All You Need to Know About Amazon Buy Box

Amazon FBA Box: The Key Metrics that Impact it and How to Win it

Hello folks; my name is Vova Even, and I’ve been an active seller on Amazon since 2016.

On YouTube and Udemy, I also post how-tos, tips, and secrets to compete in the Amazon battleground.

My primary aim is to assist Amazon FBA sellers at all levels in making more money and sustaining growth. 

Today’s article will give you a brief review of the Amazon Buy box, where I’ll go over all the latest techniques and the formula for qualifying for it.

Not in the buy box?

It doesn’t show?

Or did you lose it? – Whatever the case, this post has got you covered! 

If you don’t feel like reading more of the post, then I’ve got a YouTube video that covers everything from A-Z.

Here’s the link to the video.

The 12 Metrics To Win and Control the Amazon Buy Box

Metric # 1: The Fulfillment Method

First up, the fulfillment method is the variable that has the greatest impact on the Buy Box.

It refers to how the seller ships the items, i.e., whether you’re in an FBA or FBM listing. 

The simplest approach to improve your chances of getting the Buy Box is to use Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA).

That means the eligibility to win the Buy Box is higher for those who are FBA than those who are not. 

Suppose two sellers are on the same listing.

If you’re an FBA seller, and the hijackers (the other seller) are FBM, you get to hold the Buy Box most of the time.    

Metric # 2: The Price 

Simply put, the lower the price of the item, the higher the chance for you to get the Buy Box.

That’s exactly what happens when you’re fighting with the hijackers – they tank the price down, and so do you to fight for it. 

Metric # 3: The Shipping Time 

The shipping time works on pretty much the same formula as that of the price.

The faster you ship the item to the customer, the higher the chances for you of getting the Buy Box.

That’s another reason why using FBA is much better than FBM, where you have longer shipping times and hence, a much lower impact on the Buy Box.

So, again, let’s say you’re fighting against a hijacker who ships from China, which takes about 28 days for the item to arrive.

If you use FBA for your product, chances will be higher for you to have the Buy Box most of the time. 

Metric # 4: Late Shipment Rate

This one does not really apply to FBA sellers because Amazon takes care of their whole shipping process.

However, if you’re an FBM seller, the late shipment rate can significantly impact you. 

For instance, if you promised the consumer to ship their item today and you end up delaying it by just three days, it will negatively affect your Buy Box.

So here’s a piece of advice for all the FBM sellers out there – please ship on time! 

Metric # 5: On-time Delivery 

This one is pretty much like the metric number 4 we covered above.

For example, you have shipped a product, and you promised the customer he would get it within a week.

But, if he gets it after two weeks, this will have a huge negative impact on your Buy Box. 

Metric # 6: Valid Tracking Rate 

If you’re an FBM seller, and you fail to provide the complete tracking information to the customer, this might be another factor to negatively impacts your Buy Box eligibility. 

Again, it doesn’t apply to FBA sellers since Amazon takes full charge of everything from their tracking to delivery. 

Metric # 7: Order Defect Rate 

As you might have guessed, getting negative feedback about your store or A-Z claims from customers will largely put your Buy Box metrics down. 

The master advice here is to make sure you’re giving good customer service and providing great products at all times.

This way, you can avoid negative reviews and A-Z claims. Which, in turn, will make you eligible to get the Buy Box. 

Metric # 8: Feedback Score + Amount

The more feedback you have for your shop, the better it is for you.

For example, two shops compete for the same Buy Box, one with 500 seller feedback and the other with 10,000 feedback.

Just as you’d expect, the one with 10,000 feedbacks will probably win.

Again, your odds of winning the Buy Box are great if you compete against hijackers who have 50% positive feedback compared to your 99% positive feedback. 

Personally, I use email follow-ups or automatic emails to get more feedback and reviews.

You can use the automatic feedback request tools by:

Helium 10

Jungle Scout

Sellerboard

Sellerise

Metric # 9: Customer Response Time

The faster you respond to your customer’s queries, the more you excel as a seller on Amazon.

When they ask questions, you instantly get a notification in your Seller Central.

The quicker you respond to them, the better it is for your metrics. 

While we’re at it, I’ve got a little trick for how you can destroy your hijackers. When they fight with you for the Buy Box, destroy them with messages.

By this, I mean bombard them with messages through your buyer accounts till they get tired.

This way, they might find it hard to cope with so many messages, eventually making them leave the listing. 

Basically, bombarding them with messages will hurt their metrics, so remember to respond fast to your customers and destroy your hijackers to skyrocket your chances of getting the Buy Box. 

Metric # 10: Out of Stocks

If you frequently run out of stock on your account, your eligibility for the Buy Box gets highly affected.

When selling on Amazon, make sure you stay in stock.

It won’t just increase your eligibility but will also improve the performance of your keywords and rankings.

And if you run out of stocks, the Buy Box will simply rotate to another seller.

The Sellerboard and SoStocked software can help you stay in stock, and not overstock.

Metric # 11: Cancellation Rate

As a seller, try not to cancel your orders because doing so will negatively impact your Buy Box.

However, you might have to do that for a couple of reasons if you’re an FBM seller; for example, when a product runs out of stock in your warehouse, you’ll have to cancel the order. 

But the less you do it, the better your Buy Box will perform.

Metric# 12: Refund and Return Rate

For the refund and return rates, you need to make sure your products are good.

As an Amazon seller, the last thing you want is for customers to request a refund or return because this will hurt your Buy Box metrics.

Since you don’t want to lose money or lower your chances of receiving the Buy Box, try to keep the refund rate as low as possible.

The Bottom Line

Wrapping it up, I hope you now know how to control your Buy Box, and you can win it. 

Yep, there’s no way you can beat the Buy Box using a single secret; it must be defeated with a complicated web of metrics that must be tracked and improved.

But once you get the hang of it, just watch your profits soar! 

Happy Selling! 

See you in the next guide, 

Vova :)