Eligibility bug
It has happened too many times to be an accident. At least once a week, someone posts here that they have lost buy box eligibility. ( For those ESL readers, this is not about losing the buy box. It is eligibility for the buy box. )
I remember typing those very words back in 2017. 'Eligibility for the buy box'. Not the buy box, but eligibility for it. It took me three exchanges with seller support to get them to comprehend the problem.
Doe anyone else remember the great buy box eigibility bug of 2017? It hit hundreds of us in the span of a week. Some of us lost eligibility entirely. Some had it going on and off in 12 hour cycles. People used to joke about 'being on the night shift' or 'being on the day shift'
For most of us, it was no joke. It bankrupted at least one person that I know of.
It took almost a month to get it fixed. Half of that time was spent just getting seller support to understand the problem. And most of the other half was spent convincing seller support that it was an Amazon mistake, not something that the seller triggered or deserved.
When it was fixed, we thought that it was fixed permanently. And it appeared to be. Nobody had any problems for the rest of 2017.
2018 passed with no problems, as did 2019, and 2020. It continued to be dormant in 2021.
I first heard of a new case in 2022. I dismissed it, thinking that the seller had screwed up and was unable to understand that. A few more cases popped up in late 2022.
It hit me in the spring of 2023. I went through the predictable evasions, denials, and incorrect solutions from seller support. I contacted a mod, who got it fixed. Then it hit me again, later in 2023. I got a case number, ignored the SS replies, and went straight to a mod. Again it was fixed.
Now it is clear that the bug is spreading. More and more sellers are reporting the loss of eligibility. And the replies that I see from mods treat each case as if it were an isolated event.
When is someone going to connect the dots?
Amazon, you have a problem. You have had this problem for at least five and a half years. Sellers lose eligibility for the buy box, and then they struggle to get it fixed. And nobody seemms to be trying to fix the root cause.
50 replies
Seller_8TlCpNhHELXAz
I have the exact same problem. I am selling only books and all FBM.
It is extremely frustrating. Here is my post and no help from mods yet.
Look at my metrics and critique. Maybe the 300+violations triggered it? But they are high price errors, it should not effect my BB, right?
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/353fb5e8-c8ba-4f6e-b11e-70355eab2ee1?postId=8cd083f0-f8b6-45e3-86c7-9b7803b0daa0
Seller_keSnEDesLFVwv
Some? Sorry. Cooper, but it is not 'some listings'; it is ALL listings.
"A listing"? This is an account-level problem. You are responding to this as if it were a problem with a particular ASIN.
This is a problem with sellers' accounts.
Seller_fYZQSOwPn9reS
This is exactly what has happened to my account. This is the third or fourth round of losing eligibility on all of my listings despite having a healthy account with no issues.
For context, we sell new and used books, have been for well over a decade. In the past we have waited it out but this time we have gone without sales for two weeks. In the past 7 days we sold 0 books. In the past 30 days, 16 books. In the previous 30 day period we sold 80 books.
This is a devastating hit and I cannot get assistance from anyone. I get the same boilerplate explanation that offers no assistance.
Seller_fYZQSOwPn9reS
I continue to get no answers about my account. This is day 10 with absolutely no sales. This is not normal. It's like I no longer exist to Amazon after 12 years of selling on their platform. Here's my most recent thread, which I made after spending an hour on the phone with three different departments.
Seller_keSnEDesLFVwv
BUMP.
I'm still waiting for someone from Amazon to address this issue.
Just to clarify the issue:
1) This is not about the buy box. This is about eligibility for the buy box.
2) This is not about a particular listing. This is about all listings - the entire account becomes ineligible.
Seller_keSnEDesLFVwv
I had no risk factors and no performance issues. My account was perfect. I had all zeros and all hundreds. If anybody deserved eligibility, I did.
I could have been the poster boy for selling books on Amazon.
Please explain how this happened to ME. My account was PERFECT.
And when I contact seller support to get it fixed, they do not even understand what I am talking about. They ask for an ASIN, while completely failing to understand that this is an account issue, not an ASIN issue.
You have a bug. SS does not understand this, and it is not clear that you do either.
Seller_mNG3vArQSKR3a
Hi @Cooper_Amazon,
We are facing the same issue, and it's been quite a long time since we have been dealing with this. All of our FBM listings are not eligible for the buy box. Our account is healthy, and our account metrics are really good. We created the Selling Partner Support case multiple times about this issue, but it was of no help. Please take a look at this case as it is important for our business. Thank you, and I am looking forward to your positive response.
Seller_P3C8jJlRRwIR6
We have gone through the same issue about 4-5 times in the last year. All metrics are great, and the prompt of no eligibility, and not being able to discuss the reasons keep on coming. Support is reluctant to escalate, by saying and repeating the same exact prompt, while we are days in with very little sales. Something is going on, that is becoming recurrent and support keeps on being unhelpful and repeating what they "have to say".
We have put hours and hours into getting this resolved, via messages and calls, and nothing new has come out. Try calling during the weekend and you'll be waiting a good hour to get on the phone with someone, only to hear the same thing.
This seems to be a bad mix of system issues, support unaware of system issues, and support with extremely limited action capabilities. It is frustrating to be waiting for so long, then get the "there's nothing support can do, is there anything else I can help you with?"... unacceptable.
