Amazon Business

UVM has a partnership with Amazon Business in order to simplify the purchasing process, increase visibility, and allow you to take advantage of the wide selection and competitive prices of the Amazon marketplace. This central account will also ensure that your purchases are compliant with UVM's tax-exempt status.

Buyer Beware

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Online orders general info: You may receive a bill from FedEx for duties and taxes on an international Amazon order if the seller did not include an "Import Charge" at checkout.

This is due to recent tariff changes that have ended the de minimis exemption for many packages, making the recipient responsible for these fees unless the seller chose to pay them upfront. You are also responsible for any brokerage fees FedEx charges for handling customs clearance. Be wary of scams, and verify any bills by checking the tracking number on the official FedEx website. 

What to do if you receive a bill

  • Verify the bill: Go to the official FedEx website and enter your tracking number to confirm the charges are legitimate.
  • Check the seller's policy: Review the item's description on Amazon to see if it was listed as "delivered duty paid" (DDP) or "delivered duty unpaid" (DDU).
  • Contact the seller: If the seller was supposed to cover the costs but didn't, contact them for a refund. They may have a policy to reimburse you for these unexpected charges.
  • Pay the bill: If you are responsible, you can pay FedEx through the link in their email or SMS, their online payment portal, or FedEx Billing Online. 

What to know about the charges

  • Tariffs are paid by the recipient: If the seller did not collect an import charge at checkout, the responsibility to pay customs duties and taxes falls on the buyer.
  • Brokerage fees apply: FedEx will add its own charges for the service of clearing the package through customs.
  • Recent tariff changes increased the likelihood of bills: The end of the de minimis exemption means many more packages are subject to import duties, leading to confusion and surprise bills for shoppers. 

How to protect yourself from scams 

  • Be skeptical of immediate payment requests: FedEx will generally notify you via email or SMS after the shipment has been delivered and cleared customs, not before.
  • Do not provide personal information: Do not reply to any emails or texts asking for personal information. Go directly to the official FedEx website to make payments.
  • Verify with the tracking number: The tracking number is the most reliable way to confirm the authenticity of a request

Contact Us

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  • Holly LeBlanc, Team Lead, 656-1300
  • Melanie Broe, Card Programs Specialist, 656-1215
  • Michael Buechler, PurCard Specialist, 656-1198
  • Lori Laquerre, PurCard Specialist, 656-0885
  • Becky Maglaris, PurCard Specialist, 656-1214

purcard@uvm.edu
Phone: 802-656-4192

Disbursement Center
205 Waterman
Burlington, VT 05405

Through this centralized Amazon Business account, you will have immediate access to:

  • Free 5-8-day shipping on orders over $25
  • Pricing and quantity discounts
  • Access to a specialized Customer Service team (866) 486-2360
  • Enhanced reporting features

As always, it is best to use UVM’s contracts and pricing agreements. Questions about UVM’s contracts and pricing agreements should be directed to purchasing@uvm.edu.
(Office supplies and scientific laboratory supplies are mandated through our Staples and Thermo Fisher contracts and are not allowable from Amazon.)

Please note that it is not allowable for individuals to use UVM's Amazon business account for personal purchases (using your own personal credit cards)

This type of activity puts UVM’s sales tax exemption with the State of Vermont at risk. Individuals must deactivate any personal credit cards associated with the UVM Amazon business account effective immediately. It is the individual's responsibility to calculate the state sales tax due to the State of Vermont when completing personal tax forms.

All Amazon accounts and purchases must be consolidated into the centralized University of Vermont Amazon Business account. If you are unsure of how to activate or deactivate your account, or use Amazon Business, please see the reference guide (PDF) or accompanying videos for further guidance. These resources include instructions on what to do if you are already using your @uvm.edu account on Amazon.com.

Tax Refund Process

  1. Go to “Your Orders” on Amazon.
  2. Locate the item that was charged tax and click the “Contact the Seller” button.
    • If the button is not there, call the ATEP support line at 1-888-280-9552.
  3. Enter the subject as “Tax Exemption Refund Request.”
  4. Include the order number and the amount charged.
  5. The seller is required to respond within 72 hours. The seller may ask for some additional information or they may simply issue the refund.

Please contact the PurCard team (purcard@uvm.edu) if you have further questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I register for UVM Amazon business account?

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Through this centralized Amazon Business account, you will have immediate access to: 

  • Tax exemption from the Vermont state sales tax
  • Free two-day shipping on orders over $49. All qualifying orders will indicate free shipping on the product detail page. This information is displayed next to the item’s price when adding to your cart.
  • Free standard shipping on eligible orders at $35
  • Pricing and quantity discounts
  • Access to a specialized Customer Service team (866) 486-2360
  • Enhanced reporting features

Can I use the UVM Amazon account for my personal purchases, since I use my firstname.lastname@uvm.edu account for my home shopping?

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No, we cannot personally take advantage of the benefits of the UVM Amazon business account. For example, individuals are not given an exemption from Vermont state sales tax. Only purchases for the University are granted this exemption.

What happens if I do not register my purchasing card with the UVM Amazon business account?

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If you do not register with Amazon and are charged VT state sales tax, you will be expected to reimburse the University.

Can cardholders use their email accounts that end in med.uvm.edu for their UVM Amazon business accounts and keep their uvm.edu addresses for their personal Amazon accounts?

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Cardholders can only register their account using the email with which they are invited. The invite will be sent to your uvm.edu email address.

Does a temporary password always go to your email account when setting up your Amazon Business Account?

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There are no temporary passwords used during any part of the registration process. If the cardholder is prompted to enter a password (as opposed to creating a password during the registration process), it is because they already have an existing account set up with the email address they are trying to use. If they do not remember the password (some people don’t remember even making the account), they can use the forgot password link to reset their password. The cardholder will receive an Amazon email with a password assistance code.

Can cardholders use their UVM netID (first initial, last name) email address for their Amazon Business Account and keep their first name-last name UVM e-mail address for their personal account?

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Cardholders can only register their account using the email with which they are invited.

  • If you are added with firstname.lastname@uvm.edu and have already been using that email on an account for personal purchases, you can choose to split off your personal order history and assign it to a new email account (gmail.com, yahoo.com, etc.).
  • If you want to use netID@uvm.edu as the new email, that is fine. The Disbursement Center must work with Amazon to register this alternate email account.
  • If a cardholder wishes to register a different uvm.edu email address, please email purcard@uvm.edu with this request. We will send this request to Amazon to initiate a new invitation.

I didn’t register with Amazon within the 7 days, and the invitation has expired. What do I do?

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Email AB-Services@amazon.com to request a new invitation.

I am a new UVM Purchasing Cardholder. I need access to the UVM Amazon business account. What do I do?

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The UVM PurCard application has been modified to ask whether the cardholder anticipates purchasing at Amazon.com. Email AB-Services@amazon.com to request a new invitation.

After setting up an Amazon Business Account, past history of spend disappeared. Is this correct?

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Whether or not the account includes past order history depends on how the account was registered.

  • If the cardholder has already been using an account with their uvm.edu email for university purchases, they should migrate the account over (Scenario 2 of the Amazon Reference Guide (PDF).
  • If the user has used their uvm.edu email on an account to make personal purchases, they can choose to split off this old history and start fresh with a clean account (Scenario 3 of the Amazon Reference Guide). The old history will be  attached to a personal email account such as gmail.com or yahoo.com.  The business account will be the uvm.edu email account.

Since we are all under the umbrella UVM Amazon business account, can other UVM employees see my purchases?

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No, order history is only viewable by the cardholder, with your Amazon login. No one else can see this order history.