7 Strategies for Winning the Amazon Buy Box
A recent Amazon study revealed, 40% of Americans when researching products begin their shopping journey by visiting the online retail giant Amazon. On the other hand, a mere 10% of online shoppers begin on Google.
Going by the information provided by the study. long gone are the day of just blindly listing an item on Amazon and hoping for the best. If you want to earn the big bucks you need to be in the forefront of Amazon product listing. The best strategy to get your items in front of Amazon millions of customers is by dominating Amazon’s precious buy box.
It’s been confirmed by Amazon and proven time and time again when a seller wins the Amazon buy box it drastically improves the seller’s opportunity to sell merchandise. Amazon keeps the exact formula for winning the buy box a secret. However, over the years there has been some proven methods that you can utilize to increase your chances of winning Amazon sellers most prized possession, the buy box.
Here are 7 tips on how to win the Amazon buy box.
Amazon advice # 1: First off, only Amazon sellers with Professional seller accounts are eligible to win the buy box. Now that we got that out the way, you need to crawl before you can walk. You need some selling experience, Amazon is not going to reward new sellers with their most precious piece of online real estate. The buy box is not given it’s earned.
As a new Amazon seller, you should you should expect to earn your buy box privilege between three to six months. keep in mind that’s only in a certain category. If you own the buy box in one listing don’t expect to own it in all your other listings. Newer sellers also are not eligible for the buy box because they need time for their customer satisfaction metrics to increase.
Amazon advice # 2: Don’t give away the kitchen sink. Many new sellers believe the only way to win the buy box is by competing on price. Although pricing is a very important factor in winning the buy box, it’s not the only factor. I have often won the box and not had the lowest price. Amazon considers other factors when choosing who wins the buy box for example. Overall price including shipping. Your account health which include a whole host of factors like your shipping speed, customer response time, how soon you upload tracking information, your item return and defect rate ext…
So one key to winning the buy box is by treating your Amazon account like a business do everything in your power to be a tried and true Amazon selling professional and you will be rewarded sooner or later with the buy box. I know many of you reading this still believe the price is the only thing that matters so if you’re one of those readers. Consider using tools like keepa.com Unimerc, Camel Camel Camel, thetracktor.com to assure your pricing stay competitive.
Amazon advice # 3: Have plenty of inventory. Amazon will check your stock availability. They are not going to reward sellers with the buy box who can not handle the inventory demands that arise once you win the buy box. Amazon will only award those sellers who have the necessary inventory levels to keep their customers consistently supplied and happy.
There are courses out there that teach sellers to show scarcity in their stock in hopes that it will trigger buyers, I better buy it now or it going to be gone response. That might work well on eBay but it no good on Amazon. Low stock on Amazon equals low to no sells. So if you want to up your sells on Amazon you need to up your inventory. Try using a drop shipper to increase your inventory levels. Companies like wholesale2b and Salehoo can aid you in increasing your inventory. The best part about it is there no need for you to store any of the products when using a drop shipper.
Amazon advice # 4: Did somebody say FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) If you’re not using Fulfillment by Amazon you should seriously consider it at least for several items. Allowing Amazon to handle your shipping and customer service is a thing of beauty.
For one, you have access to the millions of Amazon prime subscribers who often filter the search results to only show Amazon prime 2-day shipping products. Not only that your account profits from Amazon amazing service which will result in better feedback and shipping times.
Using FBA will improve your account metrics, which helps you win the buy box. However, there are some of you out there who are anti-Amazon FBA so if you’re one of those sellers you at least have to offer free shipping or a variety of other shipping options like expedite to compete with those sellers who utilize FBA. Want to learn how to drop ship on Amazon without using FBA consider joining my ds domination team.
Amazon advice # 5: Protect your order defect rate like your family’s livelihood depends on it. In many cases it does, for many sellers their only source of income is through Amazon. Your order defect rate is basically how Amazon grads your customer service.
There are 3 factors that determine your grade.
#1 Service Chargebacks, Which are considered unauthorized use of a credit card. I know you have no control over that, however, Amazon still requires you to handle this situation professionally.
#2 A to Z Guarantee claims, Amazon wants you to handle all customers with the best customer service possible that include those customers who wish to return an item. Often A to Z Guarantee claims is a result of a seller refusal to offer a refund or exchange for an item or just horrible communication on the sellers end. Most buyers will attempt to contact a seller several times before issuing an A to Z Guarantee claim.
#3 Negative feedback, if you decide to sell on Amazon you will eventually receive some negative feedback you just can’t keep everyone happy. In online retail issues arise that unfortunately are out of our control, for example, the post office loses a package, there an unforeseen manufacture defect or just a good old case of buyer’s remorse. No matter the issue it falls on you as the seller. You need to remedy negative feedbacks as soon as possible many buyers well remove a negative feedback if you offer a reasonable solution. Read this article on how to remove negative Amazon feedback.
Amazon Advice #6: Communication is key, information overload to a customer is better than no info at all, when you receive orders, communicate with your customers asap. Inform buyers of when they can expect to their package to arrive. Make sure you alert them to any issues with the shipping process. And always be sure to answer any and all question as soon as possible even the questions you receive are from interested customers who have not purchased yet. A seller who has great communication with their customers shows Amazon they are a professional and they really value the customer’s shopping experience.
Amazon advice #7: If you bring them they will buy. It’s been proven that Amazon rewards sellers who bring buyer to their site. Many sellers focus all their time on how to best rank well in the Amazon product search results. However, Amazon loves those sellers who promote their product off of Amazon and attract potential shoppers back to Amazon by clicking on their product advertising or link.
Here are several simple way to promote your products.
#1 Youtube – Make a short video review or slideshow of your product. Make sure to include your Amazon product link in the description so shoppers can click on it and navigate back to you Amazon listing.
#2 Pinterest – Pins pins and more pins. Pinterest is Amazing for generating traffic back to Amazon. Create a Pinterest board make sure the pins in board revolve around a lifestyle related to your product. For example, if your selling cookware be sure to include great pins related to cooking and related subjects. Include your cooking related products in the board and link back to your Amazon listing.
#3 Facebook – Don’t be shy let your friends and family know what you’re selling make sure you post several of you top selling items to your facebook personal account twice a day. However don’t over do it Facebook like business matters to stay to Facebook business pages. So create a Facebook business page related to your Amazon store it’s a great way to keep in contact with your customers and update them with you newest products. Also, consider joining facebook groups that are related to the items you sell. If your store is very niche related join several Facebook groups related to your product. Be sure to get active in those groups. Offer your advice and comment often make sure you link back to you store. Ask members to review several of your top selling items ask them to leave a product review and share your product.
If you want to learn more about driving traffic to your Amazon store consider the courses below.
Fb influence – which teaches you how to create a professional facebook business page.
Video Traffic Academy – Teaches you how to dominate and get to the top of youtube search results. I can tell you first hand that this works Amazing with product reviews and has pushed my sales of several products through the roof.
Power of Pinning – Quickly and easily make visual content that will sell your products and services. Apply simple marketing strategies that will increase the amount of traffic that you receive from Pinterest. expand your brands visibility and get more exposure by building a massive follower base of passionate Pinterest fans.
There you have it, 7 tips on how to win the Amazon buy box. Make sure you subscribe to my email list and RSS feed to stay up to date with the latest advice tips and news regarding e-commerce. Be sure to share this article on your favorite social media site. If you have any other great tips on how to improve your chance of winning the Amazon buy box please comment below.
