Amazon Buy Box Guide 2023

How can one win the Amazon Buy Box?

Well, there is no certain procedure for the determination of the Buy Box winner. But one must be aware of the aspects that Amazon considers for the whole process. The following are certain Amazon Buy Box tips that would help sellers in getting their products featured on Buy Box.

• The seller must have a Professional Seller account.
• The seller must trade for a minimum of 3 to 6 months on Amazon.
• Also, he must appraise his products frequently and should maintain adequate inventory.
• He must sell new items rather than second-hand ones. There is a separate Buy Box for used items.
• The products must be provided at the finest landed price.
• He must possess a reliable record so that everything can be tracked, checked, and audited whenever needed.
• The seller should also provide customers with flexible shipping options, most importantly free options.
• He must also try to deliver the product well on time and avoid unnecessary details as much as possible.
• To become a top-notch seller on Amazon, it is very important to consider the customer’s feedback and ratings diligently.
• The seller must provide convenient fulfillment methods to all his customers
• An order defect rate that is less than 1 % must be tolerated by him to become a top-rated seller.

These are the few things that the sellers need to keep in their minds to get featured in Buy Box. However, if the seller has a Buy Box for a single product, there is no guarantee of retaining the same. The possession of the Buy Box changes frequently based on Amazon’s algorithm.

How to check Buy Box Eligibility? What are the requirements to win Buy Box Eligibility? Mention the criteria for eligibility for Amazon Buy Box?

For Buy Box eligibility, a seller needs to have an impressive performance that is high at all levels, and it is imperative to add that it should be above a mark as determined by the Amazon algorithm when looking at all the metrics. But the seller can also be exceptional at just a few of the required metrics. You don’t always need to have the lowest price to be Buy Box eligible.

Of course, being good at all the metrics can help win the coveted Amazon Buy Box. So, pay close attention to your fulfillment method, shipping time, order defect rate, availability, on-time delivery, feedback score, sales volume, refund rate, and price to name a few.

Sellers who are previously known as Amazon Featured Merchant Status and now with Buy Box Eligible Seller Status enjoy placement advantages for their listings on Amazon. The sellers whose listings are eligible to vie for the Buy Box and listings that do not win the Buy Box will be eligible for placement in the More Buying Choices box.

Customers can locate the listings that do not win the Buy Box or placement in the More Buying Choices box when they click the “used & new” link at the bottom of the More Buying Choices box. The following steps are needed to check Buy Box Eligibility:

• Click on the Inventory tab in Amazon Seller Central and select Manage Inventory.
• Click on the preferences tab.
• In the Column Display Section, locate the field for Buy Box Eligible.
• Select Show when available from the drop-down menu.
• • For a particular Stock Keeping Unit (SKU), you need to find and look at the Buy Box Eligible column. It will approve provided the seller is eligible.

Note: the seller will realize in due course that they are eligible to win the Buy Box for some products but not for other products.

New sellers eager to acquire Buy Box eligibility can speed up the process by selling some items through Amazon’s fulfillment services (FBA). If the seller is selling a small number of popular products at a competitive price through Amazon, it will enable him to receive Buy Box Eligible status even on those items not Fulfilled By Amazon.

A seller must fulfill the following requirements for Buy Box Eligibility:

Sellers are evaluated based on factors that have been carefully chosen to give customers the best shopping experience. Sellers are evaluated based on the following criteria for eligibility for Amazon Buy Box:

Performance Metrics

As an Amazon seller to ensure that your customers have a great experience, your Order Defect Rate, Cancellation Rate, and Late Shipment Rate are the metrics that evaluate eligibility. If your products perform better in the market; the chances are high that you will become eligible for the Featured Offer. So, it is imperative to evaluate the way you are faring on the Account Health page.

Quality of products

The quality is measured by metrics like Seller Controllable Return Rate (Returns and Refunds due to product-related issues) and Product Rating given by customers.

Order volume

To ensure that Amazon can accurately assess your performance, we require that you have sufficient order volume.

A seller’s eligibility to win the Buy Box may change over time based on the seller’s performance against the eligibility criteria mentioned above and the criteria are subjective to change depending upon several factors. It is anticipated that sustained seller performance will be helpful in achieving, and preserving, a seller’s eligibility to win the Buy Box.

What are the variables that affect the Buy Box?

Once a seller competes for the Buy Box, she must learn how to win it. Amazon’s algorithm compares numerous variables and evaluates to determine which gives the optimum value to the customer. The value assigned to each variable may change on a product-by-product or category-by-category basis. So even though a seller might be losing to a competitor on one product, the same seller might be winning that same competitor on a different product.

