Chapter 10: Competition and the Buy Box
What you'll learn: what the Buy Box is and how sellers share it, how to judge whether there are too many sellers, what to do when Amazon sells the same product, and what a suppressed Buy Box means.
What the Buy Box is
When several sellers offer the same product, Amazon.com features one of them as the main offer, next to the Add to Cart and Buy Now buttons. That's the Buy Box (Amazon also calls it the Featured Offer). Most shoppers buy from it without looking at other offers, so whoever holds the Buy Box gets most of the sales.
As a reseller, you don't own a listing. You add your offer to an existing one and compete for the Buy Box with everyone else selling the same product in the same condition.
How sellers share it
Amazon decides who gets the Buy Box and doesn't publish the details. In practice it comes down mainly to:
- Price, including any shipping charge. Offers priced close to the lowest competitive price do best.
- Fulfillment: FBA offers come with Prime shipping and Amazon's customer service, which counts for a lot with US shoppers.
- Your account: a healthy, reliable seller account.
- Stock: you have to have units available to win it.
When several FBA sellers are priced about the same, Amazon usually rotates the Buy Box among them, so each gets a share of the sales. That's why you can sell well on a listing that already has other sellers.
How many sellers is too many?
There's no magic number. What matters is how sales compare with the competition:
- Split the sales between the competitive sellers. Thirty sellers on a product that sells 2,000 a month can be fine; five sellers on a product that sells 25 a month means slow going for everyone (Chapter 8).
- Count competitive FBA offers, not every offer. Sellers priced well above the Buy Box rarely win it.
- Watch the trend. A seller count climbing fast often ends in a price war, with sellers undercutting each other again and again. In ArbiSource, hover over the magnifying glass next to the number of sellers to see how it has changed.
- Be wary of single-seller listings. A product with just one seller is often a brand's own product (private label) that retailers don't carry and you may not be able to sell. That's why a minimum of 2 sellers is a good starter filter (4.3).
ArbiSource takes seller counts straight from Amazon when it checks the product. Keepa may have checked at a different moment or counted differently (for example, including used offers). Small gaps are normal. If you see a big difference, look at the listing on Amazon.com itself, and email support with the example if something seems wrong.
When Amazon sells the product too
Amazon is often the toughest competitor on a listing. It tends to price keenly and can hold the Buy Box most of the time while it has stock.
- Check how often Amazon is in stock. On a Keepa chart, look at the Amazon price line (Chapter 9). If it's there almost all the time, there may be few sales left for anyone else.
- Gaps can be opportunities. If Amazon regularly runs out for weeks at a time, other sellers can do well in between. Base your profit on the price you'd sell at once Amazon is back.
- Don't try to undercut Amazon. It rarely works, and it drags the price down for everyone.
The suppressed Buy Box
Sometimes no offer appears in the Buy Box, and shoppers have to click See All Buying Options to choose one. That's a suppressed Buy Box. It often happens when the offers are priced above what Amazon considers competitive.
Sales are usually slower while the Buy Box is suppressed, because buying takes an extra click. When there's no Buy Box, the ArbiSource result header shows No Buy Box - Lowest Prime Offer with that offer's price and type (for example No Buy Box - Lowest Prime Offer: $53.75 (FBA)) in place of the Buy Box price. Some products show No Buy Box - Lowest FBM Offer with a price instead. Take extra care with these leads: check the history to see whether the Buy Box is normally there.
A word on restrictions
Competition is one reason a product might not suit you; restrictions are another. Some brands and categories need Amazon's approval before you can sell them, and restrictions affect every seller, new and established. If a product you like is restricted, it isn't a judgment on you. Run Check Restrictions in ArbiSource before you spend time on the Momentum checks, and see Part 6 for gating and ungating.
Putting Part 3 together
Before you move a lead forward, you should be able to answer:
- Does it sell? Regular rank drops, and sales that hold up over months (Chapters 8 and 9).
- At what price? The usual Buy Box price, not today's peak (Chapter 9).
- How much of that will be mine? The sales shared among competitive FBA sellers, allowing for Amazon (this chapter).
Those answers give you your Momentum rating in the Lead Check (Part 5):
| Momentum | What it looks like | Typical decision (if Match, Money and Safety are green) |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Steady sales, stable price, a fair share for you | Buy |
| Amber | One doubt: a recent dip, rising seller count, or Amazon often in stock | Test-buy a small quantity |
| Red | Few sales, a price that only works at a spike, or a crowded price war | Pass |
Whether you're allowed to sell the product is the Safety question, covered in Part 6.
Checklist
- I understand what the Buy Box is and why FBA helps me win a share of it
- I compare the number of competitive FBA sellers with the product's sales
- I check how often Amazon is in stock before buying
- I know ArbiSource shows "No Buy Box - Lowest Prime Offer" when there's no Buy Box, and to take extra care with it
- I can turn my Part 3 checks into a green, amber or red Momentum rating