Is It Possible to Make an Amazon Return After 30 Days?

Updated March 27, 2024 by Kyle James
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comments
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I’ve written about the Amazon Return Policy in detail so I won’t reinvent the wheel with this post, but rather I want to talk about a clever Amazon return policy hack that I think you will find useful. It has to do with trying to return something after 30 days. If you’ve ever tried to do this on their website, you’ve noticed that items become “unreturnable” 30 days after the date of delivery. But alas, I have a clever workaround and here are the details to make it work for you…

Is It Possible to Make an Amazon Return After 30 Days?

How I Made It Happen

I just started a Live Chat session with Amazon and asked if I could make a return even if it was after 30 days.

Make sure to go through the automated chat first then ask to chat to an actual human.

Pretty simple, right?

I told them that I was a few days over 30 and asked if there was any way they could make an exception especially since I’ve been a loyal Prime customer for years.

The live chat operator verified if the return window had indeed closed, then immediately got back to me and APPROVED the “beyond 30-day” return.

Amazon Live Chat

Will It Work For All Prime Members?

I think so, YES.

You literally have nothing to lose so you might as well try it.

If for some reason they won’t let you return something after 30 days, selling the item on eBay is always a good fall-back option.

See Also: Buyer Beware: Avoid this Amazon Bait & Switch Price Trick

How Often Can I Do This?

I’m thinking this has something to do with how often you order from Amazon.

My family places a few Amazon orders every week and spends quite a bit of money in a calendar year.

It would make sense that Amazon is much more likely to take back a return after 30 days if you’re a frequent shopper as they want to keep you a “happy” customer.

Let me know in the comments if you have any evidence to backup or refute my claim.

BONUS: You Might Even Be Able To Keep the Item

Amazon calls it a “Returnless Refund” and it means they don’t want the item back for one reason or another.

I was surprised that Amazon not only let me return something after 30 days, but they told me to keep it as well.

I’d call that a win-win dealio for sure.

Ask the Reader: Have you ever asked for an Amazon return after your 30-day return window was closed? How did it work out?


By Kyle James

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Heather

I just did this with an item that was 7 days past the return window and it worked. Thanks for the idea.

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Patti

Thank you for this tip! This just worked for me. So happy!

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Sarah

Oh my goodness, thank you for posting this! Just tried it and it worked! Followed your “kill em with kindness” request and they were happy to help! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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Rhonda

Yeah the kind attitude will get you a lot further than you think. I work in store Walmart customer service where I will bend over backwards to help someone out if they are nice to me. Likewise, I’m determined to stiffen and follow policy to the letter if the customer is a jerk!😇

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Michele

Thank you! I just did this for 3 items that were 1 to 3 days past the return window. I do order A LOT from Amazon.

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sandy

did not work for me. this was a month after the return window closed. bought a (still new) small computer part i didn’t need anymore but they told me to email the manufacturer first and then go back to amazon if the manufacturer is unable to help. they said they will try to escalate the request and get a supervisor’s approval for return if the manufacturer can’t help. In other words, im out of luck. Glad it worked for everyone else though!

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Rhonda

Well there’s a big difference in forgetting & running a week over v.s. fooling around for 4 weeks or more to try and return something.

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B fuqua

It typically has to be an item sold & shipped by Amazon for this to work.. it’s the same way with the hack I posted just a moment ago..

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Kristen

Sandy, this same thing just happened to me. I tried talking to customer service 3 times and got the same response each time: to contact the manufacturer and discuss the item warranty.

I politely requested to escalate the issue to a supervisor and was told “it is past the return date so a return cannot be done. The supervisor will tell you the same thing.”

I asked again to please escalate the issue and was transferred.

The supervisor reviewed the discussion I had with customer service and immediately stated that he CAN, in fact, process a return.

All in all, it took some time and effort but it DID work!

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Sara

I’m having a hard time figuring out how to start a Live Chat Session. Is it possible it isn’t available to me?

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B fuqua

If you go to the help section you should be able to find it somewhere at the bottom. you can also just type in Amazon Customer Service on your web browser and you should be able to find the options for contacting them. They much rather chat than have people call so I fo think it’s Available to everyone

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Barbara

Just worked for me too! Took about 30 seconds and got a full refund!!!! I’m thrilled! Thank you!

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David

Just tried it and worked for me, 3 days outside return window.

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Sean

Thank you for posting this! Did it this morning about 10 days overdue and it was fine! Beautiful.

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KEVIN

It works! Mine was 12 days past the return window and they still refunded me. The kinder you are the the better!

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John

Computer says no; l am autistic and have very bad memory problems; l thought an item had been returned, though found the box in my house with the item, totally sealed and in pristine condition; l tried to explain this to the advisor, though in vain,
as she kept saying the system wouldn’t allow it. High paying/user of Amazon goods, several hundred in the last few months and they treat me like this; we’re all human and errors do happen, though, it pretty obvious that Amazon believes this not to be so (laugh) the errors they made over many years with me; though, sorry, just doesn’t cut it, when the error is yours…..disgusting customer service….l remained calm and polite, didn’t get me anywhere:(

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Rhonda

You didn’t mention how long past 30 days this attempt was, I’m guessing more than just a week or so. Lately everyone is so entitled , they fail to see that we (a customer service worker at large retail) hear everything as an excuse for what they want done knowing we are not supposed to do it. We are only following the rules we’re required to follow. I will do everything I can to help someone out if Possible, if they are nice to me with a reasonable mistake. WEEKS or months later isn’t reasonable. She probably thought what I just did, someone with a memory deficit should incorporate better routines to ensure you can’t overlook/forget your box to return instead of blaming the c.s. person who doesn’t have any control over the policy. 🤷‍♀️

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B fuqua

From now on just submit returns for everything you buy even if you don’t plan on returning it and save the labels since they will work for months later and you always get a refund when you ship it back even though Amazon tells you you have 14 days I’ve been shopping on their daily since 2012 & it deff works 😝

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Sheila

Yes, I have used Amazon chat for help in returning an item that I forgot to return in the return window.

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Rhonda

I have an Amazon prime membership and shop fairly often, and yes it does work. I don’t think they would approve it on a frequent basis but they will do it. I have also had good luck with Walmart.com returns and had them tell me to keep the item & do whatever I wished with it. Sometimes the shipping costs on return is just more money lost & isn’t worth it to the company.

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B fuqua

There is actually a much smarter way to do this lol.. maybe I should start my own blog..🤣 if you have an inkling of an idea you might want to return something submit for the return and print the label or screenshot the QR code for the return. Amazon will usually mention that u have 14 days to return the item. However, you can ship the item back to them using the label or QR code months later and you’ll always still get your refund. 👌🏻😊 your welcome!

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Lorraine

Worked for me, thank you very much, was 6 days outside of the return window, I am a prime member, don’t know if that mattered or not. Thanks again for the advice.

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