The important factors that affect the Buy Box are:

• Fulfillment Method
• Landed Price
• Shipping Time
• Availability
• Order Defect Rate
• Valid Tracking Rate
• Late Shipment Rate
• On-Time Delivery
• Feedback Score
• Customer Response Time
• Feedback Count
• Inventory Depth and Sales Volume
• Cancellation and Refund policy

Fulfillment Method

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service that helps businesses grow by providing access to Amazon’s logistics network. Businesses send products to Amazon fulfillment centers and when a customer makes a purchase, Amazon will handle receiving, packing, shipping, customer service, and returns for those orders. This effective, reliable eCommerce fulfillment delights the customer. Sellers who opt for FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) or SFP (Seller-Fulfilled Prime) have an edge over those who sell FBM (Fulfillment By Merchant) provided all other variables are equal.

Amazon rewards FBA with a perfect score for multiple variables including on-time delivery, shipping method, and inventory depth. As a result, it is highly unlikely for merchants to beat FBA sellers. In the year 2015, Amazon brought up and introduced Seller-Fulfilled Prime which will allow FBM sellers to reach Amazon Prime members without the need to house the goods in Amazon’s fulfillment center. This is of particular interest to sellers of heavy goods as they can make savings on shipping. Sellers who have enrolled themselves in Seller-Fulfilled Prime have a great chance of winning the Buy Box than FBA sellers. Sellers who are desirous of enrolling in the Seller-Fulfilled Prime program must have proven strong performance metrics and a proven record of meeting customers’ expectations to boost about.

Landed Price

This is the total amount at which the product is sold on Amazon. The lower the seller’s performance metrics as compared to other sellers, the lower they can keep the price to win the Buy Box. On the other hand, if their metrics are high, they might increase the price and still win.

Shipping Time

The time taken by a seller to ship an item is known as the shipping time. This has a high impact on winning the Buy Box, particularly for products such as perishable products and e-cards pertaining to birthdays. The shipping time includes working days: 0-2 days, 3-7 days, 8-13 days, 14 or more days during working days. The shipping time can be seen on the product detail page where it states the date the item should arrive between.

Readily Available Stock

Usually, if the product is not readily available in stock, you can’t win the Buy Box and it will give a chance to another seller. Therefore, sellers must keep adequate stock readily available for dispatch of their bestsellers. One exception to the above rule is when a product can be listed as “back-ordered” alongside a note on the product page. With backorders, the customer orders the item with the understanding that it is not immediately available and will be shipped later.

Backordered items can be featured in the Buy Box, however, immediately available products are favored.

Order Defect Rate

The order defect rate (ODR) is a key measure of your ability to provide a good customer experience. Order defect rate (ODR) represents the percentage of orders with one or more indicators of poor customer service during a given 60-day time. The following are the three components of order defect rate:

• Negative feedback rate
• A-to-Z Guarantee claim rate
• Credit Card Chargeback rate

To meet customer expectations, we require sellers to maintain an order defect rate under 1% to sell in the Amazon Store. An order defect rate above 1% may result in restricting your selling privileges, including suspension of seller-fulfilled offers.

Valid Tracking Rate

This performance metric from Amazon is the percentage of total package shipping with valid tracking. Valid tracking rate is considered based on the last seven and 30 days. To protect your Buy Box eligibility, valid tracking numbers should be provided for 95% of packages shipped. Anything less than this could affect their chances of winning the Buy Box and even selling in a certain category.

Late Shipment Rate

The Late Shipment Rate is the number of orders shipping later than the expected ship date. You can set your handling time in Seller Central, sellers who don’t do so will be given the default shipping time of 1-2 business days. A late shipment rate below 4% will aid your chances of winning a share of the Buy Box. This metric can be viewed for the last seven and 30 days in Seller Central.

On-Time Delivery

It represents the percentage of orders that buyers received by the estimated delivery date. Sellers should try to achieve a percentage of 97% or more. This metric can be viewed for the last seven and 30 days in Seller Central.

Feedback Score

Feedback rating is the culmination of all feedback scores the seller has received over the last 30 days, 90 days, and 365 days, with the most recent feedback having the greatest impact. You can see the Feedback rating in Seller Central.

Customer Response Time

Amazon will check responses for the last seven, 30, and 90 days and compares them for all competing sellers. It is considered, that replying to customers within 12 hours increases your chances of winning the Buy Box. If more than 10% of messages were replied to after 24 hours or never replied to, this can hurt the ratings. However, by marking no response needed, the seller can save themselves from negative points.

Feedback Count

The number of buyers who gave seller feedback is known as the Feedback count. If the feedback count is higher, it can lead to winning the Buy Box.

Inventory Depth and Sales Volume

Having enough inventory consistently will put you in a better position than if you have frequent fluctuations in maintaining optimum inventory.

Cancellation and Refund Rate

If you cancel on a customer who has made an order too often, it will negatively impact your sales performance.

What are the software tools instrumental to winning Buy Box?

