customer service network to manage customer inquiries on your self-fulfilled orders. Now you can focus on fulfillment and sales strategies without worrying about having to deal with time-consuming customer service issues!
One of the benefits of enrolling your products in FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) is that Amazon Customer Service handles everything from returns and refunds to customer calls.
We have good news for FBM sellers: Amazon has officially announced that Customer Service by Amazon (CSBA) will be available to you too! Until now, there was no way for FBM sellers to take advantage of this service.
The Benefits of Using CSBA
With CSBA you can rest assured that your customers are in good hands, especially since Amazon actively prioritizes positive customer experiences. CSBA helps improve the customer experience by providing high-quality customer service 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, all throughout the year (even holidays!).
It is also convenient because CSBA supports customers in the marketplace-supported language via a variety of modes of communication including phone, instant message, and email. CSBA's unrivaled customer service can help you reduce potential A-to-Z Guarantee claims, Order Defect Rates (ODR), and negative reviews by helping resolve issues within a rapid timeframe and immediately when they arise.
Customer Service by Amazon can also help you remove your customer service burdens by managing customer service in response to changing demands (for example, during the holiday period). The bottom line is that CSBA saves Amazon sellers time, which can in turn reduce your customer service cost.
What Kind of Customer Queries Are Not Included in CSBA?
Customer Service by Amazon (CSBA) provides customer service for all post-order queries for your self-fulfillment orders except queries related to Invoice and Product Customization. CSBA does not provide customer service for pre-order or pre-sales type of customer inquiries. To handle these types of inquiries, you will still have to use the Buyer-Seller Messaging Service.
If a customer contacts you for a self-fulfillment order related inquiry, transfer it to the CSBA team and they will handle it on your behalf. US based sellers can reach the CSBA team at [email protected] and China based sellers can reach us at [email protected].
As far as customer inquiries go, Customer Service by Amazon will try to answer a customer inquiry based on information available on the product detail page, but this is not guaranteed. If the CSBA team cannot solve a customer's inquiry, they will send a message to your account via the Case Log for further assistance in the matter.
Sellers are always encouraged to proactively review and update the product detail page regularly to ensure the quality of the content when viewed by customers and customer service.
Currently, the CSBA program does not offer feedback management, so this is something to be mindful of if you opt-in to CSBA.
If having CSBA having complete control over your queries is not something you’re excited about but you would like help with your customer service, we can help. We have a dedicated customer service team that can answer any questions or queries that come through your account in a timely manner. If they can’t find the answer in your product information, they will reach out to you. The nice part about working with our team is that you will work with the same group of people all the time. So, if you have a question or concern, it’s easy to get in touch.
How Will I Receive Communication from Customer Service by Amazon?
You will be able to receive and reply to messages from the Customer Service by Amazon team in your Case Log, located in Seller Central. You will also receive CSBA notifications sent to your default email address in your Seller Central account.
In some cases, the CSBA team will need to work with you to find a resolution and reply to the customer. Amazon’s commitment to the customer is to typically respond within two days.
Returns and Refunds Using CSBA
When it comes to returns, CSBA will use the standard Amazon return policies to handle customer returns. Out of country sellers are required to follow the Customer returns for international sales when addressing returns and refunds.
Who Can Take Advantage of Using Customer Service by Amazon?
Currently, CSBA is only available to select sellers on an invitation-only basis as well as by default to newly registered sellers on Amazon.com. Sellers will enjoy a 30-day free trial period after joining CSBA for the first time. Once your free trial ends, Amazon will charge you the standard CSBA fee per self-fulfilled shipped unit based on your customer service performance. The beauty of CSBA is that you can opt-out of the program at any time.
CSBA Requirements and Eligibility
To use CSBA, you will need to do the following:
- Agree to the Customer Service by Amazon Terms & Conditions.
- Be registered as a professional seller in good standing on Amazon.
- Reply to CSBA inquiry. Amazon Customer Service will answer customer inquiries without requesting your input as much as possible. However, in some cases, Customer Service by Amazon will reach out to sellers for additional information. Sellers are required to reply to CSBA inquiry within 24 hours (including weekends and holidays). Otherwise, CSBA will handle the customer inquiry using its judgment to best serve the customer. Amazon Customer Service will communicate with sellers in English or Chinese.
The Cost of Customer Service by Amazon
The Customer Service by Amazon (CSBA) fee is charged on each self-fulfilled shipped unit according to your customer service performance, which is measured by Contacts per Unit (CPU).
CPU is the number of order related customer inquiries (calls, instant messages, and emails) that Amazon handled on your behalf per total self-fulfilled shipped units. For example, if Amazon handled 40 customer inquiries on your behalf in the previous three months in which you shipped 1,000 self-fulfilled units, your CPU for the period would be 4% (40/1,000).
Your fee tier will be calculated based on your previous three-month’s CPU. For example, if your CPU from the previous three-months is 4%, your fee rate for this month would be $0.10 per self-fulfilled shipped unit.
Amazon will charge you a standard fee rate of $0.25 per self-fulfilled unit in some cases when your CPU performance is unknown or unreliable (for example, CPU >15% but 30 or fewer self-fulfilled units shipped in the previous three months).
The Amazon CSBA team will reach out with your fee tier on the first day of every month. The great thing is that your CSBA fee rate will reduce as you improve your customer service performance by reducing your customer contacts.
How to Opt-in to CSBA
- Log into your Seller Central account and go to the Account Info page.
- In the Your Services section, select Manage.
- In the You are signed up for section, select Ready to Opt-in.
- This will redirect you to the opt-in page with information about the CSBA service. Select Opt-in Now.
Once you enroll, you will be able to view this service as Active under the Your Services section.
At this time, CSBA is an invitation-only program for existing sellers. If you are interested in CSBA, click here.
Newly registered sellers on Amazon.com are enrolled in CSBA by default. You can opt-out of the program at any time.
At the end of the day, Customer Service by Amazon could help you stay on top of common customer issues and free you and your team up to focus on other aspects of your business such as fulfillment, advertising, inventory planning and other important things. When used strategically, CSBA can even help you save money in the long run by acting as a full-time customer service agent on your behalf for a very reasonable price.
If you’d like to help determine if CSBA is for you, or if there are additional Amazon seller services that we can discuss to eliminate stress and confusion for you and your team, let’s set up a time to chat.