In this article, I will share with you how to win the Amazon buy box.
Welcome to the exciting world of Amazon third-party selling, where the coveted Amazon Buy Box reigns supreme! This powerful tool is the key to unlocking a wealth of sales opportunities and boosting your profits as an Amazon seller. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the secrets behind the Amazon Buy Box, unraveling its inner workings and equipping you with the knowledge to maximize your earnings.
So, if you're ready to take your Amazon sales to new heights and master the art of the Buy Box, join us on this fascinating journey!
What is the Amazon buy box?
Whenever you jump onto any single Amazon listing and buy the product. The yellow button that says “Buy Now”, that’s the buy box.
Now, this is where Amazon shows an Amazon seller that is featured on the buy box button. Upon clicking the button to purchase the product, they attribute the sale to the Amazon seller whose name appears in the Buy Box, thus securing the transaction.
Why are Amazon sellers fighting over the buy box?
Controlling the Amazon buy box is important and beneficial to Amazon sellers because almost 85% of all sales on the product listing will go to the seller that is featured on the buy box – the person who controls the buy box.
Simply, being featured on the buy box will give the Amazon seller the opportunity to have that 85% of the sales. Now, this will give the seller more revenue and, obviously, more profit.
What is the suppressed buy box?
There are cases whereby the products on an Amazon listing have no featured Amazon seller on the buy box. This is called the suppressed buy box or buy box suppressed. Amazon does this because the current price being offered by sellers on the listing is too high.
How to know if the product listing is buy box suppressed?
When you open a product listing, the buy box button is not present. In exchange, you’ll see the “See All Buying Options”. And if you click the said button, it’s going to load up all the listings on the product.
Keep in mind that Amazon is always looking at the price of the product and is making sure it’s competitive, but also considers the buy box as a fulfillment option. Amazon really cares about customer experience and is interested in making sure the customer gets a wonderful experience on Amazon. What this means is not only the customer gets a good price but also the duration of when the product will arrive at them.
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How to win the Amazon buy box
All information shared on this topic is based only on my personal experience and from other Amazon sellers. Amazon does not disclose its algorithm on how and to whom they give the buy box, but we can kind of understand how it works.
Price
This is going to have the biggest impact on your position. The likelihood of winning the buy box out of all people on the listing is if you have the cheapest price. Then most likely you’ll win. Basically, if your price is low, Amazon will give you the buy box. Remember that Amazon focuses on a good selling experience for the customer and a big part of that is by being able to offer low prices.
Fulfillment options
Whether you are doing FBA or FBM, again, remember that Amazon prioritizes the quality of service for their customers. And this, in particular, focuses on speed. Amazon understands customers want their products as soon as possible. With this in mind, Amazon prefers its own logistics service for its buyers and gets it on time. It comes free as part of the Prime membership they offer.
Understand that Amazon prioritizes FBA sellers because they can offer free Prime shipping to the customers, given the fact that the products are already in the Amazon warehouse.
Two types of Fulfilment on Amazon
Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA)
FBA Amazon sellers in the buy box most of the time. Amazon ships the product from its warehouse to the customer.
Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)
You ship the products from your warehouse to the customer.
Note: Sometimes FBA sellers can sell at a higher price compared to FBM sellers and still win the buy box because of the shipping.
How to win the buy box if you’re an FBM seller?
Based on my observation, FBM sellers can still win the buy box against FBA sellers. Although, you might need to consider a few things.
Cheaper prices than FBA sellers
You can still win the buy box by selling 10% cheaper than FBA sellers.
Metrics and account health
Amazon wants to see that you can give excellent service to customers consistently, and Amazon measures that through its metrics.
Amazon metrics:
- Perfect order percentage- measured by dividing the total number of perfect orders in the last 90 days (least 95%).
- Shipping time- measured by how long it takes you to get your products from your warehouse and to the customer. By doing this, Amazon will be confident that you deliver excellent customer service.
- Order defect rate- it goes up when you have many problems with your products and, of course, it will reflect on you as an Amazon seller. The lower the order defect rate, the more chances of winning the buy box.
Win the Amazon buy box now!
Knowing how to win the Amazon buy box is essential to you as an Amazon seller. Winning the buy box is all part of selling on Amazon. You have to stay winning in the Amazon game and maintain good account health, so you can keep on selling and growing your business.
If you're still interested in broadening your knowledge, you can read our previous article about How to buy and resell on Amazon, How to find items sold by Amazon, and How to create Invoice for non VAT registered Amazon sellers.