Amazon’s much-sought-after Buy Box is the most happening thing in the online arena. Winning Buy Box can be a difficult task, but several available Amazon Buy Box software tools will support and help sellers to get success.

The tools that help in Buy Box Optimization are:

• Feedback Tools
• Shipping Tools

Feedback Tools

Reliable and positive feedback is vital for winning the Buy Box, and the more recent the feedback, the greater its outcome. For this reason, it’s important for sellers to always strive for maintaining quality customer service, prompt resolution to any issues, and professionalism.

Feedback Genius and Feedback Five are the two tools that aid sellers in feedback optimization. They will help in sending automatic and customized reminders to customers and allow for the monitoring of negative feedback. This saves the seller time, avoids unnecessary information, and positively improves all the feedback-related metrics.

Shipping Tools

Shipping time has a great effect on the Buy Box and is even more vital for time-sensitive products and perishable goods.. It is crucial to deliver your products on time and in an efficient manner is crucial to the success of an online business.

There are companies that help you optimize the shipping process regardless of whether you use FBA, FBM, or SFP.

Ship Works connects to your seller account and downloads each order. It then generates shipping labels, undertakes the process of invoices, governs customer tracking information, and updates the online status of each order. Ship Station is also similar, enabling sellers to create personalized packing slips as well as branded labels.

How many chances are there to win Amazon Buy Box?

There is absolutely no limit to the number of times to win an Amazon Buy Box. If the eligibility criteria are met and if there isn’t a lot of competition, there are chances to win the Buy Box. But if there are competitors with matching prices and all other things are equal, you and the other sellers should qualify equally for the Buy Box in the first place.

How can a seller get a place in Amazon Buy Box?

Getting on the Amazon Buy Box depends on the ranking system. This is a system that uses stars for the assessment process. Usually, when a customer feels satisfied with the product and service tends to give a four or five-star rating. A seller can attain a good feedback score if he provides a good quality product at a reasonable price along with excellent customer service.

To get into the Buy Box, the seller is required to pay attention to the following tips:

• Products
• Pricing and Shipping
• Customer service
• Asking for Feedback
• Inventory

Products

Sellers must pay attention to the titles and descriptions of the best-selling products on Amazon. He must ensure that a truthful and brief description of the product is written on the website as it will make it look more appealing. You must take enough time to add quality pictures and descriptions about the product on the site.

Pricing and Shipping

One of the most important factors for convincing customers of a product is its price. Make sure you keep it reasonable. Reduce prices in such a manner that the customers do not feel suspicious about the quality of the product.

Sellers should also pay attention to the shipping options for the product. Try to provide as many options as you can. Make room for a free shipping option. It is recommended that the seller must try getting the product shipped within 2 business days. He can also be provided with a tracking data option if it is necessary.

Customer service

Providing excellent customer service plays a significant role in getting positive feedback. It helps in building and protecting brand reputation. When a seller provides room for quick reimbursements if the stock runs out or gets lost while being shipped, it brings a positive response for the concerned party and his brand. Therefore, the seller must try to build a good bond with the customers by paying attention to what he wants and how his issues can be solved.

Asking for Feedback

Feedback is another most important factor in getting a place in Buy Box. So, the seller must focus on getting customers’ feedback once they shop for the brand. One can always request his precious response through emails. Certain guidelines must be followed for requesting feedback from the customers. This will go a long way in optimizing the sales volume.

Inventory

The sellers are required to pay special attention to their inventory. He must refresh his records frequently. The stock of the products which are quite popular among the customers must be sufficient. The seller is also recommended not to accept the orders in larger numbers if he cannot deliver them all. Not meeting the delivery targets would only tarnish the image of the business. Consequently, the review section will get filled with negative comments by the customers. Therefore, the seller must pay attention to all the inventory-related issues and try to keep them properly addressed as it will reflect in the form of better service to the customer.

What is meant by Amazon Missing/Suppressed Buy Box?

For brands that sell on Amazon, owning the Buy Box is a driving factor of success. After all, the Buy Box accounts for 85% of sales on the channel. As you are aware the designation of the Buy Box is processed through an algorithm that considers several factors. A product’s Buy Box or ‘Add to Cart’ status can change every single day.

When the Buy Box is either lost or suppressed, brands may suffer from an array of consequences. For example, the absence of a Buy Box results in a loss of sales, causing Amazon’s flywheel and organic rank to slow. Additionally, if a listing doesn’t own the Buy Box, any Sponsored Product ads will come to a halt.

Paying attention to your products’ Buy Box status is the key to keeping a successful presence on Amazon. It’s also important to know the difference between a lost Buy Box and Buy Box suppression. Here we explain in more detail and share considerations for brands that find themselves in this position. Brands that experience a missing or suppressed Buy Box can have several variables at play.

