What is Amazon Buy Box Listing Suppression?
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This guide will help you get started, understand the basics of Amazon selling, and explain in simple words how it all works.
If you win a Buy Box, Amazon shows your offer to buyers when they click the “Add to cart” button.
Suppressed Buy Box happens when the “Add to cart” button disappears from the listing, and the shopper can’t purchase a product in one click anymore. Instead, Amazon displays a button “See All Buying Options.”
That complicates the purchase decision since the shopper has to undertake a few extra steps to buy a product.
Keep reading to find out why Amazon suppresses the Buy Box and how to avoid Buy Box suppression.
What Is A Suppressed Buy Box Listing?
Buy Box suppression means that the "Add to Cart" button is completely removed from the product listing on which you sell. It is replaced by a "See All Buying Options" button.
That means the shoppers can’t purchase your product in one click, which they usually do. To buy it, they must study all the offers and select one.
Amazon grants Buy Box based on how well sellers meet their product price criteria and customer service quality. If the seller fails to maintain them, Buy Box is given to another merchant. If none of the sellers meets these criteria, Buy Box is suppressed.
Related: What is Buy Box? How to win Buy Box on Amazon
Why Is Buy Box Suppression Bad?
With the Buy Box option, Amazon shows the buyer the best offer on a specific product.
The Buy Box is a widget on Amazon product pages that lets buyers quickly purchase products by clicking the “Add to cart” or “Buy Now” buttons.
If more than one merchant sells on the listing, sellers compete to win the Buy Box. Amazon Buy Box algorithm selects the best offer based on specific criteria, including price, seller performance metrics, and more, and shows it to the buyer. The buyer adds that offer to the cart in one click.
If the Buy Box is suppressed, Amazon removes the “Add to cart” or “Buy Now” buttons and offers a shopper to select themselves between the product offers.
For the customer, that means a longer way to make a purchase and certain confusion. The shopper may hesitate about which offer to select. Also, the purchase process becomes more complicated, and the shopper may decide not to buy a product.
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Why Does Amazon Suppress The Buy Box?
Majorly, Amazon suppresses the Buy Box because they think that the brands offering the specific product are not eligible for the Buy Box. That may be because all price offers are above MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price), brands run out of stock, can’t meet Prime shipping requirements, and more.
The prices are not competitive
Amazon’s pricing algorithm compares your product’s price with the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). MSRP is the recommended price of a product's manufacturer at the point of sale.
Buy Box listing can be suppressed if the price offers are higher than MSRP or, in rare cases, lower.
Sellers don’t meet Prime shipping requirements
To win the Buy Box, your listing must be Prime-eligible. That means you must meet Amazon Prime shipping requirements. If the brands selling the product are not in line with Amazon Prime customer service level, the Buy Box is suppressed.
Seller metrics are noncompliant with the Buy Box criteria
If the seller account health metrics are not in line with Amazon requirements and the seller Account Health Rating is “At Risk” or “Unhealthy,” Amazon will remove the Buy Box.
If your Customer Seller Performance or Shipping Performance metrics are noncompliant with Amazon targets or you fail to comply with Amazon policies, this can trigger Buy Box suppression.
The sales history is insufficient
If your sales history is too new or there are not enough product sales to estimate the seller’s service performance, Amazon may not grant the Buy Box. Also, Buy Box may be removed if the sales volumes are too low over time.
Incomplete listing
If the product listing doesn’t meet Amazon standards as to title, product description, and images, Amazon can suppress a Buy Box. Suppression can also happen because the product is assigned the wrong category, violates Amazon’s selling policies, or is a counterfeit, unsafe, or expired item.
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How To Identify Suppressed Buy Box Products?
To identify suppressed Buy Box items, navigate to the “Manage inventory” > “Inventory” in your Seller Central. If any listing is suppressed, you find them under “Suppressed”.
How to Avoid Buy Box Suppression?
Since the main reasons for the Buy Box suppression are related to not competitive product pricing or inefficient seller performance, to avoid Buy Box suppression, you need to set a competitive price and maintain a high level of customer service.
Maintain your seller account metrics on target
Keep your Account Health Rating “Healthy” to avoid Buy Box suppression. Your Customer Seller Performance and Shipping Performance metrics must comply with Amazon targets.
Your Order Defect Rate should be kept below 1%; you must have few order cancellations, chargebacks, negative customer reviews, and successful A-to-z claims. Your shipping time must be on target as well.
Comply with Amazon selling policies
To comply with Amazon policies, you should avoid Amazon policy violations. Amazon expects sellers to have zero policy violations to maintain the Buy Box. A good solution is to use Amazon seller tools to keep your account in good standing.
Related: Amazon Product Policy Compliance - Guide For Sellers
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Seller Assistant App helps you immediately see if a product has any sales restrictions or has led to problems with account health in the past. It will show a Red Triangle icon right on the Amazon search page or product pages if a product has triggered account health issues like IP claims, has restrictions, or other problems.
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Set competitive price
Maintain competitive pricing for your product and monitor your competitors’ Buy Box pricing.
Seller Assistant App shows you how many FBA and FBM sellers have landed in the Buy Box. The number of FBA and FBM sellers is displayed separately. You can also see the total number of merchants selling the product in a “New” condition and the number of sellers offering the price level of the BuyBox price + 5%.
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Final Thoughts
When Amazon suppresses the Buy Box, the “Add to cart” button disappears from the listing, and the shopper can’t purchase a product in one click anymore. Instead, Amazon displays a button “See All Buying Options.” That complicates the purchase decision since the shopper has to undertake a few extra steps to buy a product.
To avoid Buy Box suppression, you must set competitive prices, maintain a high level of customer service, and comply with all Amazon selling policies.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to monitor the product Buy Box prices and avoid products that trigger Amazon account health problems.
Seller Assistant Аpp is a tool that helps you with this task. It’s an all-in-one extension that incorporates the features vital for product research. Advanced IP Alerts can immediately tell you if a product has any sales restrictions or has led to problems with account health in the past. It combines an FBM&FBA profit calculator, UPC/EAN to ASIN converter, ASIN Grabber, Quick View, Stock Checker, and Restrictions Checker in one tool.
