Playing By The Book: Trying To Win The Buy Box

The bottom line is, it is really hard to the buy box if you are just starting out as a seller. So what is this buy box? When browsing on Amazon, customers who navigate to a product’s main page and click on the “offers” links below the product description (as indicated by the red circle on the screenshot below) will be able to have a look at the total number of sellers who are offering a certain product. The thing is that since multiple sellers are allowed to sell the same product, you are all competing for the buy box as well. And, if there are more sellers for a particular product then you are going to have a tough time getting that sweet, sweet spot. Nearly 70% of the total business on Amazon happens on the buy box, so you should pay attention to this.
Here are a few things that Amazon wants you to know if you want that revered box:

Pricing

• You need to price your products competitively. Customers tend to buy prodcuts which have a low price.
• Watch your competition to stay competitive. View the price of the offer that is currently winning the Buy Box. On the Manage Inventory page, you can click on Preferences button, and select Show when available for the current Buy Box winning price. Buy Box winning prices are displayed for “New” condition listings only.

Availability

• Keep stock available. If you have no current stock for a product, you cannot win the Buy Box. Use inventory planning best practices to keep your popular products in stock.
• Update your inventory. Customers who submit orders for products that are not in stock are likely to leave negative feedback, especially around the holidays. To ensure that buyers cannot place orders for out-of-stock items, keep your inventory updated.
• Plan vacations. If you are going on vacation, make sure that customers are not left waiting for orders to arrive. See Listings Status for more information.

Fulfillment

• Offer multiple shipping options on your products, including free shipping. You can manage your available shipping options in Shipping Settings.

Customer service

• Customer service is measured in numerous ways. Excelling in all areas can help you succeed on Amazon. The Account Health page on the Performance link can help you track your customer metrics.