A Buy Box can be removed from a brand’s listing entirely even when there are offers available. Instead, a product can be purchased in the “Available from these sellers” section on the product detail page. This is caused when Amazon’s algorithm doesn’t identify a single seller with the best possible offer. As a result, a brand could be listed among the additional sellers also selling your product on Amazon.

This can also occur when Amazon recognizes your product is being sold for less on another marketplace, such as eBay. Finally, a Buy Box can go missing when an entire listing is suppressed or taken down. This is usually the result of a product being completely out of stock with no sellers having an active offer.

When this happens, the Buy Box is suppressed, the listing is removed from search results, and shoppers can only find your listing through a direct link or variation. But it can also be due to something more complicated. If your listing is proved to be incorrect or in violation of the channel’s guidelines, Amazon’s Andon cord team will raise a ticket to promptly remove your listing. An instance like this can occur for several reasons but is often triggered by a negative customer review.

Some of the most common causes for a missing or suppressed Buy Box include:

• Product Detail Page Discrepancies
• Hazmat or Safety Concerns
• Catalog Data Attributes in Violation of Amazon’s Guidelines

Product Detail Page Discrepancies

When a product advertises a different pack size than what a customer receives.

Hazmat or Safety Concerns

This flag is associated with a product that isn’t in line with Amazon’s safety standards or is considered a dangerous good.

Catalog Data Attributes in Violation of Amazon’s Guidelines

For example, this can happen when a product’s title character count is too long.

Regardless of the cause, your brand will be responsible for identifying and resolving a Buy Box suppression. In our experience, at this point clients have typically been notified by an Andon cord team or Amazon vendor manager. But that’s not always the case. When not sent a formal notification, Marketplace Strategy’s proprietary software, MPS Intelligence, alerts us when a client’s Buy Box is suppressed. From there, we work with Amazon support to get to the root of the issue.

What is Amazon Lost Buy Box?

Losing the Buy Box is different from when it goes missing or has been suppressed. When a product loses the Buy Box, the brand loses it to another seller with a better offer, as determined by Amazon’s algorithm. First and most simply, if a product is out of stock, it won’t be eligible to win the Buy Box.

But if this isn’t an issue and a product is still losing the Buy Box, price is likely to be the culprit. The product with the best price is typically awarded this coveted place.

But other factors considered are Shipment Times, Prime Eligibility, positive or negative feedback, and defect rate. If another seller on the channel ranks better in one or more of these areas, a product may lose the Buy Box.  Brands that sell on Vendor Central cannot adjust the retail price or determine purchase order size.

As a result, they have less control over whether these issues affect their products.  Seller Central brands have the power to establish a competitive price point, become Prime eligible by selling through Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), and control inventory more actively and potential stockouts.

Every brand can work to prevent Buy Box complications. Above all, proactive catalog management is the key. Brands need to be aware of whether their products own the Buy Box and what’s going on behind the scenes. This includes taking preventative measures like inventory management. Having a constant understanding of inventory levels allows brands (at least those on Seller Central) to adjust before there is a problem.

We also suggest becoming familiar with Amazon’s guidelines. Make sure a listing’s back-end attributes, creative, and content assets are clean and accurate. Otherwise, Amazon’s algorithm could pick up a discrepancy and suppress the Buy Box.

Finally, be sure to pay attention to a product’s price and how it works effectively with the competition on Amazon and elsewhere. If Amazon notices a product is offered for a more competitive price on another site, it could remove the listing entirely. Failure to be proactive and understand how to reinstate the Buy Box will result in your brand losing sales volume, which will lead to losing the momentum of Amazon’s flywheel, and might result in a sluggish and stagnating organic ranking.

Throughout your brand’s Amazon strategy, the Buy Box should be a common theme and focus. Remember what matters to Amazon’s algorithm and be aware of the issues that could contribute to its suppression or removal. A strong understanding will enable you to steer clear of the way for your brand in the direction of a resolution if necessary.

Conclusion

An Amazon Buy Box is a complex and multi-faceted system. Amazon gives a lot of control to third-party sellers, and you should always try to take full advantage of its incredible potential. Best customer experience is essential to give sellers the ability to raise their prices and still maintain a healthy Buy Box share. Finding the optimal pricing point for every product is crucial and challenging. If you are successful in keeping the right price for your products, you’ll probably win some sales. If it works out well, you’ll watch your profits soar. To stand out in Amazon’s most competitive arena, prospective sellers are supposed to keep abreast of the latest Amazon policies, market forecasts, and advertising trends. In addition to this, sellers need to have a clear insight into the pricing patterns regarding every single product as it will ensure that they don’t lose their money where they otherwise will be earning it. Price is a great influencer that will deeply impact Buy Box, so attaining the optimum price is of utmost importance.

Please contact us if you want to know more about the Amazon Buy Box Guide 2023.