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How much stock should I have in my FBA inventory?
I think I understand that Amazon will favour a seller to win the buy box if they have a reliable supply of the product they are selling. Is this right? If so, are there any known general rules that could help me determine my optimum stock levels?
For a bit of extra context, I have been testing some products in fairly low quantities. It’d be great if they started selling as soon as they become available after FBA shipment but this does not happen. Could this be because I don’t actually hold enough stock to give Amazon confidence that I’m a reliable seller?
27 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
not necessarily
with the new restock limits, those who sell a large number of skus are having to send in smaller quantities on a more frequent basis rather than sending pallets worth of stock once every 6 months
whilst they state that there are many factors that are taken into account for buy box eligibility, you will see that price can be a dominating factor
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
also just to clarify - what do you mean by this ?
It can take up to a week (sometimes much longer) for amazon to receive your shipment into the main hub and then send it onto their final destination hubs for sale. Between these times, you will see different availability dates on the buyers side
Seller_gOlDFgS5Li5Jc
we send in smallish amounts regularly and we do alright also i get a bit twitchy with the thought of to much stock at amazon at any one time so we keep it trickling in seems to work
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
before you drop your price just make sure you are aware of all the fees involved - it maybe that the other sellers can sell lower as they have been selling for much longer and therefore have better rates with suppliers
Seller_hNNqnKpy6hGhC
Ok now I’m wondering if automated pricing may be a good way to keep up with what Amazon wants to see for pricing? Maybe only if there’s a lower limit so I don’t make a loss.
Seller_XFn236foMyDpV
I’d say the top 3 determining factors for buy box in order is:
- Price (mostl heavily weighted, by like 90%+)
- Feedback score/quantity
- Account health
There may be other factors but the top 3 are the biggest influencers. Advertising on a listing that you do not own (i.e. buying wholesale to resell) is not worth the hassle. The profit is near to non-existent after ad costs and fees.
The idea is to stock products with good rankings and sales history at a competitive price point and let that generate sales without having to advertise. Once you get an idea for how to spot a selling product, it’s a numbers game and acquiring more of the same stock at good prices. I make sure to price the same as other sellers, to avoid inviting price wars. Where possible I try to show that I want to share a piece of the pie, not steal it all.
For automated pricing, I’d go with a 3rd party tool commonly called a ‘repricer’ so that you can automate pricing when your product list is huge with the ability to set it to only reprice or match prices if the product is in profit after fees. The Amazon automated pricing does not allow you to set your profit per product and avoid pricing below your profit level.
Hope that helps 
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