“Should I Sell a Product Where Amazon Is the Only Seller?”
Hi everyone,
I recently got approval to sell a product where Amazon itself is currently the only seller, and Amazon is selling it for $44.90. I’m now considering sending my inventory to FBA and selling the same product.
My main question is: how much lower than Amazon’s $44.90 price would I need to price my product to get the Buy Box? Would $1–$2 lower be enough, or would I need to go $3–$4 lower?
Also should i get the professional selling plan to have a better chance of winning the buy box since i plan to sell this product through FBA?
And finally, would you recommend selling a product like this, where Amazon itself is currently the only seller, or is it too risky to compete directly with Amazon?
I’d really appreciate advice from sellers who have experience with this.
“Should I Sell a Product Where Amazon Is the Only Seller?”
Hi everyone,
I recently got approval to sell a product where Amazon itself is currently the only seller, and Amazon is selling it for $44.90. I’m now considering sending my inventory to FBA and selling the same product.
My main question is: how much lower than Amazon’s $44.90 price would I need to price my product to get the Buy Box? Would $1–$2 lower be enough, or would I need to go $3–$4 lower?
Also should i get the professional selling plan to have a better chance of winning the buy box since i plan to sell this product through FBA?
And finally, would you recommend selling a product like this, where Amazon itself is currently the only seller, or is it too risky to compete directly with Amazon?
I’d really appreciate advice from sellers who have experience with this.
22 replies
Seller_9z7K85RzAOGC9
You cannot get the Buy Box as an individual seller. And even with the professional plan you may still not get it. Amazon does not like to give up it's buy box unless they are out of stock usually.
Seller_4zBzdtgCyS9EI
If you do this, you are better brand authorized to retail on this platform, in writing, with rock solid invoices from distributors that are BRAND authorized to sell to retailers.
This is a requirement for ANYTHING you sell here, but competing with Amazon puts you into the 1st line of attack.
Seller_0EiTWTPC4Lbig
NO.
There is probably a reason Amazon is the only seller on that ASIN. Learn from that data instead of assuming you found an opportunity.
If other sellers could easily buy the product, compete with Amazon, win the Featured Offer, and make money at $44.90, you would normally expect to see other sellers doing exactly that.
Before sending inventory to FBA, I would be asking WHY nobody else is there.
- Is the brand restricting sellers?
- Is Amazon buying direct from the manufacturer?
- Are the margins terrible?
- Is the ASIN gated or difficult to stay approved on?
- Does Amazon dominate the Featured Offer?
- Is the product prone to authenticity complaints or authorization issues?
Do not look at “Amazon is the only seller” and see an empty field.
I would see a warning sign.
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
"I recently got approval to sell a product where Amazon itself is currently the only seller,"
EXACTLY WHO "approved" you?
IF you happen to "get lucky" and are actually ungated for an ASIN, you are increasingly likely to get SUSPENDED for not having the items listed below!
DO NOT CONFUSE AMAZON allowing you to list (or at least "ungate") an item or category and actually being APPROVED to sell a product. Amazon might ungate you for a CATEGORY, but there can be 100's of brands in the category and they ALL have their own restrictions.
While it is not always the case these are the steps you need to follow more and more frequently on Amazon --
1. DID YOU contact the brand and get an LOA that specifically says you are permitted to sell ON AMAZON? While you are in contact with the brand did you DO STEP 2!!
2. DID YOU source from AUTHORIZED wholesale sources that your rep at the brand says are OK. You will have a sales rep at the brand after you contact them and get permission to sell here.
3. DID YOU ask your sales rep if they have a whitelist on Amazon and if so, did you ask them if they can PLEASE add your seller name (must match what your account registration is) to a seller role on their list in BR?
4. THEN, and only then, add your listing to existing ASINs. More and more only the BRAND is allowed to create an ASIN and trying to create one can get you suspended.
Seller_W6vNnb9Dv4v3c
Sell Via FMB, or try it before FBA. Watch out---Amazon may drop the price to levels you can not match without taking a loss.
Seller_rI7BZIczK8iAC
You need a "Letter of Authorization" from the brand owner allowing you to sell his brand on Amazon. But even then, ME on your place would not risk it. Amazon is nasty. I would fear they confiscate the products AND the money and suspend my seller account.
Manny_Amazon
Hi @Seller_PBv64FaPOs5dD,
The information provided by your fellow sellers is great. If you have any additional questions, let us know.
Regards,
- Manny
Seller_Sram36TnVt73c
If you do, expect Amazon to craft a vague inauthentic suspension requiring scads of info...they did it to me in 2015, just before Christmas. I had to recall all of my DVDs from FBA to confirm they weren't inauthentic (I already knew they weren't but I had to put my merchandise through the Amazon/UPS grinder anyway), which never made it back to Amazon in time for the 2015 xmas season....also found a lot of my merchandise was comingled with other sellers' inventory despite having my own FBA labels applied...yet they felt they could suspend me for an inauthentic item despite the fact they mix inventory that isn't supposed to be mixed....i was getting back DVDs with store retail stickers on them, etc.
