If you’re selling on Amazon you’re in great company. Last year, more than 2 million marketplace sellers sold more than 2 billion items, worth tens of billions of dollars. The sales competition on Amazon is fierce, with the same product often sold by multiple merchants (and sometimes Amazon too).

In every sale, only one seller wins and the major factor determining who makes the sale is the Buy Box. For more information on how to plan, build and execute your entire marketplace seller strategy, download the Marketplace Sellers Guide.

The Buy Box highlights which seller offers the best overall customer experience and value. Only one seller can be chosen and featured within the “Add to Cart” button on the right of the product page, so the million dollar question (quite literally in some cases) is how do you increase your chances of winning the Buy Box?

Here are 5 important lessons that will help you win the Amazon Buy Box:

1. Aim for an Excellent Seller Rating – The Seller Rating is an overall assessment of customer experience. Reliable sellers are a better option for consumers as they are more likely to get high quality products, on time, and with great customer service. Sellers with the highest seller rating will have first shot at the Buy Box. A few key metrics to keep in mind that affect seller rating:
   1. Perfect Order Performance (POP) – percentage of orders accepted, processed and fulfilled without issues
   2. Order Defect Rate (ODR) – percentage of orders which generate negative feedback
   3. Pre-Fulfillment Cancellation Rate – how much of your products are in stock
   4. Last Ship Rate – number of orders confirmed after the promised shipment date
   5. Percent of Orders Refunded – this may indicate inaccurate stock or faulty products
2. Consider Your Fulfillment Method – Sellers that use Amazon’s fulfillment service have a much better chance of winning the Buy Box. If you’re a new seller and keen to acquire Buy Box eligibility you can speed up the process by selling select items through Amazon’s fulfillment services, which can help you to receive eligibility on all items, even those not fulfilled by Amazon.
3. Lower Your Landed Price (but not too much!) – Price isn’t the “be all and end all” but a low total price (including shipping in the US, or shipping and VAT in Europe) can certainly help. Keep a careful eye on the Buy Box winning price within the “manage inventory” page and stay competitive!
4. Shorten Your Shipping Time – Much like pricing, how long an item takes to ship and the projected shipping vs. actual shipping time both impact your ability to win the Buy Box. For time-sensitive and perishable items, shipping varies, but Amazon generally weighs shipping based on the following time frames: 0-2 days, 3-7 days, 8-13 days and 14+ days.
5. Keep Stock Available – Amazon wants shoppers to find what they are looking for and if your item is Out of Stock, Amazon will get it from another seller. Furthermore, if you have no current stock, you cannot win the Buy Box. The more you maintain product stock and ensure that your inventory information is updated, the better your chances of winning the Buy Box.

For further tips on winning the Buy Box, take a look at Feedvisor’s Buy Box Bible.  Need fast, low-cost payments from international marketplaces like Amazon, Lazada, or Wish? Sign up for Payoneer – it’s free!

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