Product refunds in AWS Marketplace - AWS Marketplace

Product refunds in AWS Marketplace

All paid products in AWS Marketplace, regardless of pricing model, must have a stated refund policy for software charges. The refund policy must include the terms of the refund as well as a method of contacting the seller to request a refund. As a seller, the details of the refund policy are up to you. However, we encourage you to offer customers some manner of refund for usage of the product. You must comply with your posted refund policies. This topic provides information about the types of AWS Marketplace product refund requests, the related policy and approvals process, and how you can submit a refund request for a customer.

Refund request types for AWS Marketplace products

Customers can request different types of refunds for AWS Marketplace products. For AWS Marketplace products sold by AWS, refer to the refund policy page and then submit the contact support form using the AWS Support Center Console. If a customer requests a software refund directly from AWS, we instruct them to contact the seller using your posted support contact information for the product in question. Refunds of any AWS infrastructure charges are up to the discretion of AWS and are handled independently of software refunds.

If the product is sold by a third-party, buyers will be instructed to view refund policies on the product detail page. Software charges for AWS Marketplace subscriptions are paid to the seller of the product, and refunds must be requested from the seller directly. Each AWS Marketplace seller is required to include a refund policy on their AWS Marketplace page.

AWS Marketplace product refund policy and approvals

The following list outlines the AWS Marketplace refund policy and whether your approval is needed:

  • Free trials

    If you list your software as a free trial product, AWS can issue refunds on your behalf for software charges accruing within seven days of a conversion from a free trial to a paid subscription. Refunds issued in connection with free trial conversions require no action on your part. By enabling a free trial on a product, you are agreeing to this policy.

  • Private offers

    All refunds for private offers must be authorized by you before AWS can process them.

  • Software metering refunds

    If you meter the usage of your software by using the AWS Marketplace Metering Service, AWS can issue refunds on your behalf for software charges resulting from software metering errors. If these errors are common across multiple customers, AWS reserves the right to determine an appropriate refund for each customer and apply it directly to each customer. Refunds issued in connection with the AWS Marketplace Metering Service must be confirmed with the seller one time, but does not require the seller to confirm each individual refund. By using the AWS Marketplace Metering Service with a product, you are agreeing to this policy.

  • Subscription cancellation within 48 hours of purchase

    If a buyer cancels their subscription within 48 hours of a non-private offer purchase, AWS will issue a full refund (cancel with 100 percent refund). Refunds issued in connection with cancellation within 48 hours of purchase require no action on your part. After 48 hours, such buyer request is at your discretion. By listing your product on AWS Marketplace, you are agreeing to this policy.

  • Subscription upgrade

    If a buyer replaces an existing non-private offer subscription with a more expensive subscription or a subscription of equal value, AWS can issue refunds on your behalf for the lower-tier subscription. This is a two-step process for the buyer: Buy a new subscription and then request cancellation of the old subscription with a refund.

  • Subscription downgrade

    All downgrade subscription refund requests must be authorized by you before AWS can process them.

All AWS authorized refunds are processed automatically and require no action on your part.

AWS Marketplace product refund process

You can initiate refunds for your product software usage by submitting a Refund Request Form. Once received by the AWS Marketplace Buyer Support Team, a related support case will be created in the AWS Support Center Console, with the refund status noted in the subject line. Refund-related support is facilitated directly through these cases. For more information, see Accessing AWS Support.

The following procedure outlines how to request a refund for an external customer or an internal testing account.

To initiate a software refund for a customer
  1. Gather the following information from the customer:

    • The customer’s email address that is associated with their AWS account.

    • The customer’s AWS account number of the account used to subscribe to your product. Remind your customer that if they are the payer of an organization, they need to provide you with the AWS account ID for the linked account subscribed to your product.

    • The billing periods for which the customer would like a refund.

  2. Sign in to your AWS account and then navigate to the Refund Request Form.

  3. Enter the customer’s information in the form.

  4. Enter the Product ID for the product that your customer is requesting a refund for. You can find the Product ID in your daily customer subscriber report.

  5. For annual products where a customer is requesting a refund, upgrade, or downgrade, you must perform the following tasks:

    1. Verify the customer has purchased an annual subscription using your daily customer subscriber report (there might be a 24-hour delay).

    2. Provide a Subscription Cancellation Date in the comments field.

    3. Provide a description of the change that you're authorizing (refund, upgrade, or downgrade) in the comments field.

  6. Submit the form. We'll be notified and will begin to process the refund and issue it to the customer.

  7. An outbound case will be created in the AWS Support Center Console with status information on the refund request. The subject line will contain one of the following:

    • Completed – The refund was processed and no further action is required.

    • Pending – The refund will be processed once the current billing cycle ends.

    • Action Required – The request could not be processed, and we need additional information from you. You can respond directly to the support case; however, you will also need to submit a new refund request form.

  8. Once a refund is successfully processed, it will reflect on the customer’s account within 24–48 hours. However, it can take up to five business days for the funds to appear in the customer’s financial account.