£1.58 competitive price limit vs £1.73 shipping fee – System forces me to sell below cost (ASIN: B0BQYFTDNG)
Hello Amazon Community Team,
I need help with ASIN: B0BQYFTDNG.
Problem:
Product: 10 sheets / 200 nail tips, priced at £3.99
Buy Box was restored once, but disappeared again a few days later
I have opened multiple cases and clearly stated this is a system bug, but replies are always the same: "Your price is not competitive"
Key evidence (screenshot attached):
System "competitive price limit": £1.58
My shipping fee: £1.73
£1.58 < £1.73 – system requires me to sell below shipping cost
Why this is a system bug:
The system appears to be comparing my 10-sheet product to a single sheet or small pack. This is a mapping error. Temporary restoration is not a solution – I need a permanent fix.
What I have done:
Case ID: 12442729962
Provided supplier price proof and competitor pricing (competitors at £4.19 and £6.99)
Request:
Please escalate to the Buy Box team or technical team for manual review and a permanent fix.
Attached screenshot shows system limit £1.58 and shipping fee £1.73 (personal info redacted).
Thank you.
£1.58 competitive price limit vs £1.73 shipping fee – System forces me to sell below cost (ASIN: B0BQYFTDNG)
Hello Amazon Community Team,
I need help with ASIN: B0BQYFTDNG.
Problem:
Product: 10 sheets / 200 nail tips, priced at £3.99
Buy Box was restored once, but disappeared again a few days later
I have opened multiple cases and clearly stated this is a system bug, but replies are always the same: "Your price is not competitive"
Key evidence (screenshot attached):
System "competitive price limit": £1.58
My shipping fee: £1.73
£1.58 < £1.73 – system requires me to sell below shipping cost
Why this is a system bug:
The system appears to be comparing my 10-sheet product to a single sheet or small pack. This is a mapping error. Temporary restoration is not a solution – I need a permanent fix.
What I have done:
Case ID: 12442729962
Provided supplier price proof and competitor pricing (competitors at £4.19 and £6.99)
Request:
Please escalate to the Buy Box team or technical team for manual review and a permanent fix.
Attached screenshot shows system limit £1.58 and shipping fee £1.73 (personal info redacted).
Thank you.
43 replies
Seller_6n5nHbYT2HrLX
@Ezra_Amazon @Julia_Amazon @Sakura_Amazon_ @Sarah_Amzn @Simon_Amazon @Spencer_Amazon @Winston_Amazon
Seller_6n5nHbYT2HrLX
Just following up on this. Still looking for any insights or a moderator review. Case ID: 12442729962. Thank you.
Amyy_Amazon
Hi @Seller_6n5nHbYT2HrLX,
Thanks for reaching out and sharing the details.
I have reviewed the case ID shared and can see that the case is being reviewed with the partner team.
Do keep monitoring the case ID so that you do not miss out on any important communication.
Do let us know here if a resolution is not received.
Regards,
-Amyy
Seller_kSZCywEhJQQ8J
There is a difficult pricing-loop here.
If you keep your minimum price at your true sustainable level, for example £3.98, Amazon will not allow you to save a live price of £1.58 because the live price is below your minimum price.
But if you lower your minimum price to £1.57 in order to save the £1.58 price requested by the competitive-price limit, your own pricing settings then appear to say you are willing to sell at that unsustainable level.
So the problem is not only the £1.58 competitive price limit. The system creates a forced contradiction: to comply with the competitive-price threshold, you must lower your minimum price below your real commercial floor, which then weakens your evidence when you argue the threshold is commercially impossible.
This is why the key question for Amazon should be: what comparator ASIN or external price source generated the £1.58 competitive price limit, and does it match the same pack size and quantity?
Seller_TnBH4Q213xF7r
I would suggest to change the title to show a brand name. Otherwise, AI will just compare all makes of 200 false nail swatches.
Eg: Congguan 200 Piece False Nail Swatch Wheels, Nail Polish Colour Tester Manicure Practice Kit x 10 Discs, Colour Show Display Wheel, Plastic Nail Art
Also, you repeat wording, so that is not allowed.
Seller_5TOHDfwHQqXTb
Been in the same boat. Amazon provided 0 help.
Seller_kSZCywEhJQQ8J
I think this case may need to be tested in two directions: the pricing record itself, and the comparator behind the £1.58 limit.
First, on the practical side, I would try using a price flat file rather than only updating the price through the normal Seller Central screen.
I would update the maximum price and minimum price first, without changing the offer price. If that is accepted, then upload the offer price separately.
This may help test whether the visible pricing screen is the problem, or whether the backend offer-pricing record is stuck.
If the flat file also fails, I would wait until the FBA inventory reaches zero before making bigger structural changes. Then I would delete the listing, recreate the offer on the same ASIN with a new SKU, and set the new maximum price, minimum price, and offer price from the beginning.
If that still does not work, then the problem may not be attached only to the SKU-level offer record. It may be attached to the ASIN/catalogue/comparator record itself. At that point, creating a new listing may be the only practical last resort.
But the more important point is the comparator.
I tested the product logic with Rufus, and Rufus correctly identified the product as:
10 display wheels/discs
20 nail tips per wheel
200 nail tips in total
I then asked Rufus whether it would be fair to compare this product with a single sheet or smaller pack. Rufus said no, because the quantity, function, and target use are different.
I also asked whether a £1.58 product with only one sheet or fewer nail tips would be a valid competitor for this 10-sheet / 200-tip product. Rufus again said no, and explained that fair comparison should be made against other multi-wheel display kits or by calculating the per-tip / per-sheet cost.
That creates an important contradiction inside Amazon’s own systems.
Rufus understands that this product should not be compared directly with a smaller pack.
But the pricing engine appears to be applying a £1.58 competitive price limit, even though the shipping fee alone is £1.73.
So this does not look like a normal “your price is too high” issue. It looks more like the pricing engine may be using a shallow comparator, while Rufus can understand the product quantity and format more accurately.
In simple terms:
Rufus understands the pack size.
The pricing engine appears not to.
The key question for Amazon is still:
What comparator ASIN, external listing, or external price source generated the £1.58 competitive price limit, and does that comparator match the same quantity: 10 display wheels / 200 nail tips?
If the comparator does not match the same pack size, then the competitive price limit is not valid.
The AI assistant understood the product better than the pricing engine that suppressed it.
Seller_WkGzXFR8EP6Iq
Report to CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) and OFT (Office of Fair Trading)
Seller_6n5nHbYT2HrLX
Final update: Amazon has closed the case and maintains that the price is ‘not competitive.’ They have acknowledged it as a ‘technical issue’ but have not offered a fix. My options now are to sell at a loss (£1.87), abandon the Buy Box, or create a new ASIN. Thank you to everyone, especially jfmamj, for the invaluable help.
