When Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) loses or damages your units inside a fulfillment center and Walmart is at fault, Walmart’s fee guide says you’re credited the original sales price, minus the fulfillment and referral fees, by the end of the payment cycle. Walmart publishes no separate claim form for this. The work is checking that every lost or damaged unit actually got its credit.
WFS lost and damaged inventory at a glance
| Situation | Walmart’s rule |
|---|---|
| Damaged or lost in a fulfillment center, Walmart at fault | Credited the original sales price. Walmart keeps the fulfillment and referral fees. Paid by the end of the payment cycle |
| Shipped units never checked in (inbound shortage) | Open an investigation between day 10 and day 50 after delivery. If WFS lost them, paid the estimated proceeds based on the average sales price, in the next payment cycle. No appeals |
| Damaged during Walmart’s testing because the packaging was insufficient | Inventory adjusted, no payment |
| Removed because it expired | Not reimbursed. Walmart removes items when the expiration date is within 30 days |
| Removal order arrives damaged or short | Dispute within 60 days of the deduction (30 days if the shipment never arrived). Valued at the listed price minus referral and fulfillment fees |
Source: Walmart Marketplace Learn, “WFS fees” (updated May 27, 2026), “Troubleshoot WFS receiving issues: open a dispute claim” and “WFS inventory: Remove items from a fulfillment center”, checked October 2026.
Does WFS pay automatically for lost units?
For units lost or damaged while WFS is holding them, Walmart’s fee guide describes a credit, not a claim you have to file. In practice that means two things can still go wrong. A unit can disappear from your available inventory without a matching credit, or a credit can be posted at a lower value than the sale price. Walmart’s guides describe no alert for either. You find both by reconciling the reports.
Inbound shortages are different. If WFS checked in fewer units than you shipped, nothing is paid until you open an investigation in the day 10 to day 50 window. That process is covered step by step in our guide to filing a WFS inbound investigation.
Where do you see lost and damaged units?
Two reports in Seller Center, under WFS → Reports, tell the whole story:
- Inventory Reconciliation. Walmart’s inventory ledger, built daily, with history back to January 1, 2022. Every unit received, sold, returned, removed, found, lost or damaged appears here as a line.
- Settlement. Every WFS fee and credit, with a reason code. The ones that matter here are LostInventory, DamageInWarehouse and FoundInventory. Reimbursements show with the transaction type Refund.
Source: Walmart Marketplace Learn, “WFS Reports: Inventory Reconciliation” and “Settlement” (May 2026), checked September 2026.
How do you check that every unit was paid?
- Export both reports for the same dates. One month at a time is easiest.
- List every lost or damaged line in Inventory Reconciliation, by item and date.
- Match each one to a Settlement credit with a LostInventory or DamageInWarehouse reason code.
- Net off found units. A FoundInventory line means a lost unit came back. Check whether the earlier credit was reversed, and don’t count the unit twice.
- Check the value. The credit should be close to the item’s sale price less the fulfillment and referral fees. A credit far below that is worth questioning.
- Open a Seller Support case for anything unmatched, with the item ID, the dates and the report lines. Walmart publishes no deadline for this, so raise it within the month.
WFS vs FBA: how lost inventory is paid
| Walmart WFS | Amazon FBA | |
|---|---|---|
| Lost or damaged in the warehouse | Credited by the end of the payment cycle | Reimbursed automatically since November 1, 2024. Manual case within 60 days if it doesn’t arrive |
| Value paid | Original sales price, minus fulfillment and referral fees | Based on the manufacturing cost you have on file |
| Inbound shortage window | Day 10 to day 50 after delivery | Day 15 to day 60 after delivery |
Source: Walmart Marketplace Learn “WFS fees” (May 27, 2026); Amazon Seller Central “FBA inventory reimbursement policy”, checked October 2026.
The value difference matters. On Amazon a lost unit is paid at your cost, which is why a wrong cost on file leaves money behind (see why Amazon’s payout can be below your cost). On Walmart the credit follows the sale price, so the risk is a missing credit rather than a low one.
Common mistakes
- Assuming credits always post. Nothing alerts you when a lost unit has no credit. Only reconciliation shows it.
- Treating an inbound shortage like a warehouse loss. Shortages need an investigation inside day 10 to day 50. Miss it and the units are gone.
- Weak packaging on fragile items. Damage in Walmart’s testing because of insufficient packaging isn’t paid.
- Letting dated stock run close to expiry. Walmart removes it with 30 days left and doesn’t pay for it.
- Ignoring FoundInventory. Match each found unit to its original loss before counting anything as missing.
USA vs Canada
The rules above come from Walmart’s US guides. Walmart.ca handles WFS inventory problems through Seller Support cases. Its Inventory Transfer Service guide says units misplaced or damaged by WFS are reimbursed at the average sales price minus fulfilment and commission fees. Source: Walmart Marketplace Learn Canada, “WFS Inventory Transfer Service: Overview”, checked October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Walmart pay for a lost WFS unit?
For units lost or damaged in a fulfillment center with Walmart at fault, the original sales price minus the fulfillment and referral fees.
Do I need to file a claim for lost WFS inventory?
Not for warehouse losses, which Walmart credits. You do need to check the credit arrived, and you must file an investigation for inbound shortages.
Which report shows WFS lost inventory?
The Inventory Reconciliation report shows the units. The Settlement report shows the credits, under the reason codes LostInventory and DamageInWarehouse.
Is there a deadline to question a missing credit?
Walmart doesn’t publish one for warehouse losses. Raise a Seller Support case as soon as you find a gap.
How RetailerBox helps
Most reimbursement services don’t cover Walmart. Our team reconciles WFS Inventory Reconciliation against Settlement every month, opens a Seller Support case for each unit lost without a credit, and files inbound investigations inside the day 10 to day 50 window. See our Walmart WFS reimbursement service and the full claim windows table.
Start with a free 6-month reimbursement audit: you add us as a user in Seller Center, never a password, and get a written summary within 48 to 72 hours.